VESTAL, N.Y. - Head men's tennis coach Nick Zieziula was honored with the prestigious President's Award for Staff Excellence in Community Engagement at the University's Excellence Awards Dinner, held Wednesday in the campus Mandela Room.

The award recognizes outstanding Binghamton University staff members who demonstrate an exemplary commitment to community engagement and positive social impact. 

"It was an honor to be recognized with so many amazing faculty and staff last night from across campus," he said. "It was inspiring to see and hear about the amazing people and things that are happening at Binghamton University. I have been blessed to have so many great partners in our community engagement projects; Bruce White and Loi Tran from Tennis Charities of Binghamton, Jen O'Brien from Life is Washable, JodieMarie Ramil and Sheli O'Hara from Binghamton Public Schools and of course the varsity team who has poured so much effort into our programs. This is truly a team award with so many people and organizations collaborating together to create meaningful and impactful relationships." 

The written program biography noted Zieziula's leadership and his strong culture of service and engagement with the local and regional communities, particularly in the development and mentorship of school children.

"Zieziula has used tennis as a catalyst to connect with youth in the local community and beyond, engaging them in healthy activities and fueling their academic pursuits. Through the Tennis Charities of Binghamton, he helped organize the ATP Challenger Professional Tennis Tournament, coordinating player registrations, sponsorships and youth clinics. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, he pivoted the charity's mission toward free, community-focused youth programs that included family night events at local parks, connecting members of the University's men's tennis team with people in the community and after-school programs that were designed to introduce young people to the sport. Zieziula has also contributed to the Binghamton City School District's Preventing Long-term Anger and Aggression in Youth (PLAAY) program, which uses tennis-based physical activities for stress management strategies that are applicable in school and community settings. He has brought middle school students from New York City to Binghamton for programs with the University's team and for tours of the University that included interactive science demonstrations and discussions on collegiate academic and athletic opportunities. Zieziula collaborates with CreateABLE and the Magic Paintbrush Project, which are dedicated to supporting families navigating special needs diagnoses via free adaptive tennis programs."

Zieziula is in his 12th year as head men's tennis coach and his teams have captured back-to-back Northeast Conference titles and NCAA Regional bids in 2024 and 2025. He was named NEC Coach of the Year in 2025. The President's Award is the latest in a growing list of off-court honors for Zieziula, whose team were awarded the Division of Athletics "Team Community Service" award in 2023., He also was named a USTA  Eastern Volunteer of the Year in 2023.    

He graduated with bachelor's (2005) and master's degrees (2008) from University of Buffalo. Nick, his wife, Amy and their children live in Binghamton.