Hall of Fame
A four-year member of the Indiana University women's tennis team, Kathleen earned a degree in physical education. She went on to Ball State, where she served as the head tennis coach for the Cardinals for a season while completing a master's degree also in physical education. A stint at Hanover College saw her serve as the head tennis coach, coach volleyball and golf, and teach physical education. Kathleen then made the jump across the state line to the south and served as one of the nation's first female athletic directors for both men's and women's sports programs at Spalding College in Louisville, Kentucky.
Four years after Notre Dame became co-educational, Kathleen was hired by the University to lead the first varsity women's tennis program in 1976. That first team went on to post a 7-3-1 record in the fall 1976 season. In 1977, she joined the Saint Mary's community when she was hired as the first athletic director in the College’s history while also serving as the head tennis coach for the Belles. That joint role allowed her to co-organize the first Notre Dame-Saint Mary's Irish Invitational tennis tournament in 1977. The following fall season, the Belles tennis team – which was a well-respected powerhouse in the Midwest – defeated defending state champion Valparaiso in a 5-4 thriller at home. Her role of athletic director saw Kathleen work to reclassify several sports to varsity status and develop a variety of intramural and club programs to further expand the opportunities for women to participate in all levels of sports.
The success of the Saint Mary's teams was yet another avenue she poured herself into during her time at the helm of our department. Her 1977-78 tennis team won the Midwest Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Division III Championship. Saint Mary's also saw several student-athletes in other programs – skiing, swimming and diving, and crew – compete in AIAW regional championships.
After her time in South Bend ended, Kathleen became a chair and tenured professor at Whittier and Miramar Colleges. She was the Interim Executive Director for the American Association of Leisure/Recreation (AALR), a role in which she represented the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance on the White House Green Ribbon Panel. The AALR recognized her contributions with their Outstanding Achievement Award and Merit Service Award for Distinguished Service to Recreation. In 2014 the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition selected Kathleen as a Lifetime Achievement Award winner. In addition to several other distinctions and honors, she was honored by Indiana University with the 2014 Anita Aldrich Distinguished Alumni Award and the 2016 Leanne Grotke Award, the university's highest award in women's athletics for national contributions made to women's athletics. In 2017, she was inducted into the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America's Hall of Fame.
