CWRU Athletics

“Nip” Heim was among the most successful basketball coaches in CIT history. A graduate of Mount Union, Heim compiled a 128-121 win-loss record in his 15 years (1948 to 1962) as Rough Rider head coach, and he guided CIT’s first championship squad in the then new President’s Athletic Conference in1960-61. After his championship season in 1961, Heim retired from active coaching and was named CIT athletic director and head of the Physical Education Department, a position he held through 1970. In 1970, he was named the first athletic director of the newly federated Case Western Reserve University, a position he held until his retirement in 1974. Among his many honors, Heim was named to the Naismith Basketball Coaches’ Hall of Fame in 1967 as well as the Ohio Basketball Coaches’ Hall of Fame.

At the end of each academic year at CWRU, an award is presented annually in Heim’s name to the senior male student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contribution to Case Western Reserve University through the athletics program. The selection is based on if he demonstrated leadership in the team, maintained good academic standing in the University, demonstrated good sportsmanship, participated in at least two years in the CWRU athletics program, and demonstrated loyalty to team and University.