STARKVILLE – After a 17-year career at Starkville Academy, head football coach Chase Nicholson and the school have agreed to “part ways,” athletic director Brian Merkel confirmed to The Dispatch on Monday.
“It’s just kind of a career change for him and it was just one of those things that came about,” Merkel said. “It’s kind of where we are at now. I can’t really say much more.”
Nicholson did not respond to The Dispatch for comment Monday.
Originally coming to the program as an assistant coach, Nicholson spent the last 11 years as the head man and led the Vols to two state championship game appearances and captured the 2017 MAIS Class 3A state championship with a 21-14 win over Indianola Academy.
Throughout Nicholson’s tenure as head coach, SA only endured one losing season, a 4-7 mark in 2024. The Vols closed out the 2025 campaign with a bounce-back year and finished 7-5 overall that included a 10-7 upset of Copiah Academy in the first round of the Class 4A Division II playoffs. The team ended its season in the semifinals with a 26-0 loss to eventual champion Parklane Academy. Nicholson leaves the Vols as the program’s winningest coach with an 89-45 record.
“You look at his win-loss record and he did a phenomenal job on the field,” Merkel said. He did a phenomenal job mentoring our football students and caring about them not only as football players but young men and turning them into men that are going to go out and be great representatives of our school and our football program.”
Merkel said the school is now opening up a coaching search for the next man to take the reins.
“(We’re looking for) someone who is familiar with running all facets of a high school football program,” Merkel told The Dispatch. “Somebody who has not only had success on the field but has shown a pattern of developing student athletes in the classroom and in the community. Someone who can be great for our school, great for our community and be great for Starkville Academy.”
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