Nich Lee Parker was named Columbia lightweight rowing head coach in the summer of 2013 and has been with Columbia lightweight rowing during an unprecedented run of medal winning appearances at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships. He has guided the Lions to two of the last three national titles and medaled at the IRA's in seven of his 10 seasons at the helm.
In 2023, Columbia won the Subin Cup, Dodge Cup, the inaugural Colgan Cup, and the Geiger Cup.Â
In 2022, Columbia claimed its third national title since 2016 as the Lions won the First Varsity Eight championship race by two seconds and also took home the All-Points Trophy at the 119th annual Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship. The National Championship winning Varsity Eight boat was named the 2022 Crew of the Year. Additionally, Parker was named IRA Lightweight Coach of the Year for the second time in his career as part of the IRA postseason awards.
In 2021, Lightweight Rowing alumnus
Jakub Buczek '16CC, along with his Canadian crew of four, punched their ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Buczek was the first crew member under Parker to ever compete in the Olympics.
In 2019, the lightweight varsity four boat captured a silver medal on the final day of the IRA National Championships. The Lions also took home the Subin Cup, Dodge Cup, and WIT Cup that season.
Columbia reclaimed its spot at the top of the IRA podium in 2018, winning gold in the varsity eight. The Lions also were victorious in the V8 and 2V8 at the EARC Sprints, leading the program to first-place finishes at the event for the first time since 2000, and earned the Jope Cup as overall winners for the first time ever. Additionally, with the win in the varsity eight, Columbia achieved Ivy League Champion status.
During the 2018 regular season, Columbia lost just once and swept its cup races for the first time since 2003 in the varsity eight. In the second varsity eight, the Lions posted an undefeated mark, which is believed to be the first time that feat has ever been achieved by a lightweight JV boat.
In 2016, the Lions got off to a strong start, finishing 11-1 in the regular season and winning a silver medal at the Eastern Sprints in the varsity eight. At the 2016 IRA National Championship, the Lions had a breakthrough day of racing. The coxed four won silver, while the varsity eight took control of the title race and won gold by nearly a length. The win represents the first national championship in rowing for Columbia since 1929 and the first ever IRA National Championship for the lightweight men.Â
The 2015 season saw continued success with an 11-1 regular season record and the third win for the program in the 60 year history of the Dodge Cup. The varsity won silver at both the Eastern Sprints and the IRA, while the coxed four also brought home silver from the nationals. The varsity went on to race at the Henley Royal Regatta, competing in the Temple Challenge Cup where they progressed to the semi-finals. This is the furthest advancing crew for Columbia in the history of the Temple Challenge Cup.
In his first season as head coach, the Lions finished 11-2 during the regular season. At the Eastern Sprints, the second and third varsity crews both won gold, a first ever achievement in Columbia rowing history for those boat classes. At the IRA, the coxed four controlled the racing to win the university's first ever race in the modern 2000-meter format, while the varsity eight brought home a bronze.
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The performances won Parker US Rowing Collegiate Lightweight Coach of the Year, US Rowing Fan's Choice Coach of the Year, as well as the University Coach of the Year award from The Joy of Sculling.
Prior to Parker's time leading the lightweights, he served as an assistant for both the lightweight men and the heavyweight men at Columbia. Additionally, he was a heavyweight coach at Yale from 2007 to 2009 and coached the USRowing Junior National Team from 2008 to 2010. He coached the freshmen men's squad at Purdue University in 2007, where they won a bronze at the Dad Vail National Invitational.
Parker studied music, German literature, and education policy for his undergraduate education at The Ohio State University. He completed an MS in Sports Pedagogy and Administration from Purdue University in 2007. In 2020, he completed his doctorate in Biomechanics, which focused on neuroscience and motor control at Columbia University.
THE PARKER FILE
2013 - IRA Bronze Medalist
2014 - Eastern Sprints Gold (2V, 3V), IRA Gold and Bronze Medalist (4+, V8 Respectively)
2015 - Eastern Sprints Silver (V8), IRA Silver Medalist (4+ & V8), Henley Royal Regatta Semi-Finalist
2016 - Eastern Sprints Silver (V8), IRA Silver & Gold 4+ & V8), National Champions, Henley Royal Regatta Quarter-Finalist
2016 - USRowing Collegiate Lightweight Coach of the Year
2016 - Joy of Sculling University Coach of the Year
2018 - Eastern Sprints Gold (V8, 2V8), Jope Cup (Overall Eastern Sprints Champions), IRA Gold (V8), National Champions, Henley Royal Regatta Semifinalist
2018 - IRA Lightweight Coach of the Year, Ivy League Lightweight Coach of the Year
2019 - IRA Silver (4+)
2022 - IRA Gold (V8)
2022 - IRA Lightweight Coach of the Year
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