Jared Nelson, who has helped guide teams to both national and conference championships, joined Butler’s cross country and track and field program as an assistant coach in August of 2015.
Nelson has played a key role as the Bulldogs have placed distance runners in NCAA championship fields in both cross country and track and field during his tenure in Indianapolis. Erik Peterson placed third in the 10,000 meters at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The third-place finish for Peterson matches Stephen Lisgo's finish in the steeplechase in 2009. That is Butler's top men's result at the NCAA Championships since Bert Nelson's NCAA title in the high jump in 1932.
During the 2018 outdoor track season, Nelson helped coach Johnny Leverenz to a BIG EAST Championship in the 1,500 meters. Leverenz's PR during the 2018 season was 3:42.77, qualifying him for the NCAA East Regional and ranking him in the top 50 of the NCAA.
In 2021, a school-record 12 Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Regional with four advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene. The 12 student-athletes in the NCAA Regional tops the previous school record of nine in 2011, which was the first year the meet changed to a two-region format. The four Bulldogs who qualified for Eugene each came away with All-America honors.
Erik Peterson was named Outstanding Track Athlete at the BIG EAST in Indoor Championships in 2017, while Wade Walder was named Outstanding Field Performer and High Point Performer at the 2018 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships. Euan Makepeace captured the 2019 BIG EAST Men's Cross Country individual title, while Butler's women (2019) and men (spring 2021) have captured the team titles.
Nelson arrived in Indianapolis from the University of Akron, where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the cross country and track teams. He focused on middle distance and distance, assisting in the development of weekly training plans in addition to his recruiting responsibilities.
Akron won several Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles during his tenure, including the 2015 women’s outdoor track and field championship, and men’s indoor track and field titles in both 2014 and 2015.
While at the University of Wisconsin, Nelson was the volunteer assistant for the Badgers when they won the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country championship. In 2011, Wisconsin also won the Big Ten title in men’s cross country and the team was named the USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Men’s Scholar Team of the Year.
For Wisconsin, Nelson’s responsibilities included middle distance and distance coaching for the Badgers’ men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs. He assisted with development of weekly training plans and recruiting, in addition to other responsibilities.
Nelson has also held a graduate assistant position at the University of Rhode Island and served on the track and field coaching staff at Moses Brown High School in Providence, R.I.
He ran at Bryant University, graduating in 2006. In 2010, he received a masters degree in Kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island. Nelson holds several certifications, including USATF Level 2 Endurance, USTFCCCA Track and Field Technical, and USATF Level 1 Track and Field Coaching.
