Sam Nichols announced Monday that he will retire from his role as chief meteorologist at KTAB Abilene after 21 years, effective April 20, 2026.
"Over these past twenty-one years I have had the pleasure and honor of serving the people of the Big Country," Nichols posted on social. "In addition to the wonderful viewers, I have had the distinct privilege of working with colleagues that are not only true professionals, but dear friends as well. From tornadoes to floods, to droughts, it’s been a great ride but it’s time to hand the weather clicker over to someone else and have some free time for a change. I wonder what that will feel like! I cant wait to find out!!"
After retiring from a 33-year coaching career, Nichols returned to KTAB, where he previously spent 13 years as a weekend weather anchor and made his first television appearance delivering weekend weather forecasts in 1990.
He has been voted “Favorite TV Weather Person” multiple times in the Abilene Reporter-News Readers’ Choice Awards and received the prestigious Bell Award from the Texas Retired Teachers Association for outstanding media coverage of education issues.
Before entering television, Nichols spent 33 years coaching women’s basketball, including 12 seasons as head coach at McMurry University. He retired from coaching in 2007, having been the winningest women’s basketball coach in McMurry history. In 2017, he was inducted into the McMurry University Athletic Hall of Honor and later named the women’s basketball coach of the All-Century Team. In 2026, the university further recognized his legacy by naming the “Sam Nichols Court” and inducting him into McMurry’s Legends Corner on February 1, 2026.
During his tenure, Nichols coached four All-Americans, led multiple ASC West Division championship teams, and oversaw a program in which every student-athlete graduated within four years. He was named ASC West Coach of the Year in 2006, and three of his teams from the 1999–2000, 2005–2006, and 2006–2007 seasons were also inducted into the McMurry Athletic Hall of Honor.
Across his coaching career, Nichols’ teams won more than 70 percent of their games, earning him induction into the Women’s Basketball Coaches of America 600 Victory Club in 2005. A lifelong Abilene resident, Nichols attended McMurry University and earned his master’s degree in education from Abilene Christian University.
Nichols is the founder and president of Basketball Smiles, a nonprofit organization that provides free basketball camps in inner-city neighborhoods throughout the Bahamas. Founded in 1999, the organization celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024 and has served more than 12,000 children, becoming one of the largest free basketball camp programs in the Caribbean.
Nichols and his wife, Sandy, are active in numerous local charitable efforts and serve on the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee. Most recently, Nichols was selected by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command to represent Abilene and the Big Country as one of 30 civic leaders nationwide participating in the Air Mobility Command Civic Leaders Program.
"A big THANKS to all of you who have trusted me for your weather information for these past twenty-one years, I appreciate you all, so much - Especially the over 20,000 followers on my Facebook page – I will certainly miss my 'Facebook Live Severe Weather Updates,'" Nichols added. "I am in great health and looking forward to spending more time with Sandy, kids, and grandkids, along with more time at the golf course. On to my next adventure!"
