The 2016-17 season will mark Nic Nelson's sixth year as Briar Cliff’s head men’s basketball coach. He holds a career winning percentage of .677 with a career record of 111-53 at BCU. Last season, Nelson guided BCU to a school record 32 wins with only four losses and the Chargers advanced all the way to the Elite Eight of the NAIA national tournament. Nelson's Chargers also won the school's first ever GPAC regular season and conference tournament championships in men's basketball, on their way to re-writing numerous school records. Coach Nelson was named GPAC and IBCA Coach of the Year and also received the NAIA "All That's Right in Sport" award. In 2014-15, Nelson led the Chargers to a 22-11 overall record and the team qualified for the NAIA national tournament where BCU fell 68-66 to Davenport. In his first year at the helm, Nelson guided the Chargers to a Sweet Sixteen finish at the NAIA Division II National Championship. It was the farthest the Blue and Gold have advanced on the national stage since a Sweet Sixteen finish in 2000. Over the past seven years, Briar Cliff holds the honor of being one of the winningest men’s basketball program, in all divisions, in the state of Iowa and Nelson has had a hand in that is either the head or top assistant coach.
Prior to becoming the Chargers’ head coach, Nelson spent four years as the program’s top assistant. In those four seasons, he helped the Chargers to a 91-38 record and a pair of national tournament appearances. Nelson came to Briar Cliff from Central College, where he served as an assistant coach for three seasons. There, he assisted in making the program competitive within the Iowa Conference and helped the Dutch to their best record and conference finish in more than a decade. With the entire starting five he helped recruit to Central leading the way, the Dutch won the 2009-10 regular season and conference tournament championship for the first time in fifteen years. Prior to Central, Nelson was the varsity boys’ basketball coach at Ogden High School, where he guided the Bulldogs to a record of 39-10 over two years. Following the 2003-04 season, he was tabbed as the Mid-Iowa Coach of the Year. During the 2000-01 season, he served as the sophomore boys’ coach at Sioux City West High School.
The 2001 Morningside graduate was a four-year baseball letterwinner for the Mustangs. The two-time team MVP went on to play two seasons of professional baseball, including a season with the Sioux City Explorers in 2000. The former four-sport standout at Central Lyon High School holds a master’s degree in health science from Fort Hays State University. He is actively involved in the community and with several charitable organizations, including St. Michael Catholic Church, Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Association and Camp High Hopes. Nelson and his wife, Michelle, reside in Sioux City with their two daughters, Grace and Claire.
