How about this for results – two NCAA Division II National Championships, four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles, three perfect 11-0 seasons and a .790 winning percentage. This is what Bob Nielson, the head coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, has accomplished in eight seasons.
In 2010, Nielson and the Bulldogs did something no other NCAA Division II college had been able to do – finish 15-0 for a second time. For his efforts, Nielson received three coaching honors – the AFCA Division II Coach of the Year, the Liberty Mutual D-II Coach of the Year, and American Football Monthly’s D-II Coach of the Year.
Nielson returned to the UMD sidelines in 2008 following a four-year hiatus and oversaw one of the most impressive turnarounds in Division II history. The 4-6 Bulldogs of 2007 were molded into national champions the next season. Along the process, UMD set or equaled 50 team and individual records.
Nielson spent five years as UMD’s head coach from 1998-2003 but stepped down and became the school’s athletic director. He then was reassigned to the head coaching positions in January, 2008 while still retaining his title of athletics director. His overall eight-year record now stands at 79-21.
Nielson previously was the head coach for three years at Wisconsin-Eau Claire and also was the head coach at his alma mater, Wartburg College, from 1991-1995. He began his head coaching career at Ripon College and was an assistant coach at Wartburg from 1981-1988.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wartburg in 1982 and received his Master’s from Northern Iowa in 1988. If that isn’t enough, Nielson graduated with a 4.00 cumulative grade point average and, while at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, was a member of the Department of Kinesiology teaching staff.