Nicki Holmes was announced as Rhode Island's head volleyball coach on January 16, 2020, becoming the program's third head coach in the NCAA Division I era.
Holmes brings an advanced familiarity with the Rams with him to Rhode Island, having spent the previous three seasons in the Atlantic 10 as George Washington's associate head coach. In his time at GW, Holmes helped orchestrate a complete overhaul of the Colonials' offense and defense. Through strategic recruiting, scouting and game management, George Washington improved from 221st in the nation in service aces per set in 2017 to 43rd nationally in 2019. Similarly, the Colonials ended the 2019 season ranked 38th in the country in blocks per set after finishing 193rd in 2017.
Holmes arrived at George Washington in 2017, following a one-year stop as an assistant coach at NC State. During that 2016 season, he helped lead the Wolfpack to a 20-win campaign. Prior to that, he spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as North Carolina Central's head coach, in addition to a pair of assistant coaching stints at the University of Central Florida (2012-13) and Stetson (2011).
Outside of the college game, Holmes has been involved with USA Volleyball since 2005. From 2012-17, he served as the Program Manager for the Collegiate National Team, which - as part of the National Team selection process - includes the nation's top 48 student-athletes with remaining college eligibility. In that role, he managed the team's operational budget, match scheduling and training schedule.
He also served as an assistant coach on the USA Youth National Team from 2016-19, helping lead the team to gold medals at the 2019 World Championship and the 2018 NORCECA Championship, as well as a silver medal at the 2016 NORCECA Championship.
Holmes graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1998, with a Bachelor of Science in General Studies (Core Engineering Curriculum) before earning his Master's of Business Administration from Vanderbilt in 2011. Between those two degrees, he completed the Negotiation for Senior Executives certificate program at Harvard Law School (2008).
Before a six-year stint in the engineering and manufacturing field (2005-11), Holmes spent seven years as an officer in the Untied States Air Force, where he served as a commander of a nuclear alert crew that was responsible for over $3.3 billion in assets.
He has continued his involvement with the Air Force as the head coach of the USAF Women's National Volleyball Team, which won gold at both the 2018 Armed Forces Championship and the 2016 AIRCOM Championship.
Holmes also has served as an assistant coach of the USAF Women's Sitting National Team, where he was involved in the selection and training of the team for competition against domestic and international opponents at the 2013 Department of Defense Warrior Games.
updated: 1/16/20
