University of Minnesota Athletics
Former Athletics Director Gunderson Passes Away
5/15/2023 1:56:00 PM | Athletics
Belmar Gunderson, the first director of the University of Minnesota women's athletics department, has passed. She was 88.
Gunderson was the women's athletics director from 1975-76 and helped lay the foundation for future generations of student-athletes. After working as the university's extramural and intramural sports director, teaching in the physical education department and coaching several sports, she accepted an appointment to lead the new women's department. She spearheaded the formation of the Patty Berg Scholarship Fund to provide athletic scholarships to women, and lobbied the state legislature in an effort that led to an annual department budget of $330,000.
Gunderson was a standout tennis athlete at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the early 1950s, where she received her bachelor's degree. She earned a master's degree from Penn State in 1962, and received a doctorate from Texas Women's University in 1971. She competed in many premier tennis tournaments in the 1950s and 1960s as an amateur, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Lawn Tennis National Championships.
Nationally ranked as high as No. 11 in singles and No.2 in doubles, she continued to compete successfully in USTA and ITF World doubles events 40 and 50 years after her undergrad years. Gunderson was nationally ranked in women's singles and doubles for 10 straight years, from 1955-65.
Gunderson dedicated over 50 years to women's athletics over the course of her playing and professional career. She was inducted into Minnesota's M Club Hall of Fame in 2003 and was a charter member of the UNC-Greensboro Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2011, Gunderson was awarded the United States Tennis Association's Service Bowl Award, which is given out annually to a female player who makes the most notable contribution to the sportsmanship, fellowship, and service of tennis.
Gunderson was the women's athletics director from 1975-76 and helped lay the foundation for future generations of student-athletes. After working as the university's extramural and intramural sports director, teaching in the physical education department and coaching several sports, she accepted an appointment to lead the new women's department. She spearheaded the formation of the Patty Berg Scholarship Fund to provide athletic scholarships to women, and lobbied the state legislature in an effort that led to an annual department budget of $330,000.
Gunderson was a standout tennis athlete at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the early 1950s, where she received her bachelor's degree. She earned a master's degree from Penn State in 1962, and received a doctorate from Texas Women's University in 1971. She competed in many premier tennis tournaments in the 1950s and 1960s as an amateur, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Lawn Tennis National Championships.
Nationally ranked as high as No. 11 in singles and No.2 in doubles, she continued to compete successfully in USTA and ITF World doubles events 40 and 50 years after her undergrad years. Gunderson was nationally ranked in women's singles and doubles for 10 straight years, from 1955-65.
Gunderson dedicated over 50 years to women's athletics over the course of her playing and professional career. She was inducted into Minnesota's M Club Hall of Fame in 2003 and was a charter member of the UNC-Greensboro Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2011, Gunderson was awarded the United States Tennis Association's Service Bowl Award, which is given out annually to a female player who makes the most notable contribution to the sportsmanship, fellowship, and service of tennis.
Remembering Tom Moe
Friday, February 27
National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Wednesday, February 04
Cub Plays of the Week
Wednesday, September 24
Cub Plays of the Week
Thursday, September 18