Former longtime Northern Michigan University athletic director and hockey coach Rick Comley returned to his alma mater as the athletic director on August 22, 2022.
Comley brought NCAA Division I national men's hockey championships to both NMU (1991) and Michigan State University (2007). He previously served Northern as athletic director for 13 years (1987-2000).
Comley, who was NMU's first and longest-serving head coach of the men's hockey program, is a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation's 2020 Legend of College Hockey recipient. He spent 26 years behind the Wildcat bench where he posted a 538-429-68 record. Comley began his coaching career at Lake Superior State University. He owns a combined 38-year career coaching record of 783-615-110, which ranks fifth on the all-time NCAA Division I coaching wins list.
He earned a master's degree in education from Northern in 1973 after completing his bachelor's in political science from LSSU. He was inducted into NMU's Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
Comley was selected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
