University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Celebrate Kathleen Ridder
9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MINNEAPOLIS – Gopher Athletics is celebrating Kathleen Ridder Day on Sunday, Sept. 24, including in-game celebrations at the women's hockey, soccer, and volleyball games on campus that afternoon.
Kathleen Ridder was one of the University of Minnesota's most generous and ardent supporters of women’s athletics. A lifelong philanthropist, advocate of ​equal rights​ for women,​ and active volunteer, Ridder championed various social causes throughout her entire life. She passed away ​on​ April ​3, ​2017, at the age of 94.
As a celebration of Ridder's incredible legacy, Gopher Athletics has declared Sunday as Kathleen Ridder Day at Gopher women's hockey, volleyball, and soccer. The Gopher women's hockey team will hold a ceremonial puck drop prior to Sunday's 2 p.m. game against Team Korea with Kathleen Ridder Crampton, Robert and Kathleen Ridder's daughter, and the team will wear helmet stickers in honor of Ridder.
Volleyball and soccer will also celebrate Ridder during their competitions on Sunday, and the Golden Gopher Fund is hosting a brunch to honor Ridder and her incredible legacy at the University of Minnesota on Sunday morning.
​At the University of Minnesota, Kathleen and her husband, Robert​,​ ​certainly left their mark. Through their tireless work and generous financial support, they were instrumental in the building of Ridder Arena, the country’s first collegiate arena​ dedicated to women's hockey.
Ridder could be counted on to provide her opinion, her time, her mentorship, and financial contributions to almost any project that would benefit women student-athletes at the University of Minnesota. Beyond Ridder Arena, her legacy lives on through the Kathleen C. Ridder scholarship, which is awarded annually to ​three ​female student-athletes pursuing​ careers in​ medicine, science, or math. The first-ever endowed scholarship for female student-athletes at Minnesota, the scholarship was established in 1983.
The Kathleen C. and Robert B. Ridder Scholarship is annually awarded to a Gopher women's hockey student-athlete​ who maintains high academic standards and contributes to the program's success, both on and off the ice, as well.
The University of Minnesota and Gopher Athletics wish to express their heartfelt thanks to Kathleen and the entire Ridder family for their tremendous support and generosity over the past 35 years. Kathleen's passion, tenacity, and commitment to women's athletics at the University of Minnesota has been unparalleled, and she will be greatly missed.
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