Ryan Nelson
Ryan Nelson
Title: Assistant Coach - Diving
Email: nelsonr@iit.edu
Year: 12th year

Ryan Nelson enters his 13th season as the Diving Coach for the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks. Nelson originally joined the Illinois Tech coaching staff in 2003 as the Diving Coach. Prior to his arrival, Nelson served as an Assistant Coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) from 1999-2000. After a brief break from coaching, Nelson returned to the Illinois Tech Swimming and Diving Program in the 2015-16 season.

As an athlete, Nelson brings a legacy of success to the Scarlet Hawks. A former all-conference diver at UIC, Nelson was a four-year letter-winner for the Flames from 1995-1999. During his tenure, he was a four-time NCAA Division I Zone Championship Qualifier and a two-time Horizon League 1-Meter Champion. Nelson served as the Flames co-captain during the 1998-99 season and was named UIC Athlete of the Year.

In his time at Illinois Tech, Nelson has coached multiple NAIA All-American Scarlet Hawk divers and six NAIA National Championship Titles.  Nelson also works as an Associate Director of Recruitment for the Information Technology and Management Department at Illinois Tech.