Karen Stromme selected as finalist for NCAA DII 50th Anniversary Gold Award

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - Karen Stromme has given more than 40 years to the University of Minnesota Duluth, filling big-time roles and receiving big-time awards.

Stromme recently added another accolade to her resume, becoming one of 45 finalists for the NCAA’s Division II 50th Anniversary Gold Award.

Over the course of 21 seasons, Stromme set the record for most wins as a UMD women’s basketball coach. During her time in Bulldog Country, she also served as senior associate athletics director, senior women’s administrator and women’s golf coach.

The gold award will select two individuals, one male and one female, who have left a lasting and positive impact on Division II athletics. The award is part of the division’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, which lasts through the 2024 baseball season.

Nominees include past and present coaches, student-athletes and staff members throughout Division II.

Although Stromme has won several awards that recognize who she is and what she’s done, she says she will always be inspired by the impressive cast of people who worked before her and beside her.

“What I love about it is our stories,” Stromme said. “Just think, after 40 years the stories that you have, and so they appreciate that and they teach people the history of it and that matters because if we don’t tell the stories then that history gets lost and people can lose a lot of what’s important about how we’ve gotten here. So I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world and that I’m being honored for it, it’s just humbling and wonderful at the same time.”

The two award winners will be announced in January 2024 at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

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