Jeff Nelson Position: Head Coach Experience: 5th Season Alma Mater: Ball State '86

Jeff Nelson is in his fifth season as the University of New Mexico head volleyball coach in what promises to be a long and successful tenure. The head mentor of the Lobo volleyball team is signed through the 2017. That covers the long. The success? How about back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances after New Mexico went 15 straight years without a tournament berth? How about three straight 20-win seasons? Yes, that covers the successes, but just a part, because under Nelson, it's been both on the court, in the community, and in the classroom as well.

First, to the on-the-court success stories. 2010 saw the Lobos go 20-10 for the second consecutive season, winning 16 of their final 20 games to get their second straight NCAA Tournament. The squad finished 12-4 in the Mountain West Conference, good for a second place finish and the second-most conference wins in school history. The 12 wins were a school record since joining the MWC in 1999.

The second place finish was the best of the Nelson era, and it was UNM's highest finish in the Mountain West Conference since 2000. New Mexico had finished in third place each of the three previous seasons under Nelson's lead.

Under Nelson's direction, the Lobos have seen increases in several areas, most notably the win column, postseason honors and attendance in the Johnson Center. The second straight 20-10 record gave the Lobos three straight 20-win seasons for the first time since 1989-91. That kind of success usually garners regional and national attention, and it did in the form of plenty of postseason honors.

The Lobos picked up their third and fourth AVCA All-America honors under Nelson when seniors Jade Michaelsen and Lisa Meeter were each named honorable mention. They join Taylor Hadfield (2009) and Jeannie Fairchild (2008) as All-America honorees under Nelson. Those four are half the Lobos' all-time total of All-America selections: Karen Saavedra-Warnock (2nd team; 1988), Pauline Manser (1st team; 1990 and 1991), Maria Gurreri (2nd team; 1990), and Sharon Browning (2nd team; 1992).

The Lobos also racked up plenty of conference and regional honors. Michaelsen and Meeter, along with Taylor Hadfield, were all All-West selections by the AVCA. In the Mountain West, all three were named First Team All-MWC, with Allison Buck earning the same as well as Libero of the Year honors. Not to be outdone, Kelly Williamson was named Third Team CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America as well.

With all those accolades, it was only fitting that Nelson be named the 2010 Mountain West Coach of the Year.

Attendance also continues to increase at the Johnson Center as Lobo fans come out to make it tough on UNM opponents. UNM posted its second-best season attendance average in 2010 at 2,232, good enough for 12th in the nation. The Lobos drew a school-record 33,480 through the turnstiles in 2010 as well. In fact, the Lobos ended the season with a streak of 35 consecutive matches of 1,000 fans or more.

The work in the classroom also stays at a high level. Eleven Lobo volleyball student-athletes were named to the Fall 2010 Academic All-Mountain West Conference Team - Mariah Agre, Rachel Barber, Allison Buck, Miquella Lovato, Lisa Meeter, Jade Michaelsen, Ashley Newman, Ashley Rhoades, Lexi Ross, Kelly Williamson and Amy Wong. Meeter and Michaelsen are four-year honorees while Buck and Williamson have been named three times each.

In 2009, UNM went 20-10 record gave UNM back-to-back 20 win seasons. The Lobos also had an AVCA All-American honoree for the second year in a row. Junior Taylor Hadfield became the sixth Lobo to receive All-America honors in December 2009.

Attendance also continued to rise as UNM posted its then third-best season attendance average in 2009 at 1,677, good enough for 23rd in the nation. Nine Lobo volleyball student-athletes were named to the Fall 2009 Academic All-Mountain West Conference Team - Allison Buck, Lisa Meeter, Jade Michaelsen, Rose Morris, Ashley Rhoades, Jordan Russell, Allie Suiter, Kelly Williamson and Amy Wong. Suiter is a four-year honoree and seven Lobos were named 2009-10 Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athletes - Rachel Barber, Lisa Meeter, Jade Michaelsen, Jordan Russell, Allie Suiter, Kelly Williamson and Amy Wong.

In 2008, New Mexico finished the season 22-7, the most wins by a Lobo team since 1991, while finishing third in the MWC at 11-5, also the most league wins since 1991.

Senior Jeanne Fairchild was named the program's first AVCA All-American (third team) since 1992, the fifth in UNM history. Fairchild became the first Lobo to be named MWC Player of the Year and repeat as an all-MWC honoree. For the first time there were multiple Lobos on the all-MWC list as Fairchild was joined by senior libero Gayle Tripp and sophomore setter Jade Michaelsen.

In the classroom, many of the Lobos excelled in 2008-09. Fairchild was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI Team, while junior Allie Suiter earned the team's top Academic Award for the second year in a row. Nine Lobos were named to MWC Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MWC lists during the year.

The Lobos also saw an increase in attendance at Johnson Arena for the second consecutive season. UNM averaged 1,570 fans in 2008, ranking 20th in the nation. At the time it was the largest attendance average since the Lobos played in The Pit in 1997 and included four matches with more than 2,000 in attendance.

