Dear USF Community,
It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you of the passing of Dr. Gary R. Nelson, former USF interim athletic director, director of golf, and head golf coach.
Gary was a true Renaissance man. A third-generation San Franciscan, he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in engineering from California Maritime Academy in 1961, and spent the next seven years as an officer with the Merchant Marines and served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy from 1968-70.
He earned a DDS. degree from the University of the Pacific in 1968, and an MSD degree from the University of North Carolina in 1972. An accomplished golfer, Gary competed in the U.S. and British Senior Amateur Championships and was active in various golf organizations, including the Honorable Society of San Francisco Golfers. He was also a competitive long distance runner, logging 15 marathons and numerous ultra-marathons, including the Western States 100, the world’s oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race. He qualified for the Boston Marathon in both the under and over 40 divisions.
Gary was appointed head coach of Dons Golf in 2005, moving up to the role of director for men’s and women’s golf in 2009. In 2010, he graciously agreed to serve as interim athletic director while helping USF conduct a search for a permanent AD. When Athletic Director Scott Sidwell was appointed in 2011, Gary returned to helming the men’s and women’s golf programs, while also taking on the role of associate athletic director for alumni affairs.
During his time as the men’s golf coach, Gary propelled the team’s national rankings from 285
to 42, and was named the West Coast Conference’s Coast Coach of the Year in 2009, when he led the team to its first WCC championship in 19 years.
Gary was also a student of history and an author, publishing six novels and a chronicle of the USF 1951 Dons football team’s stance against racial discrimination, A Moral Stance:‘51 University of San Francisco Fight Against Discrimination.
Most of all, Gary was a husband, father, mentor, and beloved coach who was devoted to his family, to his players, and to USF. He may have retired from his official positions in the athletic department, but his loyalty to the Dons never wavered. He supported USF philanthropically and with his presence, and was a familiar face in the crowds of Dons’ sporting events.
A tribute from one of his former players, Tony Toulon, perhaps says it best: “‘The man, the myth, the legend’ is an overused phrase but if anyone earned it, it’s my college golf coach, Dr. Gary Nelson.”
Gary is survived by his wife, Kellie, and their four children, Adrienne, Matthew, Gary and Whitney. Please join me in offering them our most sincere sympathy and prayers.
Kindly,
Salvador D. Aceves ’83, EdD ’95
President