Ruth Naomi Nelson is an American volleyball coach, educator, sports marketer, and nonprofit executive. She coached at George Williams College, the University of Houston, Louisiana State University, and the University of Iowa; played for the United States national team; directed volleyball and marketing programs for Special Olympics International; and founded BRVC and the Louisiana Volleyball Club.
Background
Ruth Naomi Nelson was born on October in Beaumont, California, to Ashel LeRoy Nelson and Hazel J. Nelson. She developed a career that combined competitive volleyball, collegiate coaching, physical education, youth athletic development, nonprofit fundraising, and sports marketing. Her professional work later extended from university athletics and national-team volleyball into international Special Olympics administration, consulting, and the creation of youth sports education programs.
Education
Nelson earned a Bachelor of Arts in physical education and psychology from the University of Northern Colorado in 1970. She completed a Master of Science in physical education at George Williams College in 1973 and pursued postgraduate study at Concordia College in Montreal, Canada, in 1978. Her education supported a career that linked physical education, coaching, athlete development, and sports administration.
Career
Nelson began her professional career at George Williams College in Downers Grove, Illinois, where she served from 1970 to 1972 as head women's volleyball coach, head men's tennis coach, and physical-education instructor. She was also a member of the United States National Volleyball Team in the 1970s. She later became head women's tennis coach at the University of Houston from 1974 to 1976 and head women's volleyball coach, physical-education instructor, student-teacher supervisor, and adviser to the men's volleyball club team there from 1974 to 1981. At Houston she compiled a documented 290–84 coaching record and coached players who became members of the 1984 United States Olympic team, including Flo Hyman, Rita Crockett, and Rose Magers.
In 1977–1981, Nelson served as president of the Houston Stars Volleyball Club and directed its junior-development program, camps, clinics, and coaches' development activities. She also organized or sponsored international exhibition matches involving the West German team, Japanese and United States Olympic teams, the Korean Olympic team, and other organizations. From 1981 to 1985 she was head women's volleyball coach, instructor in physical education, student-teacher supervisor, and adviser to the men's volleyball club team at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. During the same period she developed BRVC, a volleyball training and marketing enterprise that operated camps, clinics, youth-club programs, speaking engagements, consulting services, and fundraising activities.
Nelson served Special Olympics International in Washington, D.C., first as a volleyball consultant and volleyball director and later as sports marketing manager, sports marketing director, and corporation marketing director. Her Special Olympics work included volleyball development, sponsorship activity, fundraising, and international sports marketing. She also served as an executive assistant at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance in 1992–1993 and worked as a volleyball color analyst for Iowa Public Television from 1985 to 1988. During 1988–1989 she consulted for volleyball, sporting, and marketing organizations and coached the professional Dallas Belles of Major League Volleyball.
From 1989 to 1991, Nelson was head women's volleyball coach, physical-education instructor, and adviser to the men's volleyball program at the University of Iowa. Her Iowa teams compiled a 32–26 overall record and a 22–14 Big Ten record. She also coached the Springfield Junior Volleyball Club and taught volleyball-coach certification courses for the United States Volleyball Association. In 1995–1996 she was director of nonprofit and sports marketing at Intellicall and its IntelliMarketing Group in Texas, where she developed fundraising programs. She subsequently served as director of nonprofit and sports marketing at Global Affinity Group and as a member of the global marketing team for Team Landry Custom Card Programs.
Nelson became president and chief executive officer of BRVC, Inc., a nonprofit marketing, fundraising, consulting, advertising, and sports-development company. She also founded and led the Louisiana Volleyball Club and later helped establish the Collegiate Athletic Education Foundation. Her programs have included youth volleyball camps, College-Bound Training Camps, minority-development clinics, college showcases, the Bring Your Own Parent program, GoKids Youth Sports certification, and other coach and athlete education initiatives. She designed and marketed the Ruth Nelson Side-Out volleyball shoe with Aspri and developed fundraising and sponsorship programs, including a USA Volleyball prepaid-phone-card initiative. Her consulting has included work with Special Olympics International, the NIKE World Masters Games, Olympic athletes, youth sports organizations, and nonprofit enterprises.
