The office in the Rike is dimly lit and quiet. The awards and basketball memorabilia lined on the bookcase behind the desk indicate accomplishment. The family photos of his wife and children give the room a homey feel.
Dick Reynolds, 69, is Otterbein’s athletic director and head men’s basketball coach. After 40 seasons in these positions, he has made plans to leave his office and gym behind to begin a new chapter in his life, a decision made public to Otterbein and Columbus last week.
“People always said you will know when it’s time to leave, and I just know it’s time to leave,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds leads the OAC list for career coaching victories with 650, ranking sixth of all time for NCAA Division III.
In the 40 years he spent as the head coach for the men’s basketball team, he notched one national championship in 2002, two Final Four appearances in 1981 and 1991 and 13 NCAA DIII Tournament appearances on his belt.
“After I am gone from here, people won’t understand or remember who I was,” Reynolds said. Coach Reynolds began his life at Otterbein as a 12-time letterman in football, basketball and track. After graduating in 1965, Reynolds returned to his hometown in London, Ohio, where he began teaching and coaching.
It was in 1966 that Reynolds left to serve three years in the U.S. Air Force during Vietnam, leaving behind his wife, Ellen, and 10-month-old son, Chad.
“Besides the mortar rocket attacks, I didn’t have to live in the jungle. I was an Air Force officer and was fairly secure. It was just being in a combat zone and having the threat all the time,” Reynolds said.
“The isolation from my family, because my son was 10 months old when I left and almost two years old when I came back, convinced me even more that I wanted to be in education.”
Upon his return to Otterbein, Reynolds served as an assistant coach for three seasons before heading the program. Otterbein then became where he stayed and formed what both he and his wife would call a “lifestyle.”
“It hasn’t really been a job. It’s been a lifestyle. My son and daughter went to school here, my wife went to school here and my daughter-in-law went to school here. My kids grew up in the facilities and in the office,” Reynolds said.
“It was not like coming to work. It was just what we did, and I think when you enjoy something to that extent, time flies. It has always been, ‘Let’s go to the gym, let’s go to the game, let’s be involved at Otterbein.’”
In his long span, Reynolds has been a part of very successful teams. In the 2001-2002 season, the Cardinals won their first national championship, finishing the season 30-3 and winning the OAC despite being picked to finish sixth in the conference in a preseason coaches’ poll.
Reynolds has also been a part of difficult seasons like the current one, as the Cardinals stand at 6-13 overall and 3-9 in the OAC.
Records aside, Reynolds has implemented a program during his career that embodies the making of a responsible and mature athlete.
“A lot of times people don’t understand that coaching is not a 4 o’clock to 6 o’clock job. There is probably more coaching that’s taken place in the office than there is on the floor,” Reynolds said.
“I want to try to present to (the athlete) the discipline and relationships and respect and not being judgmental of each other, and all those things play into what a family is about and what society’s about. How to know when to stand up, speak up and shut up,” he said.
Out of the many players to come through the program, Reynolds said that he has had only one player not graduate.
Along with the discipline, preparation and planning that he preaches to his players, Reynolds factors in the importance of a coach as a mentor.
“We are able to sit down frequently and talk not just about basketball, but about life in general,” senior point guard Mark Louks said. “It’s a good feeling because he has been around and seen different occurrences.”
Reynolds’ decision to retire was echoed by his wife.“He’s been very confident in his decision and is curious to see what the future will hold, because he is as inexperienced in a different way of life as I am, but the questions that we both have had is what will we do, and it’s going to be fun to figure that out,” Ellen Reynolds said.
Reynolds and his wife will have been married 43 years this April. He plans on spending more time with her and his family after retiring.
“Overall I can leave Otterbein saying, ‘Hey, I gave them a day’s work for a day’s pay,’” Reynolds said.
