Jason Verhelst started with the Madison College Athletic Department in October of 2000 as a Sports Information Director, in the summer of 2014 was named the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and in the summer of 2018 was named the Associate Athletic Director.
Verhelst currently oversees the result reporting business entity, the Madison College student health clinic, the Madison College pool, all the public and media relations, graphic design and photography, record keeping, statistics and result reporting, awards, department websites (
madisoncollegeathletics.com,
madisoncollegerecreation.com,
madisonturkeytrot.com, etc.), technology initiatives, video production, special events, Title IX compliance, department and facility branding, social media, and external communications for the department. In addition to those duties, he also assists with eligibility and other special projects.
In addition to his work for Madison College, Verhelst has served as Sports Information Director and Secretary for the
North Central Community College Conference (N4C) since the fall of 2010. Verhelst was also named the website director for the
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region IV in April of 2015.
Before joining the department in 2000, Verhelst was a Marketing Director and swim coach for the Badger Aquatics Club. Prior to that, he served as the Public Relations Assistant for the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation which hosted events such as Badger State Games and the Wisconsin Ironman.
As a student-athlete, Verhelst had a successful swimming career. He was a six-time high school All-American, seven-time event state champion, and two-time team state champion as a high school swimmer. Verhelst attended NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin on a swimming scholarship. While at Wisconsin, he earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and a GTE Scholar Athlete award. Verhelst graduated from the University of Wisconsin in the spring of 1999 with a bachelor degree in Marketing and Sociology.
After his swimming career, Verhelst began coaching and enjoyed giving back to the sport he loves. For the past 18 years, Verhelst has served as the head swim coach at Parkcrest Swim & Tennis Club. At Parkcrest he coaches over 120 kids from ages 5-18. In addition to Parkcrest, Verhelst had a successful fourteen year high school coaching career in which his teams at Madison Edgewood (1998-1999) and Madison Memorial (2000-2011) compiled a 115-12-1 overall record, winning nine conference titles, and two state titles. Verhelst coached many All-Americans and received Wisconsin Coach of the Year honors four times and National Federation of High School Coach of the Year honors twice.
Verhelst has contributed to several high profile events including serving as the assistant web site coordinator to the 2000 USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Swimming Championship and had sports information and media resposibilities at the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Midwest Basketball Regional and the 2006 NCAA Division I Frozen Four. Verhelst currently serves as the webmaster for the
Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club and the
Wisconsin Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association. He is a member of the following organizations... Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club, Southwest Swimming Officials Association (SWSOA), National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Two Year Collegiate Directors (NATYCCA), and College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).Â
Outside of my job at the college, Verhelst is involved in coaching and officiating. He loves spending as much time as possible with his two daughters, Alexa and Maya, and wife, Paige.
