The class of 2013 includes: Elizabeth Mulvihill, Bemidji State University; Patty Becker, University of Minnesota Duluth; Kelley Owen, Minnesota State University Moorhead;John Schultz, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Julie (Jensen) Rozell, Northern State University; Van Nelson, St. Cloud State University; Wayne Hawkins, Southwest Minnesota State University; and Merridith Duellman Joly, Winona State University.
Founded in 1986, the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC - the former men’s conference) Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor those who made significant contributions to the conference, to create favorable publicity and public relations for the league and to help preserve the history of the NIC, its member institutions, student-athletes, and other significant individuals affiliated with the league. For the first two inductions (1986 and 1990) each selection hailed from the NIC. In 1992-93, the Northern Sun Conference (NSC - the former women’s conference) and the NIC merged creating the current Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). After annual inductions since 2000, today’s NSIC Hall of Fame now boasts 165 members and one team.In order to be eligible for the NSIC Hall of Fame, candidates must have made their contributions in the following areas: 1) former student-athletes, 2) administrator/coach, 3) official/supervisor/coordinator, 4) contributor/supporter, and 5) team. The conference provides two plaques, one of which will go to the inductee and one to the institution represented. A history of each inductee will be kept in the league office and each institution will prominently display the plaques of their respective NSIC Hall of Fame inductees.
Kelley Owen, a native of Bismarck, N.D., excelled in both basketball and track at Moorhead State University from 1980 to 1983. In track & field she was named the Dragons’ Outstanding Track & Field Athlete in 1981. A three-time Northern Sun Conference (NSC) outdoor champion, Owen holds the MSU Moorhead outdoor record in both the shot put (42’-5 ½”) and the javelin (161’). She placed fourth in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Outdoor Champion ships in the javelin as junior and second as a senior. Owen also won the javelin in 1982 at the Drake Relays.
Owen was also a two-time All-NSC team member in basketball. She was team MVP as a senior and scored 887 points in three seasons with the Dragons.
After college Owen played women’s hockey and was a member of the 1990 U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team which played in the first Women’s World Cup Tournament in Ottawa, Ontario. She also played on the US Women’s Bandy Team in 1991, playing in the World Cup Tournament in Lillehammer, Sweden. She also competed in the Minnesota Border to Border Triathlon in 1991. Owen currently works for HealthPartners as a Senior Application Analyst and Developer in IS&T. Owen and her partner, Anne Breckenridge, reside in Minneapolis.
Van Nelson was a four-year letter winner in both cross-country and track at St. Cloud State from 1964 to 1968. He competed on the Huskies first men’s cross-country team in 1964 and was a four-year team captain. Nelson was the NIC Cross Country Individual Champion and Athlete of the Year in 1965, 1966 and 1967. He ran in four NAIA National Championships placing eighth in 1964 and followed that up with three straight third place finishes from 1965 to 1967. He was a four-time NAIA cross country All-American, four-time outdoor track All-American and three-time indoor track All-American.
Nelson was a seven-time national champion at the NAIA indoor and outdoor championship. During his track career, Nelson ran 11 races at the NAIA National Championships, claiming three indoor titles in the two-mile run and five outdoor titles in the three-mile run (twice), two-mile run, mile run and 10,000 meter run. In his first outdoor NAIA championship he placed second in the three-mile run and set a US national freshman record with a time of 13:45.8. In 1967, Nelson collected 24 points at the NAIA National Meet winning the three-mile run and mile run and placing fourth in the steeplechase. His point total gave the Huskies (with just Nelson running) a fourth place team finish.
In 1968 Nelson was given the NIC’s “Most Outstanding Athlete” award in track and field. Nelson served as a track tri-captain as freshman and went on to captain the team the next three seasons. Nelson went on to compete at the national level as a member of the US Track Team in 1966 and placed sixth in the three-mile run at the AAU National meet and was ranked 24th in the word in the three-mile run and 28th in the six-mile run.
He was a member of the Pan American team in 1967 and won Pan Am Games titles at 5,000 and 10,000 meters that year setting records in both races. He was a member of the 1967 US World Team finishing second in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs. He won the six-mile run at the AAU National Meet in 1967 and placed third in the three-mile run and was ranked fourth in the world in the three-mile run and eighth in the six mile run.
Nelson was a member of the US Olympic team in 1968 and finished 29th in the 10,000 meters at Mexico City. He was ranked sixth in the world in the 5,000 meter and fifth in the 10,000 meters in 1968. In 1972 he was inducted into the NAIA National Track and Field Hall of Fame and the Drake Relays Hall of Fame. He is a member of the St. Cloud State University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Nelson and his wife Linda have been married 38 years and have a son, Adam and a daughter, Katie. Nelson retired from the Edina School District after 41 years as a Science and Health Teacher. He also was head track & cross country coach at Edina from 1972-1978 and coached with the team again from 1995-2013.
Wayne Hawkins was an All-America athlete at SMSU in both football and track. A 1992 NFL draft pick of the New England Patriots, Hawkins was one of the most decorated football players in SMSU history holding several school records and earning numerous post-season awards.
As a senior in 1991, he had one of the best season’s an individual football player could have as he set an NAIA record with 126 receptions for 1,515 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns and had one kickoff return for a score. He finished the year with 134 points, which ranks second in school history.
Hawkins, a native of St. Anthony, Minn., helped lead SMSU to a school record 9-1 season in 1991 and was named first team all-conference, first team NAIA All-America, first team AP Little All-America and Kodak College Division I All-America. He also played in both the Kelly Tire Blue-Gray All-Star Classic and East-West Shrine Football Classic, becoming the first SMSU player to play in either game, which has rosters that are usually dominated by NCAA Division I players.
Hawkins was an honorable mention NAIA All-America in 1990 ranking sixth in the country in receiving while in 1989 he finished the year ranked fifth in the nation in receiving. He ranks second in school history in both career receiving yards (2,992) and receptions (248) and is third in career touchdowns (28). He also is tied for the school single-game record with six touchdowns (vs. Northern State, 1991) and receptions with 19 (vs. Peru State, Neb., 1991).
Following his career at SMSU, he was selected in the seventh round of the 1992 National Football League draft by the New England Patriots becoming only the second SMSU player to ever be drafted by an NFL team.
On the track, he was a 1991 NAIA Outdoor All-America in both the 100 and 200 meters and was a 1991 NAIA Indoor All-America in the 60-yard dash. In 1990, he was an NAIA Outdoor All-America in both the 100 and 200 meters. He also was the NIC champion in both the 100 and 200 meters in both 1990 and 1991 and earned all-conference honors both years. Hawkins was honored by his peers in both 1990 and 1991 as he was voted SMSU Student-Athlete of the Year.
Hawkins and his wife Kari have been married for 15 years and have five children. Hawkins still works for the commercial cleaning company he began 17 years ago along with dabbling in other entrepreneurial ventures.
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