Men's Golf
- Title:
- Head Coach
An integral part of the Oregon golf program for 25 years, Steve Nosler directed one of the nation's top collegiate golf programs for 14 seasons, then served as six seasons as an assistant and volunteer coach.
During his tenure as head coach, the 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year guided the Ducks to 11 tournament titles and nine NCAA West Regionals. He also coached Oregon to NCAA Championship appearances in 1998, 1999 and 2003.
Overall in his 14 years at the helm, Nosler tutored nine All-Pac-10 first or second team players, and one All-American. Nosler also sent his first protege to the PGA Tour when former Duck Ben Crane (1997-00) earned his tour card at the 2001 Q-School. Heading into the 2011 PGA season, Crane had three tour wins, 32 top 10 finishes and earned more than $13 million dollars.
During his tenure at the helm, Nosler’s squads won 11 tournaments and finished in the top five in nearly 40 percent (73-of-192) of all events his teams entered, including conference and NCAA tournaments.
Nosler (1937-2012) was only the eighth man to hold the head coaching position at Oregon, and his tenure of 14 years is second-longest only to Sid Milligan, Nosler’s collegiate coach who led the program for 17 seasons from 1947-63.
Teaming with current head coach Casey Martin for his final six seasons
with the program, Nosler and the Ducks enjoyed many of the program's
greatest memories, including three Pac-12 runner-up finishes. In 2010
the Ducks won five tournaments, including an NCAA Regional title, and
tied for third in the NCAA Championships, and in '12 added six team
victories and another third-place NCAA finish.
The Eugene native had been active in Oregon golf for over three decades as both as a volunteer organizing fund-raising activities and as an executive on the Oregon Golf Association board. He was inducted into the University’s Golf Hall of Fame in 1985.
He served as tournament chairman for three Pacific Coast Amateur Golf Tournaments, two Oregon Amateur Championships and two Oregon Junior Golf Championships. It has been Nosler’s work in these areas that has brought several tournaments to Eugene.
A lifelong Eugene resident, Nosler graduated from Eugene High in 1955. He joined the University’s golf team as a freshman. Following graduation with a B.S. in business, Nosler was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He spent seven and a half years on active or inactive duty, attaining the rank of captain, before returning to civilian status where his long involvement with the Oregon golf community began.
