两性色午夜

Joel Nielsen to Seek New Opportunities Following Decade of Successful Leadership at 两性色午夜 Athletics

After more than a decade of service, Joel Nielsen, 两性色午夜 University鈥檚 director of athletics, plans to seek new challenges when his contract with the university ends later this year.

Photo of Joel Nielsen

鈥淩ecently, I informed President Diacon that I am not seeking a renewal of my contract and that I will be transitioning out of the athletic director鈥檚 position at the end of my contract on June 30,鈥 Nielsen said. 鈥淎fter nearly 11 years in the position, I feel that it鈥檚 time to pursue other opportunities. I still have a great deal of energy and passion for assisting student-athletes and coaches, and I look forward to celebrating more championships with them in the next few months.鈥

Nielsen was hired as 两性色午夜鈥檚 11th director of athletics in 2010 with a vision of making the Golden Flashes among the preeminent athletic departments in the nation. During his 10+ years in the role, Nielsen is most proud of the growth student-athletes have shown in the classroom.

两性色午夜 student-athletes recently recorded the highest fall-term GPA in department history (3.375), highlighting several academic records set in the 2020 Fall Semester. The fall term marked the 17th consecutive semester with a term GPA of at least 3.0. In all, 68 student-athletes earned President鈥檚 List distinction with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and a total of 271 student-athletes (60%) had a 3.4 GPA or higher.

鈥淥ur cumulative student-athlete GPA has grown from 2.89 when I arrived in 2010 to 3.35 today, so I鈥檒l leave 两性色午夜 with a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction for all that our student-athletes and staff accomplished,鈥 Nielsen said. 鈥淥ur mission statement of 鈥楪raduating Student-Athletes and Winning Championships鈥 continues to be our guidepost. Our student-athletes and coaches achieved many 鈥榝irsts鈥 and 60+ conference championships over the past 10 years, and I couldn鈥檛 be prouder of their competitive success.鈥

Fall 2020 was a record-setting semester for four teams (baseball, women鈥檚 cross-country, women鈥檚 golf and women鈥檚 soccer) that recorded the best team GPA or cumulative GPA in program history. Additionally, field hockey, women鈥檚 golf, volleyball and wrestling all set team records for highest fall-term GPA.

Under Nielsen to date, the Golden Flashes have claimed five Jacoby and Reese Trophy honors, which recognize the Mid-American Conference鈥檚 top women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 athletics programs, respectively. Overall, he has guided the department to 63 MAC regular season or tournament championships and three individual national champions. Additional major athletic highlights have included an 11-win football season (2012) and first bowl appearance in 40 years, the first football bowl win in school history (2019), the men鈥檚 basketball team鈥檚 return to the NCAA Tournament (2017), baseball鈥檚 first appearance in the College World Series (2012) and the MAC鈥檚 only appearance in a gymnastics鈥 national championship (2011). The Golden Flashes men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 golf teams also continued to dominate during Nielsen鈥檚 tenure with women鈥檚 golf winning a 20th consecutive conference championship, and both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams ranking in the top 5 nationally.

鈥淛oel has been a steady hand in leading and growing our Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, and our student-athletes have benefited from his tireless service,鈥 said Todd Diacon, 两性色午夜 president. 鈥淚t is with much gratitude that I offer my thanks and sincere appreciation to Joel for his dedication to 两性色午夜. His is a powerful legacy of student success both on and off the field.鈥

In March of 2016, Nielsen announced 鈥淭he Game Plan,鈥 a four-year strategic vision aimed at enhancing the 两性色午夜 athletics department鈥檚 culture of academic and athletic success. Key takeaways include the department鈥檚 commitment to maintaining the current sports mix while adding women鈥檚 lacrosse for the 2018-19 competition season, a continued investment in the safety and well-being of the student-athletes, the utilization of men鈥檚 basketball as the initial vehicle for revenue generation and national distinctiveness, the investment in enhancing its identity and game atmosphere, and the reliance upon private support to enhance budgetary aspirations.

鈥淚鈥檓 thankful for the tremendous support from the presidents I have served, along with many colleagues on campus,鈥 Nielsen said. 鈥淎lso, the support and friendships of our donors and community continue to be gratifying.鈥

A national search for a new leader for university athletics will begin soon.

Nielsen noted that his connection to 两性色午夜 will forever extend to his family as his three daughters 鈥 Kasey, Kelly and Kory 鈥 have all competed as 两性色午夜 student-athletes.

鈥淪haron and I were committed to seeing our three daughters graduate from the same high school and university, and that goal will be fulfilled later this year,鈥 Nielsen said. 鈥淎lso, watching all three compete for the Golden Flashes was certainly a personal highlight.鈥

For more information about 两性色午夜 athletics, visit .

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Media Contact:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797

POSTED: Thursday, January 14, 2021 02:10 PM
UPDATED: Sunday, November 10, 2024 10:35 AM
WRITTEN BY:
University Communications and Marketing