Northern Michigan University

Varsity athletics for women at the intercollegiate level for Northern Michigan students began in the fall of 1968 when the University fielded its first all-female athletic team in field hockey.

The program for women was initiated through the efforts of Karen Kunkel, Del Parshall and Barb Patrick, staff members in the department of health, physical education and recreation, who prepared a rationale that was approved by the University's Board of Control.

A game against Central Michigan University that autumn marked the start of the modern era in women's athletics at NMU.

The coach of that initial team was Barb Patrick and her squad consisted of 12 "first team" players and 9 "second team" players. The first team played three games that fall and had a 2-1 record.

Field hockey remained the only NMU sport exclusively for women until the 1970-71 season when basketball was officially added to the program.

The first basketball coach was Del Parshall, who also coached a first and second team. The first team played two games in 1971 and won both. The so-called "B" team program was discontinued after the 1976 season.

Although Northern coeds had competed on the men's ski teams earlier ... and had even been awarded their varsity “N”... the first women's team took to the slopes in 1971-72 in both alpine and nordic competition.

Karen Kunkel, who served as the first women's athletic coordinator at Northern, was also the coach of the first women's ski team.

Volleyball was added to the program in the fall of 1974 with a 12-player roster and a six-match schedule. The team had a 4-2 record under the guidance of Kathy Wainio, a Marquette resident who coached the team on a part-time basis.

Gymnastics and swimming became intercollegiate sports for women in the 1977-78 academic year and tennis became the seventh women's sport in the fall of 1978.

Lowell Meier, the longtime men's gymnastics coach, inaugurated the women's program with seven gymnasts and eight meets. The team was 4-4 and finished sixth in a state championship meet. That squad was actually Meier's second women's team at NMU. He put together a team in 1968 that competed in a brief schedule, but the squad disbanded after the one season.

Joan Peto Hopkins began the women's swimming program with a predominantly freshman squad of 13. The team had a 1-6 record in dual competition and took part in two invitational meets.

Debbie Kazimir, a graduate assistant, coached the first tennis team. The nine member squad competed in eight matches and had a 5-3 record.

Tennis and skiing, however, were casualties after the 1979-80 academic year. A budget crunch in the state of Michigan forced cutbacks in higher education and these two sports, as well as two in the men's program, were discontinued.

Field hockey was discontinued after the 1983 season, compiling a 122-69 record in 16 seasons, all coached by Patrick.

Patrick, who served as women's athletic coordinator from 1974 to 1976, was appointed assistant athletic director in 1977, succeeding Lu Darr, who served in the post for one year and was named associate athletic director in 1983.

The program became affiliated with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in 1974 and with the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1982. Patrick served as AIAW Division II national vice-president and Michigan AIAWII state commissioner prior to NCAA affiliation.

The University hosted two AIAW national championship events, skiing in 1979 and Division II swimming in 1981, and four athletes won individual AIAW championships. Francine Malindzak was the first female All-American and the University's first double national champion, male or female, when she won the slalom and alpine combined skiing titles as a freshman in 1979. Two years later, another freshman, Lori Pebbles, won the Division II three meter diving championship.

In 1982 swimmers and divers were AIAW-II runners-up and set national records while winning five events. Individual titles went to junior Julie Bauman in the 50 yard breaststroke and to freshman Kim Storm in the 50 yard freestyle. Bauman and Storm teamed with senior Sue Berger and freshman Lisa Smith to win the 200 yard medley and 200 yard freestyle relays and with Berger and freshman Karen Olson to win the 400 medley relay.

NMU's first female NCAA champion, senior diver Jodie Stout, captured the one-meter crown in Division II in 1983, becoming the University's fifth individual national title holder. She was a member of the first NMU female team to qualify for an NCAA national championship event. One year later, at the 1984 NCAA-II gymnastics championships for women, junior Lori Farrell became the University's first national champion in that sport when she placed first in the floor exercise competition. In the spring of 1985, senior Lisa Goodman was crowned the NCAA-Il national champion in one-meter diving, the third NMU diver to win the honor.

The basketball, field hockey and volleyball teams won Michigan AIAW-II state championships ... basketball in 1980 and 1981, field hockey in 1979 and 1980, and volleyball in 1979 ... and the field hockey team reached the AIAW national championships in 1979 before being eliminated in the consolation quarterfinals.

In 1984 Patrick was elected to the University's Sports Hall of Fame, becoming the first woman to be honored.

After being discontinued in 1980, nordic skiing was brought back in the 1987 season along with the introduction of track and field. The following year, women’s gymnastics and men’s wrestling were cut. 

In 1992, women’s tennis along with men’s golf was established at NMU at the expense of track and field. 

The volleyball program would put together several years of remarkable success in the mid 90’s. In 1992, head coach Jim Moore would guide NMU to a 34-4 record, finishing 1st in the conference while reaching the national championship match. The next season in 1993, NMU would post their best season in program history, going 38-1 on their way to a national championship title. The Wildcats would not be done, as the next season, they would repeat as best in the country under head coach Mark Rosen, going 32-4. NMU would again reach the title match in 1995. 

In 1995 and 1996, NMU once again added alpine skiing along with soccer. In 2002, tennis would be discontinued and the following year, track and field would rejoin NMU athletics at the expense of alpine skiing. 

The latest women’s sports to be established at Northern Michigan include golf in 2015, lacrosse in 2016, and esports in 2020. Alpine skiing made its return to NMU in 2020 as well with the latest program coming in 2021 in wrestling. 

Several women's programs have made quite the impression for NMU at both the conference and national levels. 

At the 2007 NCAA Skiing Championships, Lindsey Weier, Lindsay Williams and Morgan Smyth swept the podium in both the 15K Classic and the 5K Freestyle races, an accomplishment that has never been equaled in the history of intercollegiate skiing. 

Womens basketball has compiled eight GLIAC tournament championships since its introduction in 1970 along with an all-time win percentage over 60%.  

Women's swimming and diving has also had great success in recent years, with Rachel Helm's national championships in 2017 (100-yard backstroke) and in 2018 (200-yard backstroke). The team has collectively won the GLIAC Championship in 2020 and 2022.