Bio

For the past 35 years, Paul Rickard has been a fixture at SUNY Orange as both a professor and a coach.

He has taught as a member of the mathematics faculty since 1980. He coached the men s basketball team for 25 years (1981-82 through 2005-06), guiding the Colts to 323 wins and a handful of regional and conference championships. He retired as the golf team coach in 2014 following 32 years at the helm.

In 2006, Rickard led the Colts to a 23-8 record, a district championship, and the program's first-ever appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Championship Tournament. That year, he was named the NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year in District 9.

His teams won the Region XV Sportsmanship Award numerous times, and the Colts had many players named to all-conference, all-region, and All-American teams during Rickard's tenure.

While coaching golf, Rickard took the Colts on many trips to the National Golf Tournament. Many of Rickard's basketball players have gone on to play and coach at the collegiate level, including his sons Tom and Dan. He has also served as a mentor and inspiration to many of the region's high school coaches, having built longstanding relationships with them over the past three-plus decades.