During Nelson's first season with the Lobos, junior Jeanne Fairchild became just the second Lobo to earn All-Mountain West Conference honors and Lisa Meeter was the first Lobo to be named Mountain West Freshman of the Year. Eight Lobos were recognized for their classroom work by the MWC. The team also saw an increase in wins (16-13) and attendance average (847/match).

Nelson took over the UNM program in 2007 after four seasons directing the Dons of the University of San Francisco. Nelson compiled a 76-51 record, including the Dons' first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003.

Nelson has a 16-year collegiate record of 320-187, which includes eight seasons (1995-2002) and five NCAA bids as the head coach at Texas Tech. Nelson was a real success story at San Francisco. Prior to his arrival in 2003, the Dons had suffered 15 straight losing seasons and posted just two winning campaigns in 26 years of competition. USF's overall record from 1977-2002 was 229-494 (.316) and the program had never been to the NCAA Tournament.

In Nelson's first season, USF logged a 23-8 record, smashing the school record for single-season wins. The Dons won their first 16 matches of the season, then finished fourth in the highly-regarded West Coast Conference to earn the school's first NCAA bid. The 17-win improvement from 2002 is the greatest turnaround in the history of the WCC. USF was also ranked in the top-25 for the first time.

San Francisco was 23-10 in 2006 as it posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history. The Dons were 18-12 in 2005. Despite just four years at USF, Nelson left as the school's all-time winningest women's volleyball coach. At Texas Tech, Nelson had a 166-96 ledger in his eight seasons. He guided the Red Raiders to five 20-win seasons and five trips to the NCAA Tournament. Nelson had more tournament victories than any previous Red Raiders coach (15) and boasted a career winning percentage of .634.

Nelson produced an American Coaches Volleyball Association (AVCA) All-American (Colleen Smith), a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient and nine AVCA All-Region Team selections by seven different players. Nine players earned all-conference honors, including the 2000 Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of Year as well as the 2001 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

During Nelson's tenure in Lubbock, his team achieved excellence in the classroom, responding with 28 Big-12 All-Academic selections. In addition, Jill Burness earned the Verizon/CoSIDA Volleyball Academic All-American of the Year award in 1996.

In addition to his impressive resume from Texas Tech, Nelson enjoyed similar success at every stop during his career both as a player and as a coach. As a volleyball player at Ball State University, his collegiate team advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1985. He helped guide Muncie Burris High School to the 1995 Indiana State Volleyball Championship with a 42-0 record while serving as an assistant coach.

As a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska, he was part of a program that placed runner-up at the 1986 NCAA Championships. From Nebraska, he was named assistant head coach in 1988 and head coach of the Minnesota Monarchs of Major League Volleyball for the 1989 season. He led the Monarchs to a 9-0 start in 1989 and coached the East All-Star team.

After the MLV folded, Nelson joined the University of Minnesota as an assistant coach. He helped the Golden Gophers post a 29-9 record, finish second in the Big Ten Conference, and advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 1989.

Nelson was also involved with the club circuit in Minnesota. During the 1989-90 school year, he coached the Golden Spike Juniors, who placed third nationally among the U.S. Junior Olympians 18 & Under group and produced two USJO All-Americans and three high school All-Americans. Nelson also has international experience as he was named the assistant coach for the 1991 U.S. Junior National Boys team. In 1992, he coached the Junior National Boys teams to the Canada Cup Challenge championship.

In 1993, Nelson was the assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic Festival women's North Team that won a bronze medal in San Antonio. He was assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic Festival men's West Team in St. Louis in 1994. That same year he coached the Sun Devil Volleyball Club team to runner-up honors in the U.S. Women's Open Championships, where three team members were selected as All-Americans.

From 1990 to 1995, Nelson helped Arizona State earn three NCAA appearances (1992-93-94) - including a pair of Sweet Sixteen showings - and one NIVC berth (1990). During his five years as recruiting coordinator, Nelson signed four high school All-Americans. He also doubled as the Arizona State men's club team coach where he guided the Sun Devils to three Cactus Region championships and three Top-10 national finishes. Nelson produced five All-Americans and one USA Open All-American, placed seventh in the U.S. Open and hosted the 1994 National Club championships. His 1994 club team posted a 68-5 record and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation.

Nelson was also active in youth club volleyball at Arizona State. From 1992 to 1995 Nelson coached the 18 & Under East Valley Volleyball Club to the 1994 and 1995 Cactus Region championship and reached the USJO Final 16 at the USA National Championships.

Twenty-three of his former club athletes received Division I scholarships, three were selected as Junior National team members, while five were named high school All-Americans. Nelson also served on the Cactus Region Board of Directors from 1992 to 1995 and the Sun Country Region Board from 2001-2003.

A native of Austin, Minn., Nelson received his bachelor's of arts degree from Ball State in 1986, after attending Austin Community College. He played setter, outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Cardinals.

Nelson currently chairs the AVCA Hall of Fame Committee and serves on the NCAA West Region Committee. He served on the AVCA Top-25 Poll committee for nine seasons and also chaired the AVCA All-Central Region and the AVCA All-America Committees. At USF, Nelson served on the AVCA All-Pacific Region and NCAA Pacific Regional Committees. Nelson has two sons, Harley and Kaden.

Lobos Women's Volleyball

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