"Hammerin' Hank" Nichols (born July 20, 1936[1]) is an American college basketball referee and later supervisor of officials.
In 2012, he was inducted as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
[3][4] He officiated 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA)Final Fours, a record 6 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championships, 3 NIT Finals, 2 Olympic Games and 1 European Championships.
[7] In the fall of 1969, while at Duke, Nichols started his officiating career with six freshman Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball games.
In 1970, Nichols became assistant professor in the Department of Education and Human Services at Villanova, where he would remain for the next 33 years.
[7] That season, Nichols was one of the officials for the 1974 North Carolina State-Maryland ACC championship game.
Nichols said that game was the best he ever worked, and NC State's David Thompson as the greatest player he officiated.
[8] NC State won the game in overtime, and went on to win the national championship.