Nicholls’ Verdin heading to Tigers in SID position

Most office workers couldn’t wait to clock out of work this past Friday afternoon – the official start of a long President’s Day holiday weekend.

But for Nicholls State University athletics employee Clyde Verdin, 5:00 p.m. this past Friday was filled with mixed emotions. It marked the final time he’d punch his time clock as a Colonel.

Verdin has been the Media Relations Director at Nicholls for the past several seasons – a role that has seen him work with virtually every sporting team within the university in some form or fashion. 

The Morgan City native served his final day on that job last week after accepting a similar position with LSU – a job that will allow Verdin to work with the Tigers’ volleyball and softball teams on a full-time basis.

While Verdin said he is thrilled to be a Tiger, he said that it was difficult to leave his alma mater – the place that he will always call his home.

“I don’t think there will ever be a situation or a circumstance for me where I won’t call Nicholls my home,” Verdin said. “I think that no matter what happens to me in my career, there will always be a very special place in my heart for this university, because Nicholls has done so many great things for me and has created so many great opportunities for me. I’m excited about going to LSU – no doubt. But it was hard for me to leave here.”

A lot of Verdin’s work is done outside of public eye, so isn’t a household name to many fans and supporters of Nicholls’ athletics.

But as a Media Relations Director, Verdin coordinated and managed interview requests from local media wishing to have interviews with Colonels’ coaches or players.

Verdin also had a hand in creating the media guides for Nicholls’ sports, as well as the gameday operations for most of the Colonels’ sports.

The outgoing Colonel said the thing he will remember most about being a Colonel is the great strides Nicholls made during his career within the university.

He said that as an alum of the school, he takes “nothing but pride” in some of the success stories the team has had in recent years.

“I think when you look at our soccer team and what they did this past year, it just makes you feel awesome,” Verdin said. “For them to rebound and come back to life after so many years of futility and so many years of losing seasons, that was just incredible for me to see. We also take a lot of pride in our football team and baseball team really becoming academic leaders in the conference after being way behind in that realm just a few seasons ago. Both basketball teams are playing great. Just top-to-bottom, there’s so much to be happy with and proud of.”

Because Nicholls is such a small school, Verdin said he was able to create a close bond with almost all of the coaches within the Colonels’ athletic department.

He said that tight-knit work environment is what he will miss most as he heads toward LSU – a giant SEC powerhouse that has a more corporate-like structure than Nicholls.

“I will miss sitting down in the office and having a coach come in and sit down to talk for 15-20 minutes – that’s hard to walk away from,” Verdin said. “I am going to miss our student athletes – they’ve been absolutely tremendous. Our kids work really hard here. They deserve so much credit. I just want them to know as I depart that it’s been an absolute privilege to work with them and to help them. They’ve been great, and I will always cherish the time that we had here.”

Verdin said he unofficially started his job a few weeks ago when he headed to Tiger Park to help LSU out with a couple weekend softball games for a home tournament the team hosted in Baton Rouge.

His first official day was Feb. 17 – the day he became the school’s official Sports Information Director for softball and volleyball.

Verdin said LSU administration has been “amazing” to him since he accepted the position, adding that they have gone out of their way to welcome him into the Tigers’ family.

He added that he is excited to work with some of the top programs in the country.

“That part of it has me really looking forward to what I’m doing,” Verdin said.

But Verdin said there’s no place like home, and that he will always appreciate Nicholls.

“I am so excited and so ready to get going at LSU,” Verdin said. “I really am. But it’s really weird to think of myself not working here anymore. It’s going to be really hard to shut down my computer that one last time or to take my light switch off on Friday afternoon. This place will always be special for me. I’m always going to be grateful.”

CLYDE VERDIN