MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – After nearly two years of excelling in the role of Eligibility and Compliance Advisor with the MacEwan Griffins, Nick Pelletier is heading back to the Edmonton Elks.
The Canadian Football Club has hired Pelletier as their director of football operations, bringing him back in the fold after he previously spent nine years with the organization. He starts his new position on Dec. 9.
"In not so many words, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," said Pelletier, who previously worked under Elks new general manager Ed Hervey as the team's assistant director of football operations. "The position was offered and football's my passion. Being able to go back and work under this new regime is something I am extremely excited for."
Pelletier previously handled team travel and logistics in his role in Elks' football ops from 2016-22. He was also in a community relations role with the team from 2013-16. His new position will bring fresh challenges he's excited to take on.
"This role is now the day to day – salary cap, budgets, contracts, immigration and health care," he explained. "It's a lot of the paperwork side of things and the day to day, overseeing those aspects."
At MacEwan for the past two seasons, Pelletier has had a number of tasks under his purview, including eligibility, scholarships, travel and much more. He packed many memories into his tenure, which lasted 20 months.
"First and foremost, the people," he said when asked what he'll remember most. "There's just great people working in the department. The student-athletes are great to work with. I got to bond with certain teams and become close with them. I was brought into the fold family-style with the women's soccer team being able to go to Hawaii with them for nine days as they played the University of Hawaii (last February) and to watch them grow and develop as a team was pretty cool.
"This role was completely different from what I was used to. Working in university was what I wanted to do in the past. I always was looking for an opportunity to work in Athletics. When this opportunity came along, it was a right fit. I really enjoyed what I did for the past two years."
Pelletier's last day with the Griffins is Dec. 6.
"Just thank you to MacEwan and the Athletics department for giving me an opportunity to leave my mark here," he said. "Just hoping I got it to where it needs to be and the next person who takes over can take it even further."
