Gopher Gone Wildcat: Clay Nunley '98

Release date: May 14, 2008 |

When Clay Nunley came back to Goucher earlier this spring for a basketball game, he would have been forgiven if, for a moment, he wasn’t sure which side of the court to sit on.

After all, throughout his college career, Nunley played basketball for Goucher -- even competing for the team in the NCAA tournament. Now, he was returning as the coach of the first men’s basketball team at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA.

"The toughest situation is sitting on the other bench," he says. "To watch from the other end is a little different for me, but really, it’s not about how I feel. It is about the kids who currently play for Randolph and Goucher."

His years at Goucher have stood him in good stead, Nunley says. As a student, he received the Senior Leadership Award and was a gift captain for the Class of 1998’s senior class gift. In 1999, he was named a recent graduate trustee. These days, he serves as a member of the advisory board of the Blue & Gold Society, an organization that supports Goucher athletics.

Since graduating, he has worked as assistant coach at Wright State University in Dayton, OH and at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

"It is the people who make Goucher what it is. The guys I played with remain very close to me," he says.

As the coach of a team in its inaugural season, Nunley has been able to draw upon lessons learned while at Goucher from both Athletic Director Geoffrey Miller and Head Coach Leonard Trevino.

Like Goucher, Randolph College, which was formerly known as Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, had long been a women’s institution. In the fall of 2007, Randolph admitted men for the first time in its 115-year history. 

"I think [my having gone to Goucher] helps me in the eyes of the players. By choosing Randolph, they made a decision that makes them unique among their peers. I can say, ‘I’ve done a similar thing.’ It reassures them," says Nunley, who began playing for the Goucher team in its fourth season.

"The guys in the freshman class are the trailblazers," he says. "They are striking the path that all the other incoming male students will follow."

(For the record, Randolph beat Goucher 74-65 in the non-conference game.)