Adam Nightingale - Staff Directory - Michigan State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Adam Nightingale

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
Phone:
355-1639

Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Michigan State in 2005

MSU Accolades
2024 Big Ten Coach of the Year
2024 Big Ten Regular Season Champion
2024 Big Ten Tournament Champion

2024 Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year Finalist
2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year Finalist

Collegiate Playing Experience:
Lake Superior State 1999-2002
Michigan State 2003-05
   NCAA Qualifier (2004)
   Great Lakes Invitational Title (2004)
   Spartan Fitness Award (2004)

Previous Coaching Experience:
Head Coach, USNTDP, 2020-22
IIHF U-18 World Championship Silver Medal (2022)

Assistant Coach, Detroit Red Wings, 2019-20
Video Coach, Detroit Red Wings, 2017-19
Video Coach, Buffalo Sabres, 2016-17
Video Coach/Hockey Operations Michigan State 2010-14

Head Coach, Shattuck-St. Mary’s
       Bantam, 2014-16
       Midget AA, 2008-10

Its difficult to overstate the impact that Adam Nightingale has had on the Michigan State hockey program since his hiring in May 2022. The Spartan head coach and his staff have rekindled the program’s “Commitment to Excellence” as preached by Ron Mason, which in turn has not only has reinvigorated the local community’s support of the program, but also returned Michigan State to its place among college hockey’s elite with eyes set on sustained Big Ten and national success.

The hallmarks of the Nightingale regime include consistent player development and improvement and a keen attention to fostering strong relationships within the campus and surrounding community.

Inheriting a team that won just 12 games in the season before he returned to East Lansing, Nightingale earned the program’s first post-season victories in a decade in his first campaign and improved the team by six wins. In 2023-24, he guided the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a dozen years and captured both the regular season and Big Ten Tournament titles, earning more victories than in any season since 2008. In his first two seasons, he owns a 43-28-5 overall record (.583), second-best among all MSU coaches through two seasons - only Nightingale’s college coach, Rick Comley, (46-31-4) has more wins in his first two Spartan campaigns.

The success on the ice has the surrounding community recalling the best days of the Spartan hockey program, where sellouts were the norm at Munn Ice Arena. In 2023-24, Michigan State welcomed 110,117 people through the turnstiles in its 17 home games, (10th nationally), averaging 6,482 per game, (sixth). Michigan State has sold out 23 of its last 24 home games and 21 consecutive home games against Big Ten opponents dating back to January 2023.

Nightingale’s coaching trajectory includes quality experience at every level of competitive hockey - international, professional, collegiate and youth. Whether at the top high school for developing young talent (Shattuck-St. Mary’s), the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP), collegiately at Michigan State, and with experience as both a video and bench coach in the NHL, the Spartan mentor has built a reputation of exceptional player development. At every steo of his career, Nightingale has developed strong recruiting ties and professional relationships through all levels of hockey, helping him identify, coach, and develop young talent to reach their goals both on the ice and for life beyond hockey.

The 2024 Big Ten Coach of the Year and Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year finalist guided the Spartans to Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, the first for the program on both fronts. His squad finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 25-10-3 record (16-6-2 B1G), the most victories since 2007-08. Michigan State captured its first regular-season league title in 23 seasons and its first postseason tournament trophy since 2006, and advanced to the NCAA regional final. A total of six Spartans earned All-Big Ten postseason awards, and Artyom Levshunov was named an All-American, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Levshunov, ranked second among North American Skaters in advance of the 2024 draft and was one of two MSU regulars who were the youngest at their position in the country - freshman netminder Trey Augustine backstopped the Spartans with a .915 save percentage and led the nation with 1113 saves, earning a spot as a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s top goaltender and also picking up Second Team All-Big Ten honors.

Adam Nightingale

Nightingale has been building East Lansing and the Spartan hockey program into a developmental destination. Over his first two seasons, a total of 18 veteran players have posted career-best offensive numbers and Spartan freshmen in 2023-24 were among the most impactful players at their positions at any school in the country.

Nightingale’s goal to recreate a culture of winning hockey within the Spartan program took a huge step forward in his first two seasons. Winning 18 games – the third-most for a first-year head coach in program history – the Spartans finished in fifth place in the Big Ten standings after being selected seventh in the pre-season coaches poll. The squad posted a six-win improvement from the 2021-22 campaign, which was also the most victories for a Spartan team in more than a decade. In the postseason, Michigan State earned its first-ever Big Ten Tournament victory over Notre Dame, and went on to defeat the Irish in the best-of-three quarterfinal series to earn their way into the semifinals against top-ranked Minnesota. Nightingale was one of three finalists for Big Ten Coach of the Year at season’s end.

While asking his charges to focus on process and improvement, nine Spartans posted career-best offensive numbers during Nightingale’s first season.
The summer of 2023 yielded a pair of second-round NHL draft picks - MSU had two picks in the top two rounds of the same draft for the first time since 2006. Trey Augustine went 41st overall to the Detroit Red Wings and Maxim Štrbák was the 45th overall selection by the Buffalo Sabres) .
Nightingale served as head coach at the US National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich from 2020-22. Guiding some of the top talent in world in the age group, he led his team to a silver medal at the U.S. Under-18 Men’s World Championships in 2022. His roster boasted 22 Division I commitments and seven players selected in the first round of the 2022 or 2023 NHL Drafts.

Nightingale has supported seven U.S. teams on the international stage, which includes his head coaching duties with the U18’s in 2022 and as a coach for the bronze medal-winning 2021 U.S. Men’s World Championship Team. Previously, he was video coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team three consecutive years (2017-19), including for the bronze medal-winning 2018 squad. He was also the video coach for the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team.

Prior to his time with the USNTDP, the Cheboygan, Michigan, native spent four seasons on NHL staffs. From 2017-20, he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization. As an assistant coach in 2019-20, he was responsible for player development, pre-scouting opponents and running the penalty kill. He worked as the video coach for his first two years in Detroit, a role he also held for the Buffalo Sabres in 2016-17.

Before joining the pro ranks, Nightingale served as head coach of the Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14U (Bantam) Team in Faribault, Minnesota for two seasons (2014-16), leading the team to a national championship in 2016 as well as two years (2008-10) as the head coach of the Shattuck midget AA squad.

Between his stints at Shattuck, Nightingale was the director of hockey operations at Michigan State, serving at his alma mater overseeing all team video and travel.
While he began his collegiate career at Lake Superior State, (2000-02), the final two seasons of Nightingale’s collegiate playing career came at Michigan State (2003-05). Over a combined 118 games, he totaled 37 points (18g-19a). At MSU, he served as alternate captain for both of his playing seasons, and won the Spartan Fitness Award in 2004. Nightingale then went on to play parts of four seasons in the ECHL with the Gwinnett Gladiators, Greenville Grrrowl and Charlotte Checkers.

Nightingale’s family includes his wife, Kristin, and three children, Trevor, Emmerson and Keeton. His older brother, Jason, is the Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting for the Buffalo Sabres, while his younger brother, Jared, is also a Spartan alumnus and is the head coach of the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL).