Dale Wellman begins his first season as head men’s basketball coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Wellman comes to NWU after spending the past six seasons as the head coach at Alfred University, a NCAA III Institution located in Alfred, N.Y. He was named the Empire 8 Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 2013-14 leading his team to an 18-9 overall record.
In 2013-14, Alfred ranked third among all NCAA III teams in points per game at 97.6 points per contest, reaching the 100-point mark in 13 of 27 games. They also ranked fourth in the country in steals, while leading all of Division III in total rebounds and offensive rebounds per game. In total, Alfred finished in the top 10 nationally in 10 different statistical categories while playing an average of 15 players per game.
While at Alfred, Wellman inherited a program that had just completed a 2-23 season before his arrival then turned the program around leading the Saxons to postseason tournament bids in two of the past three years. His team showed a six-game improvement in his first season followed with a three-game hike in year two. In 2011-12 he led Alfred to the postseason for the first time in 11 years, competing in the ECAC Upstate Tournament.
Before his stint at Alfred, Wellman spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Williams College in Massachusetts under current Bucknell head coach and two-time NABC Division III Coach-of-the-Year winner, Dave Paulsen. In his two seasons, Williams won the Conference Championship in 2007 and advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
His collegiate coaching career began in 2002 when he was an assistant coach at Kenyon (Ohio) College. A year later he was appointed assistant coach at Union College in New York. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Eastern Kentucky University where he helped EKU set a school record for wins and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Wellman is a 1999 graduate of The University of The South in Sewanee, Tennessee where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He played four seasons for the Tigers, participating twice in the NCAA Division III National Tournament (1997, 1998) and earning SCAC All-Academic honors. He also played baseball and earned All-Conference honors. He earned a master’s degree in physical education (sports administration) in 2006 from Eastern Kentucky.
Wellman and his wife Lori, have two children Brady (3) and Tessa (1).
