A sliding catch in the back of the west end zone to beat Illinois Wesleyan on a rainy Saturday in October of 1991 might be what most people remember about Jordan Nixon. However, the young man out of Manhattan, New York enjoyed a tremendous two-sport career at Augustana in both football and baseball.
There is no doubt that his grab of Brian Pottinger’s pass with :47 left in the game against Illinois Wesleyan on October 26, 1991 that sealed a 38-35 win for the Vikings was a signature moment. What may be lost to time is the fact that Nixon also scored on a 41 yard punt return and a 26 yard pass reception from Pottinger in that same game, which helped the Vikings during their drive to the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championship in 1991.
Nixon was a versatile player for head coach Bob Reade’s football program as a receiver and a kick and punt returner. He led NCAA Division III in punt returns in 1991 as he returned 27 punts for 473 yards and a 17.5 per return average. He was named to the Champion and Football Gazette All-American teams and was a first team all-conference selection for the second straight year.
He was the leading receiver in 1991 on the ground-oriented Vikings with 15 catches for 289 yards and five touchdowns and he added 12 kickoff returns for 255 yards to his punt return totals. The Vikings went 8-1 during his senior year and won the CCIW title for the 10th time in the previous 11 seasons. In those days Augustana didn’t throw it much so his career totals of 37 catches for 633 yards (17.1 per catch average) and eight touchdowns might not seem earth-shattering but he was a threat every time he touched the ball.
He was especially dangerous on punt returns in the open field and for his career he returned 41 punts for 701 yards (17.1 average) with four touchdowns.
While he was an obvious threat in football, especially as a senior, Nixon’s impact in baseball was actually much longer as he broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore and stayed there. When he graduated in May of 1992, he was the school record holder for career batting average at .391 with 136 hits in 348 at-bats. He was also the career school record holder for runs scored with 97 and hits with 136. His 49 hits in 1991 and his 125 at-bats that same year were also single season school records.
As a freshman he batted just 12 times but during his sophomore season he was named the Vikings Most Improved Player when he batted .393 and led the team in average, at-bats (107), runs scored (25), hits (42), triples (3) and stolen bases (10). He also earned the first of three first-team all-conference awards during his sophomore season of 1990. During his junior year he batted .392 with 49 hits (a school record at the time), 34 runs scored and 125 at-bats. He closed his career as a senior in 1992 by hitting .394 with 41 hits in 104 at-bats while scoring 32 runs and had an on-base percentage of .610.
Nixon was the Augustana MVP as a junior and senior and when he graduated his name dotted the Viking record book. In addition to his school records mentioned above, he was second in career stolen bases with 31. On the single season lists he occupied the top three spots in hits and two of the top four in runs scored.
A social work major, Nixon earned a Master’s Degree in social work from Fordham University and currently works for Children’s Services as a social worker, a post he has had for 15 years. He also worked for the Salvation Army and Children’s Aid Society. He calls his time at Augustana “A great experience”.
Jordan and his wife Cindy have a son Mason and live in Brooklyn, New York.
