BOSTON – Suffolk University Emeritus Director of Athletics James E. Nelson will be honored as a New England Basketball Hall of Fame Legend during the organization's weekend celebration June 7-8 at the St. John's High Theatre in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
Nelson, who was originally inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, is one of 35 individuals who will be recognized for their admirable societal contributions as important mentors to countless student athletes and others. All of the Legends have previously been inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
Over the weekend of Jun 7-8, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame will host a series of induction, recognition and cultural activities.
The Friday, June 7 program will commence with an afternoon photo op for honorees at the Bobo Cousy status on the Holy Cross' campus. From there, the program will move to the St. John's Theatre for special recognition of a group of "Legends," -- retired coaches, athletic administrators and educator – with a performance of the acclaimed A. R. Gurney play "Love Letters" to follow. The next day, Saturday, June 8, the induction of the 2019 New England Basketball Hall of Fame will be inducted with a Legends' panel on mentoring.
The honor is among a long list for Nelson, who began collecting awards for his accomplishments in 1997 with the New England Basketball Coaches Association Doggie Julian Award, for his service dedication to basketball within the region, and added the service award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 2006. In 2012, he was recognized as the Northeast region's Division III Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
Throughout the years he has been honored by the ECAC on three occasions: the 2013 recipient of the ECAC's Commissioner's Award, presented for significant accomplishment in his profession, the 2015 recipient as the James Lynah Distinguished Service Award, which is bestowed annually to former ECAC athletic administrators who have achieved outstanding success in their career and have made an unusual contribution in the interest of intercollegiate athletics, the NCAA and the ECAC, and was inducted into the ECAC Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017.
On the conference level, Nelson was tabbed as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)'s 2010 Executive of the Year.
On campus, Nelson collected numerous awards including Suffolk's Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), Suffolk's "Pink Tie" award for his ward as part of the University's October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, was named Suffolk's Good Person of the Year twice (2002, 2004) and was a member of the Suffolk University's Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2007.
Nelson served as the Rams Director of Athletics from 1975 to 2013 and oversaw a period of tremendous growth and expansion. In 1991, Nelson, working with other University senior administrators, was most pleased in welcoming the Rams first on-campus home with the construction of the Ridgeway Building, located at 148 Cambridge Street. After a long-time partnership with the City of Cambridge, who local YMCA played host to the Rams for many years, Suffolk would now host basketball games and other athletic activities on its Beacon Hill campus.
Among the legendary coaches he hired during his tenure was former baseball coach Cary McConnell, who remains with the Rams to this day after two decades, and has since stepped in Nelson's shoes as the third Athletic Director in Suffolk's history.
The Boston College graduate began his time at Suffolk in 1966 when he was named Assistant Director of Athletics and assistant coach of the men's basketball team. After nine years at the University, the former college basketball player, was named Director of Athletics and Head Coach of the men's basketball squad in 1975. Nelson served in both posts simultaneously until 1995, when he hung up his coaching whistle to focus solely on leading the athletic department.
After he retired as the University's Director of Athletics in June of 2013, Nelson has remained closely involved within athletics and the University, who has kept his legacy present with the Coach James E. Nelson Endowed Scholarship.
THE LEGENDS: A REAL DREAM TEAM
George Blaney – Stonehill, Dartmouth, Holy Cross, UConn
Tom Blackburn – Grafton High School (Mass.), Worcester Academy
Charlie Bibaud, -- Assumption Prep, St. John's High School (Mass.) *
Don Cushing – Bartlett High School (Mass.), Worcester State
Vin Cullen – CCRI
Bill Detrick – Central Connecticut *
Jack "The Shot" Foley – Holy Cross, Worcester Public Schools
Dick Falkenbush – Rice Memorial High School (Vt.), St. Michael's College
VI Goodenow – Frontier Regional (Mass.) *
Bill Gibbons Jr. – Holy Cross
Skip Karam – Durfee High School (Mass.)
Andy Laska – Worcester Academy, Assumption College
Phil Moresi – Framingham South (Mass.), Bates, WPI
Patricia Meiser – UConn, University of Hartford
Pamela Moffo – Conard High School (Conn.)
Jim Nelson – Suffolk University
Paul Procopio – St. Joseph's High School (Mass.)
Judge Paul Perachi – St. Joseph's High School
Gary Palladino – St. Paul's High School (Conn.), University of Hartford, Notre Dame High (Conn.)
Togo Palazzi – St. Mary's High School (Mass.), Holy Cross
Ron Perry – Catholic Memorial High (Mass.), Holy Cross
Jere Quinn – St. Thomas More (Conn.)
Dick Quinn – Williams College
Dee Row – Worcester Academy, UConn
Russ Reilly – Bates, Middlebury
Brenda Reilly – Central Connecticut *
Barbara Stevens – Clark, Bentley
Kathy Delaney Smith – Westwood High School (Mass.), Harvard
Charlie Titus – UMass Boston
Joe Tonelli – Notre Dame High School (Conn.)
Frank "Porky" Vieira – University of New Haven
Dick Whitmore – Colby College
George Wigton – UConn, Bates
Christina Wielgus – Dartmouth
Ann Ash Zelesky – St. Peter Marian High (Mass.), Holy Cross
*Deceased