Achievements
Compiled more than 500 collegiate coaching victories during her head-coaching career at George Williams College, the University of Houston, Louisiana State University, and the University of Iowa.
Compiled a 290–84 record as head women's volleyball coach at the University of Houston and coached players who became members of the 1984 United States Olympic team.
Led the University of Iowa women's volleyball program to a 32–26 overall record and a 22–14 Big Ten record from 1989 to 1991.
Served as a United States national-team volleyball player and later as a national-team, junior-national-team, Olympic Festival, and World University Games coach or technical adviser.
Developed volleyball and fundraising programs for Special Olympics International and helped expand the organization's international volleyball and sponsorship activities.
Founded BRVC and the Louisiana Volleyball Club and created youth-development, coach-education, and athlete-development programs including Bring Your Own Parent and GoKids Youth Sports.
Designed the Ruth Nelson Side-Out volleyball shoe, marketed in cooperation with Aspri, and developed innovative volleyball fundraising and sponsorship programs.
Membership
Nelson has participated in professional and athletic organizations including the Alliance for Health; the American Association of University Professors; the United States Tennis Association; the National Association for Physical Education of College Women; the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women; the United States Volleyball Association; the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association; the American Volleyball Coaches Association; the American Marketing Association; the Southern Association for Physical Education of College Women; the Women's Sports Foundation; the Louisiana Volleyball Coaches Association; the Texas Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women; the Southwest Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women; the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation; the Louisiana Volleyball Club; and the Baton Rouge Volleyball Club. Her documented leadership roles included national volleyball chair of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1979–1980, junior-volleyball-development director for the Delta Region of the United States Volleyball Association, membership on the Women's Sports Foundation advisory board from 1991 to 1995, co-founder and board member of the Louisiana Volleyball Coaches Association from 1983 to 1987, and leadership of Louisiana Volleyball Club activities from 1985.
Member.
Alliance for Health
,
United States
Member.
American Association of University Professors
,
United States
Member.
United States Tennis Association
,
United States
Member.
National Association for Physical Education of College Women
,
United States
National volleyball chairperson.
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
,
United States
1979 - 1980
Junior volleyball development director.
United States Volleyball Association, Delta Region
,
United States
1986
Member of the national seeding committee.
Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association
,
United States
1981 - 1984
Professional member.
American Volleyball Coaches Association
,
United States
Professional member.
American Marketing Association
,
United States
Member of the advisory board.
Women's Sports Foundation
,
United States
1991 - 1995
Co-founder and board member.
Louisiana Volleyball Coaches Association
,
United States
1983 - 1987
Member of the seeding committee and Texas state volleyball sports director.
Texas Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
,
United States
1979 - 1980
Member of the regional seeding committee and Region 4 volleyball representative.
Southwest Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
,
United States
1978 - 1980
Member.
Texas Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation
,
United States
Chief executive officer and president.
Louisiana Volleyball Club
,
United States
1985
Member.
Baton Rouge Volleyball Club
,
United States
1981
Interests
Traveling, helping and meeting people, volunteering for charities, youth sports development, coach education, and athlete mentoring.
Sport & Clubs
Volleyball and tennis.
Connections
Nelson is the daughter of Ashel LeRoy Nelson and Hazel J. Nelson. Her professional connections include athletes she coached who later represented the United States in Olympic volleyball, Special Olympics administrators and athletes, university athletic departments, national volleyball organizations, nonprofit partners, and youth volleyball programs.
University of Northern Colorado Magazine, Class Notes
Documents Nelson's University of Northern Colorado education, leadership of BRVC and the Louisiana Volleyball Club, and work with the Collegiate Athletic Education Foundation and Special Olympics.
2008
Ruth N. Nelson, Petitioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-117
Documents Nelson's coaching, consulting, Special Olympics marketing, BRVC operations, camps, clinics, fundraising, professional volleyball, and design of the Ruth Nelson Side-Out shoe.
2001
Hawkeye Volleyball History
Documents Nelson's University of Iowa coaching tenure and 32–26 overall and 22–14 Big Ten record.
