NIC WRESTLING: Sebaaly placed on administrative leave

By PRESS STAFF

North Idaho College has placed wrestling coach Mike Sebaaly on paid administrative leave, chief communications officer Laura Rumpler confirmed on Wednesday.

Sebaaly was placed on leave on Friday for an undetermined period of time.

NIC is scheduled to open the season with the annual Red-Gray Duals on Oct. 23, then host NAIA Montana State-Northern on Friday, Oct. 29.

NIC athletic director Shawn Noel is leading practices in the interim during Sebaaly’s absence.

As it is a personnel issue, NIC declined further comment.

Sebaaly was hired to serve as interim president in October 2022, after the board fired former President Rick MacLennan without cause. His assistant, Chase Clasen was named interim coach for the 2021-22 season. Clasen was named head coach at Division II Concordia in Seward, Neb., on April 19.

Nick Swayne was hired as the school's new president on Aug. 1.

In May, NIC hired former Cardinal wrestler Tyler McLean as interim coach, with the intention of McLean remaining on staff as an assistant once Sebaaly returned as head coach, but Rumpler also confirmed that McLean has since left the program to pursue a head coaching job in Washington state.

Sebaaly, in his third year at NIC, served as the head wrestling coach at Northwest Kansas Technical College before coming to Coeur d'Alene.