University of Minnesota Athletics
Jean Freeman Named M Club President
1/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Former Golden Gopher swimmer and long-time head coach Jean Freeman has been named President of the University of Minnesota’s M Club, Director George Adzick announced today.
Freeman, who has served actively with the M Club Board of Directors since her retirement in 2004, will assume the duties of the President immediately, according to Adzick.
“I am excited to continue my involvement with the University of Minnesota as President of the M Club,” Freeman said. “As a former student-athlete, coach and M Club Board member, I look forward to helping alums build the passion and loyalty they developed during their undergraduate years into a lifetime relationship with other former athletes, the University of Minnesota and our Athletics Department.”
A member of the M Club Hall of Fame, Freeman played volleyball, basketball, ran track and swam for the Gophers from 1968-72 and then went on to serve as an assistant coach with the swimming team for one season before being named as the program’s head coach in 1973.
As head coach, Freeman took the program to new heights and national prominence during her 31-year tenure, producing 27 winning seasons and Big Ten Championships in 1999 and 2000. She also produced two national champions, 14 Big Ten champions and 175 All-Americans.
Among her many honors and accolades, Freeman was named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (1984, 1986, 1996, 1999). She also collected 20 American Swimming Coaches Certificate of Excellence Awards, was inducted into the Minnesota Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1992 and received the 1999 National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy.
The M Club President is a volunteer position with a set one-year term and an option for a second year, with the concurrence of the majority of the Board of Directors. As President, Freeman will work in partnership with Adzick and the Athletics Department to help create positive lifetime relationships with both alums and Minnesota letterwinners.
The University of Minnesota M Club is a nonprofit organization representing all letterwinners from University of Minnesota athletics teams. It is one of the oldest collegiate letterwinners organizations in the country and oversees the Hall of Fame, which honors achievements and preserves the traditions of those athletes, coaches and athletic staff members who have contributed in outstanding and positive ways to the University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Department.
