Minnesota State Mankato Tabs Scott Nelsen
Ringsted, Iowa, native Scott Nelsen has been named Interim Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Nelsen's hiring comes following the departure of former assistant Shane Drahota, who recently was named Assistant Athletic Director/Communications at the University of South Dakota.
Drahota, who hails from Jackson, Minn., began his sports information career with MSU as an undergraduate student beginning in 1998 and spent eight years in the MSU Athletic Communications office (including the last six years as a fulltime assistant) providing public relations support for all 23 of MSU's varsity athletics programs.
Nelsen served as a graduate assistant in the MSU Athletic Communications office from 2003-05 and spent this past year working as an intern for the Minnesota Vikings before accepting a fulltime position with the sports information office at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in October. He's a 2003 graduate of Peru (Neb.) State and is finishing his master's degree from MSU.
Mitchell Named Assistant at Saint Francis
Saint Francis University Director of Athletics Bob Krimmel has announced that Ben Mitchell has joined the Red Flash Athletics Department staff as the Assistant Sports Information Director. He replaces former Assistant SID Jesse Hooker, who recently accepted the same position at George Washington University.
Mitchell arrives in Loretto after graduating from Slippery Rock University in May with a double major in Sport Management and Communications (Emerging Technology). During his last semester at Slippery Rock, Mitchell served as the Marketing/Webcasting Intern at Villanova University. In the summer of 2005, he served as the Archives & Collections Intern at the College Football Hall of Fame.
A native of Homer City, Pa., Mitchell has also worked part-time in the athletic departments at the University of Notre Dame and Westminster College. He served in several different capacities to include administration and promotion of intramural sports programs, as well as event and facility management for NCAA Division II basketball and swimming.
While studying at Slippery Rock, Mitchell played an essential role in developing WSRU-TV, the student run television station, while serving as the stations General Manager. He has served as a volunteer track coach at Homer-Center High School, his alma mater, and he served as an assistant track coach in the Slippery Rock Area School District.
I am very pleased that Ben Mitchell is joining the Red Flash family, said Krimmel. His drive and personality makes him an excellent addition to our staff.
Dooley Moves to Tennessee State
Wallace Dooley is stepping down from his position as media director of the Southwestern Athletic Conference to become the associate athletic director for media relations at Tennessee State University, his alma mater. Dooley, who once worked at Alabama A&M, will move to Nashville after the annual SWAC Media Day this weekend in Birmingham.