Heath Nielsen Hometown: Highland, Utah Position: Assistant A.D. for Communications Alma Mater: Utah State, 1994

Heath Nielsen is in his 12th year in the Baylor athletic department and his sixth serving as the assistant athletics director for communications. He spent six years as Baylor's director of athletic media relations before being promoted to his current position in 2006.

Nielsen oversees all communications strategies for Baylor's 19-sport athletics department, including media relations, new media/online services, Sic `em Sports Productions video operations and publications. He is the primary media contact for the Bears football program and serves as the play-by-play broadcaster for Baylor soccer and as a substitute color analyst on men's basketball radio broadcasts.

He came to Baylor in 2000 from New Mexico State, where he spent two years as assistant athletics director for media relations. At NMSU, Nielsen was responsible for communications operations for a 15-sport Division I athletic program.

Prior to New Mexico State, Nielsen spent four and a half years as assistant director of athletic media relations at Mississippi State. At MSU, Nielsen's duties involved serving as media contact for the football, baseball and soccer programs. Nielsen is a 1994 graduate of Utah State with a B.A. degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish. He spent three years as a student assistant in USU's sports information office.

Nielsen has worked more than 50 NCAA championship events and in 2002 was publicist for the Big 12 Men's Basketball All-Star Tour of Scandinavia. He has received numerous awards for his publications, including his 1996 MSU baseball media guide that was judged "Best in the Nation." He is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the Football Writers Association of America, and the United States Basketball Writers Association.

A native of Highland, Utah, Nielsen is married to the former Deena Thurston of Logan, Utah. They are the parents of three sons, H, Kye and Sayer.