Nelson Townsend

Biography

Nelson Elijah Townsend (May 16, 1941 – January 8, 2015) was an American college athletics administrator. Townsend served seven tenures as athletic director at four different universities: the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (1976–1979 and 2003–2005), Delaware State University (1979–1986), Florida A&M University (1986–1987, 2005–2007, and 2014–2015) and the University at Buffalo (1987–1998). He was the University at Buffalo's first African American athletic director. At both Delaware State and Buffalo, Townsend was responsible for leading the athletic department to achieve full NCAA Division I status, as both schools transitioned from lower levels of NCAA hierarchy. Townsend was inducted to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 1995, was inducted to both the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Halls of Fame in 2012 and inducted in the Delaware State University Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

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