U of M’s first-ever women’s athletics director dies

The University of Minnesota’s first-ever women’s athletic director has died, the university announced Monday.

According to Gophers Athletics, Belmar Gunderson died recently at the age of 88.

Gunderson served as Minnesota’s women’s athletics director from 1975-76, helping to lay the foundation for future generations of student-athletes, Gophers Athletics says.

She was appointed to lead the women’s department after serving as the university’s extramural and intramural sports director, teaching physical education and coaching several sports.

Gunderson is also the person who led the creation of the Patty Berg Scholarship Fund to provide athletic scholarships to women.

Prior to her time at the U of M, Gunderson was a standout tennis athlete at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and went on to compete in several premier professional tournaments as an amateur, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Lawn Tennis National Championships. Her national rank rose as high as No. 11 in singles and No. 2 in doubles.

Overall, the university says Gunderson dedicated more than 50 years to women’s athletics.

She was inducted into Minnesota’s M Club Hall of Fame in 2003 and also is in UNC-Greensboro’s Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2011, she was also awarded the U.S. Tennis Association’s Service Bowl Award, which is given each year to a female player who makes the most notable contribution to the sportsmanship, fellowship and service of tennis.