The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has welcomed a seasoned communications professional and longtime Arkansas sports personality to Little Rock Athletics.
Nate Olson has been named the new associate athletic director for strategic communications for Little Rock Athletics. He is responsible for leading the athletics communications team as well as being the primary contact for men’s basketball.
Olson brings more than 25 years of experience in sports reporting, corporate communications, public relations and publishing to UA Little Rock. He aims to elevate the university’s athletic brand and foster deeper connections with fans and the community.
“I am very excited to join UA Little Rock,” Olson said. “I feel like an honorary alum because I married an esteemed alumna with four degrees from here. Sheena and I went on some of our first dates in 2000 watching the Trojans play basketball at the old Alltel Arena. We’ve supported the school in a lot of ways over the years, and I’ve gotten an up-close look at the school and its athletic program. I always knew this would be a great place to work, and I’m excited to help tell the Trojan story.”
After growing up in Iowa, Olson earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in broadcasting from Northwest Missouri State University.
Prior to joining UA Little Rock, Olson was a regional editor for SBLive Sports, a high school sports digital media company that is a content partner with Sports Illustrated. Before that, he worked in corporate communications for six years serving as the public information officer for the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and as a content creator for Simmons Bank. He also had his own communications consulting business, where he worked for clients such as Alzheimer’s Association Arkansas Chapter and Community Health Center of Arkansas. Additionally, he’s also worked as a community education specialist for Hospice Home Care and the editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Sync Magazine.
Olson is well known in the Arkansas sports world, having covered prep and college sports in Arkansas since 1998. He’s worked as a sports writer and editor at newspapers, including the Benton County Daily Record, Northwest Arkansas Times, Benton Courier and Pine Bluff Commercial. On the magazine side, Olson’s taken on roles as editor of Hooten’s Arkansas Football Annual and editor-in-chief and publisher of Vype High School Sports Magazine.
When he was working as the assistant sports editor for the Benton County Daily Record, Olson recalls covering a particularly memorable football game in November 1999 when the Razorbacks defeated Mississippi State at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Afterwards, he and a buddy went to a place called Smitty’s.
“And this is when Sheena came into the picture,” Olson recalled. “By Dec. 13, we were exclusive, and we married in March 2001. We settled here in Little Rock because her dad was diagnosed with cancer. This changed the trajectory of my career, and I ended up becoming the sports writer and editor for the Pine Bluff Commercial for five years.”
While Olson is the one who is known in public, Sheena Olson, who works as the vice president for government relations at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, “is the real difference maker in the family.”
“She is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known in my life, and I admire her because she’s worked really hard in her career to get where she is,” Olson said. “Sheena came to UA Little Rock as a Donaghey Scholar and earned a double major in Spanish and criminal justice. Then, she went to get an MPA, law degree and a master’s degree from the Clinton School of Public Service. She is a poster child for what this school can do for you. My affinity for UA Little Rock and Little Rock Athletics comes from being married to her.”
The Olsons live in Bryant and have two sons – JD, a sophomore, and Luke, an eighth grader.
“Being a dad is one of the best things in my life,” Olson commented. “A lot of people may know me as a sports media personality, but people around Bryant know me as JD and Luke’s dad. I am their biggest fan. I’ve reported on thousands of kids, but to be able to see my own kids play is so awesome.”
Photo by Benjamin Krain
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