University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Christopher Mitchell
Gislason, Williamson Honored as a Part of National Girls and Women’s in Sports Day
2/7/2024 2:09:00 PM | Athletics
The University of Minnesota celebrates National Girls and Women's in Sports Day (NGWSD) throughout the week of Feb. 5.
In honor of NGWSD, Gopher Athletics will be offering discounted tickets for the following events:
Feb. 8 - 7 p.m., Women's Basketball vs. Ohio State (Tickets start at $10)
Feb. 10 - 2 p.m., Women's Hockey vs. St. Cloud State (Tickets start at $5)
Feb. 10 - 4 p.m., Women's Gymnastics vs. Michigan (Tickets start at $10)
In addition, women's swimming and women's tennis both host events that weekend and are free to the public. Swimming hosts the First Chance Meet on Feb. 9-10 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, while women's tennis welcomes South Dakota to the Baseline Tennis Center.
Wednesday, Feb. 7, marks the 38th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day. NGWSD began in 1987 as a special day in our nation's capital to recognize women's sports. The day united premiere organizations and elite women athletes to bring national attention to the promise of girls and women in sports.
The NGWSD-Minnesota event is run by the Minnesota Coalition for Women in Athletic Leadership. This group is made up of volunteers who support the mission and vision of NGWSD. This year, two individuals with Gopher connections were honored at the event, as longtime equipment manager Lori Gislason and former Gopher women's hockey student-athlete Taylor Williamson were both recognized.
Gislason is the first to admit that her career path has been unconventional, but she also recognizes that her work at Minnesota has helped break down barriers for women in field maintenance and equipment at the collegiate level.
In 1982, Gislason was hired as the Junior Scientist Trainee for the Minnesota agronomy department. In 1989, she was hired full-time as a landscape specialist in Minnesota's landcare department, and in 1993 she was hired as the first, and only, full-time female employee to work on the softball and soccer fields and the baseball stadium.
She helped build the original soccer field for the soccer team. In 2000, Gislason made the shift from field maintenance to the equipment room in the athletic department. She was one of two women on the seven-person staff, and her job was overseeing equipment needs for the volleyball team and both basketball teams. She was one of few women overseeing equipment needs for a men's basketball program at the collegiate level, and less than a handful of women hold that position yet today.
Eight years later, Gislason was promoted to the director of equipment and she oversaw the equipment staff and teams. Now with more than 30 years in the athletic department, she remains one of just a handful of women in all of college athletics overseeing the entire equipment staff.
Gislason manages the school's Nike contract and has direct oversight with each sport's equipment manager and their purchasing needs.
Williamson received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.
In her four-year career with the Minnesota women's hockey team, Williamson received not one but two potentially career-ending diagnoses. The first was an arachnoid cyst on her brain, the second was being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, an incurable disease.
With the help of medication, physical therapy, and a lot of determination, Williamson was able to finish her career on the ice, and help the Gophers reach college hockey's biggest stage.
Williamson, who played from 2015-19, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis at the start of her junior year. Through her dedication and perseverance, she not only returned to the ice less than six months after her diagnosis, she went on to score the game-winning goal in the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship game to send the Gophers back to the NCAA Tournament.
Since her diagnosis, Williamson has also helped raise awareness and assisted in raising funds for a Myasthenia Gravis and MDA Center of Excellence for people and families in Minnesota.
Williamson and her father, Dean, rode in the 2022 Triple Bypass Bike Race, a one-day, 116-mile bike ride in Colorado, with more than 10,000 feet of elevation change.
In 2023, they hosted the #picklingforaprayer pickleball tournament to bring their total to nearly $250,000 to support other families who receive the same diagnosis Williamson did nearly six years ago.
In honor of NGWSD, Gopher Athletics will be offering discounted tickets for the following events:
Feb. 8 - 7 p.m., Women's Basketball vs. Ohio State (Tickets start at $10)
Feb. 10 - 2 p.m., Women's Hockey vs. St. Cloud State (Tickets start at $5)
Feb. 10 - 4 p.m., Women's Gymnastics vs. Michigan (Tickets start at $10)
In addition, women's swimming and women's tennis both host events that weekend and are free to the public. Swimming hosts the First Chance Meet on Feb. 9-10 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, while women's tennis welcomes South Dakota to the Baseline Tennis Center.
Wednesday, Feb. 7, marks the 38th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day. NGWSD began in 1987 as a special day in our nation's capital to recognize women's sports. The day united premiere organizations and elite women athletes to bring national attention to the promise of girls and women in sports.
The NGWSD-Minnesota event is run by the Minnesota Coalition for Women in Athletic Leadership. This group is made up of volunteers who support the mission and vision of NGWSD. This year, two individuals with Gopher connections were honored at the event, as longtime equipment manager Lori Gislason and former Gopher women's hockey student-athlete Taylor Williamson were both recognized.
Gislason is the first to admit that her career path has been unconventional, but she also recognizes that her work at Minnesota has helped break down barriers for women in field maintenance and equipment at the collegiate level.
In 1982, Gislason was hired as the Junior Scientist Trainee for the Minnesota agronomy department. In 1989, she was hired full-time as a landscape specialist in Minnesota's landcare department, and in 1993 she was hired as the first, and only, full-time female employee to work on the softball and soccer fields and the baseball stadium.
She helped build the original soccer field for the soccer team. In 2000, Gislason made the shift from field maintenance to the equipment room in the athletic department. She was one of two women on the seven-person staff, and her job was overseeing equipment needs for the volleyball team and both basketball teams. She was one of few women overseeing equipment needs for a men's basketball program at the collegiate level, and less than a handful of women hold that position yet today.
Eight years later, Gislason was promoted to the director of equipment and she oversaw the equipment staff and teams. Now with more than 30 years in the athletic department, she remains one of just a handful of women in all of college athletics overseeing the entire equipment staff.
Gislason manages the school's Nike contract and has direct oversight with each sport's equipment manager and their purchasing needs.
Williamson received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.
In her four-year career with the Minnesota women's hockey team, Williamson received not one but two potentially career-ending diagnoses. The first was an arachnoid cyst on her brain, the second was being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, an incurable disease.
With the help of medication, physical therapy, and a lot of determination, Williamson was able to finish her career on the ice, and help the Gophers reach college hockey's biggest stage.
Williamson, who played from 2015-19, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis at the start of her junior year. Through her dedication and perseverance, she not only returned to the ice less than six months after her diagnosis, she went on to score the game-winning goal in the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship game to send the Gophers back to the NCAA Tournament.
Since her diagnosis, Williamson has also helped raise awareness and assisted in raising funds for a Myasthenia Gravis and MDA Center of Excellence for people and families in Minnesota.
Williamson and her father, Dean, rode in the 2022 Triple Bypass Bike Race, a one-day, 116-mile bike ride in Colorado, with more than 10,000 feet of elevation change.
In 2023, they hosted the #picklingforaprayer pickleball tournament to bring their total to nearly $250,000 to support other families who receive the same diagnosis Williamson did nearly six years ago.
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
Cub Plays of the Year
Monday, July 14