Athletics – Headshot, mugs – Highers Simpson Athletics Complex, Life Skills room – 09/01/2010

AMES, Iowa – Nick Joos, who has worked 34 years in collegiate athletics, including 21 seasons as an assistant athletics director or senior-level administrator, is coming home.

The West Des Moines, Iowa, native and 1987 Iowa State graduate accepted the position of Senior Associate Athletics Director in the Iowa State Athletics Department, Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.

Joos returns to Ames after serving four years at Missouri (2017-21), including the last three as a Deputy Athletics Director within the Tigers.

The 57-year-old Joos has an outstanding track record of communication initiatives. His experience and familiarity with Iowa State and the Big 12 Conference were key factors in Pollard’s decision in hiring Joos to replace Steve Malchow, who is retiring after 16 years of dedicated service in the department.

“We are very fortunate to be able to add an individual with Nick’s professional experience and knowledge of the Big 12 Conference to our leadership team,” Pollard said. “He will hit the ground running and have an immediate impact on our department’s continued success. It is also really rewarding to provide an opportunity for a native Iowan and an Iowa State graduate to return home.  Iowa State University is a very special place for Nick.”

The opportunity to work and make a difference at his alma mater is special to Joos.

“I am honored to be reuniting with the Cyclone family after watching from afar so many years, and grateful to Jamie Pollard for the opportunity to return home and join his leadership team during this exciting time in Iowa State history,” Joos said.

“My decision to attend Iowa State, coupled with the education and opportunities provided me within athletics as a student by Coach (Larry) Corrigan, Coach (Johnny) Orr, Dave Starr, Max Urick, Dave Cox, Kirk Hendrix and Butch Henry to name just a few, established a foundation that prepared me well for a rewarding professional career that has now come full circle,” he added. “Steve Malchow has been a tremendous friend and colleague for more than three decades and I wish him well as he heads into retirement while leaving behind some very big shoes to fill within Iowa State Athletics.”

Joos joined the Mizzou staff on February 1, 2017, as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications, and was promoted to Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Communications Officer in 2018. He currently has oversight of the Tigers’ strategic communications, creative services, broadcast operations and technology teams, while serving as the sport administrator for Mizzou’s football and men’s golf programs. He also worked with the SEC Network and handled departmental public relations initiatives, football scheduling and spirit squads.

Joos is well acquainted with the Big 12 Conference after working at Baylor University for 14 years (2003-17) in various roles. As the department’s Executive Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs, from 2010-17, he oversaw the department’s communications efforts, marketing, spirit and tradition, ticket operations, BaylorVision and licensing units.

Baylor’s ticketing and licensing units registered record revenues under his leadership, and Joos also served as the sport administrator for the Bears’ successful men’s basketball and tennis programs.

Joos was the primary football media relations contact at Baylor from 2003-06 and was instrumental in Robert Griffin III’s successful 2011 Heisman Trophy campaign.

Prior to his stint at Baylor, Joos led the media relations office at UMass from 2000-03, serving as an Associate Athletics Director in his final year.

Joos began his professional career in collegiate athletics at Nebraska, working 13 years (1987-2000) with the Husker athletics program in both the sports information office and men’s basketball program: sports information intern (1987-88), assistant sports information director (1988-94), associate sports information director (1994-95) and director of men’s basketball operations (1995-2000).

Joos’ passion for collegiate athletics sprouted at Iowa State, where he was a student assistant in the sports information office. He served as the media relations contact for Iowa State baseball from 1983-87, and in 1986, received the Cap Timm Award given annually to the person that made the greatest contribution to the team.

Joos is a former president for the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), holding that chair during the 2008-09 academic year and spearheading the organization’s hybrid relationship with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). A 2014 CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee, he received the organization’s 2015 Arch Ward Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in athletics communications and was honored with the All-American Football Foundation’s Scoop Hudgins Outstanding SID Award in 2007.

Joos has also served on the NCAA Honors Committee and has been a member of CoSIDA’s Academic All-America Committee since 2001.

He and his wife of 30 years, Jill, are the parents of two grown children, Christopher and Jenna.