For the first time in a decade, the Elon University athletic department named a new head coach for the men’s basketball program. On April 21, Alan White announced that Ernie Nestor, 53, will become the 16th Phoenix head coach. The 2003-2004 campaign will be Nestor’s 21st season of collegiate coaching and 28th season as a basketball coach.

"He is a very knowledgeable, experienced coach, which is what we felt we needed as we head into our new Southern Conference affiliation," White said at the press conference announcing Nestor’s position Monday. "Coach Nestor understands our university mission and possesses the personal values and character that make him a good fit for our program and our university. We look forward to our work together."

The hiring of Nestor was based both on his experience and his commitment to academics and character.

"We wanted a continuation of our long tradition of putting academics first and the integrity of athletics and academics was my number one concern doing it right and with integrity and I am absolutely certain we have done that in our decision," Elon President Leo Lambert said of the hiring of Nestor.

Nestor said that his move to Elon was based on the seat of his pants and that money was not an issue in this situation. He said that the reason he chose to accept the position at Elon was because of the people and the focus on academics.

"A decision like this is not about buildings, but about the people relations and those relations are obvious here, people have put their feet in the cement," Nestor said. "I want to put footprints in the sand because that those are the things that makes a difference."

Nestor is familiar to many basketball fans in North Carolina. He was the assistant coach at Wake Forest University for 14 years. He helped coach the Demon Deacons from 1979-1985 and again in 1993-2001. In that time span, the team claimed the 1995 and 1996 ACC championship titles, made it to the NCAA regional finals and were the NIT 2000 champions.

In 2001, he followed head coach Dave Odom to South Carolina University, where he has been an assistant coach for the past two seasons.

"I did not lose an assistant coach in Ernie; I have lost a co-coach," Odem said of his colleague and friend.

Nestor has not always been an assistant coach. He guided George Mason University from 1988-1993 in the Colonial Athletic Association. During his stay with the Patriots the team claimed it’s first ever NCAA Tournament bid in 1989 and in the following year the team captured 20 victories.

Nestor takes over for Mark Simons, who resigned March 14. Simons had been coaching the Phoenix since 1993. Nestor also takes the reigns with 10 returning lettermen, three starters and a handful new recruits.

Not only will Nestor face new players, but also the challenge of playing in the Southern Conference, which is one of the oldest and most competitive conferences in the country.

"The challenge is great, the league has great NCAA presence and no one team dominates," Nestor said.

But Nestor is coming from the South Eastern Conference, which was one of toughest conferences in the country this past season.

Nestor said that he will get to know his players by the end of this week and will attempt to put the building blocks in place. His goal is to play a more aggressive defense, which will allow the offense to be able to flow more easily. He hopes that with the a stronger defense the team will be able to be able to become a better transition team.

Nestor has high expectations for his team, but the most important one is for the team to have fun.

"The goal is to have fun and I have found in my experience that the ultimate way of having fun is to win," Nestor said of his goals for next season. He also has high day-to-day expectations of his team saying wins come and go but that the best way to gauge a team is by their commitment.