University of Minnesota Duluth veteran head coach Karen Stromme, the guiding force behind one of the top NCAA Division II basketball programs in the country the past two decades, has been promoted to the position of assistant athletic director for operations/senior woman administrator at UMD, it was announced today by Bulldog director of intercollegiate athletics Bob Nielson. Her appointment officially begins July 1.



As assistant athletic director, Stromme will provide oversight for department operations, event management and promotions in addition to serving as UMD’s senior woman administrator, a position she’s held on an interim basis the last two years.



Stromme, 44, will continue in her role as the Bulldogs’ head women’s basketball coach. Since assuming the coaching responsibilities back in 1984-85, the Duluth native has compiled a 420-175 overall record (for a .705 winning percentage) and posted 20 consecutive winning seasons. She has also guided the Bulldogs to 12 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles, four of a possible five NSIC Tournament championships, seven NCAA II North Central Regional playoff berths and seven appearances in the NAIA National Tournament.



Stromme, who first joined the Bulldog staff as an assistant women’s basketball coach in 1983-84, also doubled as UMD’s women’s head golf coach during that program’s four-year existence (1988-92). She is a past president of the NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, past chair for the Kodak All-American Team Selection Committee and was the chairperson of the USA Basketball Team Selection Committee for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Stromme also served as an assistant coach for Team East at the 1995 U.S. Olympic Festival and was among the official travel party for Team USA, which won the women’s basketball gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.