Nielsen receives Dan Lennon Award
Hod Nielsen was named the fourth recipient of the Dan Lennon Award during the Lennon Relays on March 28-29, 1994. Nielsen, a two-year letter winner for the Coyote football team in 1939-40, was the first member of the media to receive the Lennon Award. Nielsen was a sportscaster for 35 years with stops at KOTA Radio in Rapid City and KYNT Radio in Yankton, S.D. Nielsen also served as sports editor, sports columnist and sports writer for the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan for more than 27 years, dating back to 1967. Nielsen who received the Distinguished Army Flying Cross and Air Medal during World War II, has received several honor for is support and promotion of athletics at all levels. He has been recognized with awards by the National High School Coaches Association, the South Dakota State Activities Association, the NAIA as well as earning induction into the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame in 1985. Two years later (1987), Nielsen was inducted into the Coyote Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1993, Nielsen was voted Yankton's Citizen of the Year. He was also named the Sportswriter of the Year by the S.D. Sportswriters Association in 1993.