Rick Nyman

Sports Director

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Rick Nyman grew up in Anniston, Alabama and attended the University of Alabama. His television career started at WJSU-TV in Anniston where he had the opportunity to cover SEC football with Alabama and Auburn. Anniston is just 20 minutes from the Talladega Speedway, so NASCAR was a big part of his sports coverage. Due to this he was able to interview Davey Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and several other top-name NASCAR drivers.

Rick’s next television job was in Savannah, Georgia, where he covered basketball player Kwame Brown (now with the Washington Wizards), who later became the first ever high school player selected as the top pick in the NBA draft. He covered the PGA Tour’s annual swing thru Hilton Head and also had the opportunity of covering the Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl appearance in 1999 in Miami.

Rick especially enjoys all the atmosphere, tradition and drama of college football. He also likes profiling sports personalities and learning what drives them both on and off the field. If he’s not covering sports, he’s either watching Seinfield or David Letterman, playing golf, reading, or working out. What he enjoys about Chattanooga is the passion people have for sports. The mountainous region of Chattanooga reminds him of his hometown of Anniston, which also has big, beautiful trees and plenty of hills.

You can contact Rick at rnyman@wdef.com.

Articles

Three Heritage Softball Players Sign College Scholarships

Ringgold, GA-(WDEF-TV) Big signing day at Heritage High School on Wednesday as three members of the Lady Generals softball team signed college scholarships. Bailey Davis is headed to East Georgia. Bailey Christol signed with West Georgia, and pitcher Rachel Gibson…

Mocs Basketball Picked to Finish 7th in the SoCon

(soconsports.com) SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNC Greensboro is the coaches’ preseason favorite and Furman is the media’s pick to win the 2020-21 Southern Conference men’s basketball title in polling of the league’s 10 men’s basketball coaches and media. UNCG senior guard…

Legendary Softball Coach Clifford Kirk Dies

Legendary high school softball coach Clifford Kirk passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83. Kirk won ten state titles. Eight coming at Soddy Daisy and two at Hixson. Soddy Daisy's stadium is named for Kirk, as well as…

Chattanooga Christian Football Season Becomes COVID Casualty

Chattanooga Christian's high school football season became a COVID casualty after an outbreak at their school. The Hamilton County Health Department recommended CCS cancel in class activities, as well as extracurricular activities, including football. That meant the Chargers had to…

Bama LSU Game Postponed by COVID

No. 1 Alabama at LSU won't be played Saturday because of COVID-19 issues at LSU. The Tide's game against the defending national champion Tigers is in danger of not being played at all. Both teams are coming off their open…

Vols Texas A&M Game Saturday Postponed and Rescheduled For Dec 12th

(utsports.com) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday's Tennessee-Texas A&M football game in Neyland Stadium has been postponed due to a combination of positive tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Texas A&M football program, consistent with Southeastern Conference COVID-19 management…

Quiet Start to Masters Week at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Augusta National has never looked so spacious on the first practice day for the Masters. That's because hardly anyone was there. So much has changed about this Masters, which is being played in November for the…

Vols Hope to Fix Third Quarter ‘Horror Show’

When the Tennessee Volunteers come out of the locker room at halftime for the third quarter, that’s when the horror show starts. The Vols have lost four straight largely because they’ve been outscored 61-7 in the third quarter. Their latest…

Auburn-Miss State Game Postponed Due to Coronavirus

The Southeastern Conference is taking a hit from COVID-19. The conference has postponed Saturday’s game between No. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 cases and quarantining within the Bulldogs’ program. No. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities…

Mike Mike Baxter Posting Highlight Reel Runs For CCS

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Despite playing only seven regular season games, CCS running back JaMichael Baxter still rushed for over a thousand yards with 14 touchdowns. And it seems like all of Mike Mike's scores are made for the highlight reel. In back-to-back…

Vols Capping Basketball Attendance at 4,000 This Season

(utsports.com) To align with state and local social-distancing guidelines for public gatherings, Tennessee Athletics has finalized its adjusted seating model for the 2020-21 basketball season at Thompson-Boling Arena. Pending the status of the pandemic, our hope is that this plan…

Baylor Playoff Game Date Changed Due to COVID

(Baylor release) Baylor School officials announced Thursday that members of its football program may have been exposed to COVID-19.  The school, in consultation with the Hamilton County Health Department and the school’s medical advisors, has suspended operations of the football…

Jarrett Guarantano Remains Vols Starting Quarterback

Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt says Jarrett Guarantano will remain the starting quarterback Saturday against Arkansas. Pruitt says J-G understands the expectations, and he's better at getting the guys around him to play at a higher level. Pruitt hopes Guarantano and…

SEC Fines Florida Coach Dan Mullen $25,000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The Southeastern Conference has fined Florida football coach Dan Mullen $25,000 for his role in a benches-clearing brawl against Missouri. The league also issued half-game suspensions for Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey, offensive lineman Dylan Spencer and…

Titans Reportedly Waive DL Isaiah Mack

The Tennessee Titans have reportedly waived second year defensive lineman Isaiah Mack. Mack played college ball at UTC and graduated from NW Whitfield high school. He landed with the Titans as an unsigned free agent in 2019. He played in six…

McMinn Central Upsets Brainerd 26-22

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) McMinn Central upset Brainerd 26-22 on Thursday night to get their first region victory in four years. The Chargers got a 27 yard touchdown pass from Novice Cox to Darius Carden to go up 7-0 in the second quarter.…