Dalhousie University Director of Varsity Athletics Karen Moore announced the signing of Richard Plato as the new head coach of the Dalhousie Tigers men's basketball team.
With an impressive 25-year history of producing high-performing Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) teams at Mount Saint Vincent University and a solid playing career with the Saint Mary’s basketball team, Plato will now take over the helm with the Tigers.
Plato started coaching the MSVU Mystics in 1989 and since that time has led the team to 14 appearances at the national championship, including two national medals (bronze in 1992 and silver in 2008). His teams have won 13 ACAA conference championships and they have been CCAA semifinalists in six of the last eight seasons. Plato has been named ACAA Coach of the Year on 13 occasions and received the national CCAA Coach of the Year honour in 2009. In addition to his coaching experience at MSVU, he also served as an assistant coach with the Saint Mary’s Huskies men’s program from 1981-84 and seven years as a high school coach.
“We are thrilled to have secured Rick Plato to lead our men’s basketball program,” says Moore of the newest addition to the Tigers coaching staff. “He has shown a long-standing commitment to success -- to see what he has been able to accomplish as a part-time coach in the highly competitive CCAA league is impressive. We look forward to what his experience, enthusiasm, and commitment to the student-athlete experience will add to our program.”
Rick’s 32-year career as a high school teacher ensures that he is keenly aware of the balance of athletics and academics, a formula that is critical to a successful coaching career at Dalhousie. He will retire from teaching this month after a 27-year stint at Charles P. Allen in Bedford, N.S.
A member of the SMU men’s basketball team from 1976-81 where he earned MVP and Athlete of the Year honours in 1981, Rick appreciates the role of university sport in student life. With two CIAU (now CIS) championship titles under his belt (1978 and 1979) and a spot in the SMU Sports Hall of Fame, he also knows what it’s like for a student-athlete to win while representing their school at the conference and national level.
“I am very thankful for the 25 years of support and encouragement shown from Mount Saint Vincent University, where I’ve had the privilege of coaching and mentoring a very special group of young men,” Coach Plato comments. “As I look at this new chapter, I see a tremendous opportunity to build on the successful tradition which Coach Campbell worked so hard to develop. I am honoured to be leading a program built on respect, integrity and making Dalhousie men’s basketball both an exciting team to watch and one that student-athletes are proud to be a part of.”