Dave Kemmy, who made quite a name for himself as one of the winningest high school and collegiate wrestling coaches, is on the move to bigger and better things.

Recently, the National Wrestling Coaches Association, located in Manheim, Pa., announced that Mr. Kemmy has been hired to assume the position of Deputy Director of the NWCA.  His primary duties include the oversight of the NWCA business office/human resources and acting as a chief operating officer of the organization.

“Dave brings over 30 years of extensive experience as a very successful Division III college coach and athletic director,” said Mike Moyer, NWCA executive director. “As he served as a coach and athletic director at Roger Williams University, he volunteered to serve on the NWCA Board of Directors as well as a mentor for the college coaches CEO Leadership Academy, so he is intimately familiar with our flagship NWCA programs and activities.”

Most recently, Dave Kemmy served Roger Williams University in a variety of roles, including director of conferences/advancement assistant; and director of athletics, intramurals and recreation.

As a collegiate head coach, Kemmy was among the best at developing and nurturing young talent. He was head coach of the Roger Williams wrestling team for a number of years, as well as associate men’s lacrosse coach, and head women’s soccer coach.

He also made a mark for himself as head wrestling coach at the former Bristol High School, where he developed some of the best wrestlers in the state of Rhode Island.

Before coming to Roger Williams, Coach Kemmy served as sports information director at Rhode Island College, where he also served as head men’s soccer coach.

Coach Kemmy also received a number of prestigious awards throughout his career, including induction into the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, induction into the New England College Conference Wrestling Hall of Fame, Roger Williams University Staff “Mentor of the Year,” induction into the Bristol Athletic Hall of Fame, induction into the R.I. Wrestling Hall of Fame, and induction into the Roger Williams University Athletic Hall of Fame.

He was also selected USA Wrestling “Northeast Region State Chairperson of the Year,” R.I. High School Wrestling “Coach of the Year,” and USA Wrestling-Rhode Island “Man of the Year.” 

A resident of Lindberg Avenue in Bristol, Kemmy is a member of the Bristol Narrows Improvement Association (president and board of directors), a neighborhood association that hosts events and provides scholarships to high school students. He’s also been a member of the Bristol County Lodge of Elks since 2008.

Coach Kemmy is a graduate of Rhode Island College with a bachelor of arts degree in Mass Communications (minor in Gerontology), and a master of science degree in Recreation and Sport Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.

In summation, Coach Kemmy is thrilled to get this opportunity of a lifetime.  

“I’m really excited about this opportunity to play a part in helping the sport of wrestling and our coaches on a national scale,” he said. “I never thought things would progress to this level, but it’s a great way to truly help the sport that I have always loved. Working on wrestling items all day, every day, is pretty cool.”