University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
Nick Castro was announced as UNC Asheville's first head coach for Women's Flag Football on May 29, 2026.Â
Castro brings an extensive background in athletics, education, coaching, and sport performance to Asheville. He currently serves as the athletic director, health and physical education teacher, and football and basketball coach at Brevard Academy. Prior to that role, Castro spent four years as an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and two years as an assistant professor at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Castro earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Education with a concentration in Sport, Exercise, and Nutrition from Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2018. During his doctoral studies, he received multiple research and academic honors, including the New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarship and Massey University Doctoral Research Scholarship.
In addition to his collegiate teaching and research background, Castro has years of coaching and athletic administration experience at both the collegiate and high school levels. He previously served as a graduate assistant with the football program at Western Carolina University and has coached football and basketball throughout his career.
Castro has also built an impressive academic and research résumé, publishing multiple peer-reviewed journal articles focused on physical activity, nutrition, childhood obesity, and cardiometabolic health. He has presented his work nationally and internationally through organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education.
UNC Asheville announced the addition of women's flag football as a club sport with the intention of it being moved to a varsity-level sport, earlier this year as part of the department's continued commitment to expanding opportunities for female student-athletes.
