EAST STROUDSBURG, PA - Long-time East Stroudsburg University Sports Information Director Pete Nevins died Saturday at Lehigh Valley Hospice in Allentown. He was 68.
He was the beloved husband of Gail Nevins with whom he celebrated 45 years of marriage on Dec. 23rd.
Nevins spent 33 years as ESUs Sports Information Director before his retirement and then wrote a column for The Pocono Record in East Stroudsburg. He arrived in the Poconos in 1969 and handled public relations, promotions, special events during his tenure at ESU. He wrote articles on more than 12,000 ESU athletic events that involved more than 5,000 student-athletes.
Nevins was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame and received the Warren Berg Award as the nation's outstanding college division SID. He served two terms on the CoSIDA Board of Directors, 1974-75 and 1978-80.
He also won the ECAC-SIDA's top honor, the Irving T. Marsh Award. This past summer, he was presented with the Bob Kenworthy Good Person Award at the annual ECAC-SIDA Convention. The award is presented to an exceptional person who through their actions shows the same respect for the profession, their fellow SID's, the media and community as Bob Kenworthy did during his long
and successful career.
Nevins served as president of the ECAC-SIDA in 1976-77 and was a member of the NCAA Public Relations Committee for seven years. He also was president of the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance in 1967-68. He was honored with a CoSIDA first place national writing award in 2000. He also won more than 30 national publications awards.
Nevins taught a graduate course in Public Relations in Sport Management at ESU. He wrote the sports section for the book, "Pride and Promise, a Centennial History of East Stroudsburg University."
Nevins helped start the Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Luncheons and was instrumental in developing the careers of SIDs all over the country. He served on panels at conferences and was a backup radio announcer for Warriors football. He volunteered his time to keep statistics at ESU football and basketball games and was a frequent contributor to the universitys Alumni Herald. His College Corner column ran each week in the Pocono Record and detailed the collegiate accomplishments of Monroe County student-athletes. He was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Basketball Writers of America and the Football Writers of America. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves.
The New York City native received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami in 1960 and a master's degree in Health and Physical Education from East Stroudsburg in 1984.
Nevins spent seven and a half years as a sportswriter at the Bridgeport (Conn.) Post-Telegram. He also served as the sports information director at the University of Bridgeport from 1963-69.
Nevins was on the board of the Friends of the Eastern Monroe Public Library and also the librarys Foundation board; and was a volunteer facilitator at The Older Adult Learning Center in East Stroudsburg. He previously was involved in coaching Minor League in Stroudsburg and president of the Clearview School PTO.
He is also survived by two sons: Douglas Nevins and his wife, Jenifer (Lewis) Nevins, of West Chester; Daniel Nevins and his wife, Lisa (Swart) Nevins, of Wayne; grandchildren Sean, Henlee and Kendall of West Chester, Luke of Wayne, and Natalie and Phoebe of Wayne and Dublin, Ireland; his brother, Bert Nevins, Jr. and his wife, Frances, of Plantation, FL; his sister Peggy Windsor and her husband, Raymond, of Plantation, FL; and three nephews, Scott Windsor and Aaron and Nathan Nevins.
Saturday, Jan. 13, a calling hour will begin at 10:30 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. at the Abeloff Center for Performing Arts at the front circle of East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg. Directions are I-80, Exit 308; right onto Prospect St. and right at second light into Front Circle at ESU.
Memorial contributions can be made to: Peter Nevins Scholarship Fund, East Stroudsburg University Foundation, 200 Prospect St., East Stroudsburg, PA 18301.