Spencer Nelson Named Multiple Sclerosis Utah Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year

Utah State University men's basketball player Spencer Nelson has been named the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Utah State Chapter Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year, as selected by the MS Society selection committee. Nelson will be honored at the 26th annual MS Dinner of Champions on the evening of Sept. 16 at Little America in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

Nelson was named a second-team all-Big West selection following his junior season as he helped lead Utah State to a 25-4 record, which included a 17-1 record in the Big West Conference and the school's fifth straight postseason appearance as the Aggies participated in the National Invitation Tournament. Nelson is also a two-time academic all-Big West selection and has been voted the league's "Hustle Player of the Year" by the conference's coaches in each of the last two seasons.

 

"Being named the Multiple Sclerosis Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year is a great honor," said Nelson. "In my mind awards like these aren't won individually, they are a reflection of the great people that have influenced me throughout my life from my family to my current teammates and coaches. It is a great honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Coach Morrill and Tony Brown when referring to past recipients at USU, and also very humbling."

 

The MS Dinner of Champions is an annual fund raising dinner for the National MS Society Utah State Chapter that honors several outstanding athletes from the high school to the professional level and citizens from throughout the state of Utah.

 

"It's an honor for anyone to receive recognition from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society because of the respect everyone has for the work that is being done by that organization," said Utah State head men's basketball coach Stew Morrill. "Spencer Nelson is a special student-athlete. He embodies what it's all about in terms of competing at the Division I level while realizing that your education must be a priority.

 

"He is a leader both on and off the court and I feel privileged to be his college coach. You only wish you could bottle up all his attributes and bestow them on every player. He is a unique individual and very deserving of such an outstanding award."

 

Nelson is the fifth Aggie to be honored by the National MS Society in the past 11 years joining Morril who was named the Sportsperson of the Year in 2000, as was former basketball coach Larry Eustachy in 1998 and former football coach Charlie Weatherbie in 1994. Former Aggie basketball great Tony Brown was named the 2002 Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year.

 

Nelson is only the third student-athlete at Utah State to ever be honored individually, joining Brown and Jay Don Blake who was named the Utah Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year in 1980, as well as the Professional of the Year in 1989. The only two Utah State teams to be honored were the 1978 volleyball team and the 1980 softball team, both of which were named Utah's Team of the Year after winning national championships.

 

For ticket information about the MS Dinner of Champions please contact Courtney Garay with the MS Society Utah State Chapter at 1-800-527-8116.

 

For more Aggie athletic news see the Utah State Athletics Web site.