College Sports Information Directors of America

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Tom Nelson – St. Cloud State University (Retired)

CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award

by Kelsey Whaley, St. Cloud State Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

For 24 years, until his retirement four months ago in January, Tom Nelson told the story of the St. Cloud State University athletics department. He sat through countless quarters, halves, periods and innings. He endured the crippling cold and stifling sun, valiant victories and disheartening defeats. Nelson experienced all the triumphs of being a collegiate athletic communications professional and all the tribulations. He persevered through the dawning of the new age known as the worldwide web and the wildfire growth of social media.
 
Yes, Tom Nelson was there for it all. When he started his career in sports information at Aurora University in 1986, mimeographs were used instead of copiers. Computers weren’t a thought in anyone’s mind. The fax machine was still all the rage in the office world, and the first phone call made after a win or loss was to the local newspaper. No fancy graphics. No tweets or ‘grams or snaps or posts. Just the games, the people and newspapers. And of course, Tom Nelson.
 
“I’ve had the good fortune to spend more than 25 years working in collegiate athletics, including nearly 24 years at St. Cloud State,” commented Nelson. “The opportunity to work with the outstanding student-athletes, coaches, media and staff has been a rewarding experience, everywhere I’ve worked.”
 
Nelson is recognized as a recipient of a 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). These awards are annually presented to the organization’s members who have served at least 25 years in the profession and who are retiring, have retired or are leaving the profession.
 
 
Nelson certainly fits that bill, as he was a steady constant in the St. Cloud State athletic department before retiring in mid-January.
 
In 24 years, Nelson moved up the ranks, starting as the department’s Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations in 1996 before being promoted to the Assistant Athletics Director of Strategic Communications in 2017. In that time, Nelson served as the primary media contact for multiple sports, including men’s hockey, and headed several major projects, including the overhaul of the St. Cloud State athletics website.
 
It is hard to believe, but there was a time when Nelson wasn’t with the Huskies. Prior to being hired as the assistant director of athletic media relations in 1996, Nelson was a 1983 graduate of North Central College. He spent three years in general media and sports journalism before embarking on his 25-plus year sojourn through college athletics, beginning at Aurora in 1986. Nelson spent six years with the Spartans as a sports information director before making the trek to historic Collegeville, Minnesota for a four-year stint at Saint John’s University.
 
“It worked out,” said Nelson of the opportunity. “One day, I’m living in Illinois, and the next, I’m in St. Cloud, Minnesota working for the Johnnies.”
 
Four years later in 1996, Nelson was hired at St. Cloud State, and the rest is history. He spent 24 years in the department, and his hard work certainly didn’t go unnoticed, as Nelson racked up plenty of awards, achievements and recognition for his work in the athletic communications world.
 
In addition to this Lifetime Achievement Award, Nelson received the CoSDIA Achievement Award in 2015 and was named the 2014 Small College Wrestling SID of the Year for his work with the Huskies wrestling program. Additionally, Nelson served as the Central Region coordinator for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), was media coordinator for numerous USA Hockey Player Development Camps and has been the media steward for the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Baseball Tournament since 1997.
 
And yet, all this pales in comparison to the influences Nelson has had on Huskies athletics and the greater St. Cloud State community.
 
When the Huskies joined the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in 2013-14, Nelson coined the phrase “the always rugged NCHC” to the point where a gaping hole was left anytime it didn’t appear in a media release. At least one sentence in every news release would begin with the phrase “of note”. Photobombing post game press conferences was a sacred ritual amongst the athletic media relations staff, and there was never a bad time to archive photos, whether physical or digital.
 
“It was something I tried to incorporate over time,” Nelson said of his sense of humor. “The job is very time consuming. It eats away at your days and weekends, and you could get burned out, if not for a good laugh every now and again.”
 
An avid collector of salt and pepper shakers, state maps and hockey pucks, most will remember Nelson for his wit and dry sense of humor. There are coaches who can’t remember a time when Nelson was serious, save for the moment he told them he was retiring. Many recall with a laugh the time he opened post game press conferences with borderline ridiculous questions, such as this particular favorite from a post game men’s hockey presser:
 
“So, have you been to the new Popeyes in town yet?”
 
Others will remember him as an archive, the holder of all wisdom and knowledge when it comes to Huskies sports. Almost everyone will remember him as a mentor and friend.
 
There’s no denying the legacy he will leave behind at St. Cloud State. Nelson may be the most laid back SID you’ll ever meet, but he’s one of the hardest workers in the business. He’s the cool dad you want at every backyard jamboree. He’s a humble Husky, to steal a phrase coined by St. Cloud State head baseball coach Pat Dolan. He’s irreplaceable, and he is a storyteller, perhaps the best the Huskies have ever seen.