Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
After being out of college for 4 ½ years, Nelson returned to Chadron State in the fall of 1972 and joined the football team and track and field teams.
He was the Eagles’ punter two years and still holds the single-game record for best punting average—51.4 yards against Colorado Mines in 1973. He also led the Eagles in pass receptions with 20 for 335 yards and was a first-team All-Nebraska College Conference selection that fall.
He also earned points at several meets as a discus and javelin thrower both seasons he competed. After graduating in May 1974, he became an English teacher and coach at Alliance High School. He was the Bulldogs’ head track and field coach 22 years. In 1999, as he was retiring from that position, John Reiners, then the Eagles’ head coach, asked Nelson if he would help the pole vaulters.
He said “Yes,” and did that through the 2015 season, driving to Chadron usually a couple times a week when the vaulters were working out. His protégés own nearly all of the top marks on the Eagles’ all-time lists.
Steve’s wife, the former Patty Way, also is a CSC graduate and his son, Chris, who graduated from the college in 1997, once held the Eagles’ indoor record in the 800 meters and placed in the event at the RMAC outdoor meet both years he competed.
