It began under the lights of Malosky Stadium on September 5, 2019 with a football victory over Minot State and came to an abrupt and unexpected end in mid-March due to the current pandemic.  In between, Bulldog athletics compiled an array of accomplishments in each of the three C's (competition, classroom and community) during the course of the 2019-20 athletic season.

"Despite the sudden halt to the competitive year in March due to COVID-19, without question this was another banner year for Bulldog Athletics," said UMD Athletic Director Josh Berlo. "On behalf of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the dedicated fans, season ticket holders, faculty and community that supports UMD Athletics and helped make these record achievements realities in Bulldog Country."

Those notable accomplishments included:

COMPETITION

• Four Bulldog programs either participated in, received an invitation or had positioned themselves for NCAA tournament competition in 2019-20.  These included: women's volleyball, women's basketball, women's indoor track and field, and men's hockey.

• Making their 22nd appearance in program history, including 17 of the last 18 seasons, UMD women's volleyball reached the NCAA tournament this past fall.  The Bulldogs finished the season with an overall record of 25-7 and finished the season ranked number 6 in the final AVCA II Poll.

• UMD football captured the North Division Championship for the 12th-consecutive season with an 8-3 record overall, having won the division each season since returning to the league in 2008. As far as keeping the opposition's ball-movement to a minimum, no one in the NCAA Division II ranks did a better job during the 2019 season than the University of Minnesota Duluth.  For the second straight year, the Bulldogs ranked first among all NCAA II schools in total defense, allowing just 250.3 yards per game. In addition, UMD ranked third in team pass efficiency defense (91.83) and fewest first downs allowed (150), fourth in pass defense (142.0 yards per game), seventh in punt return yards (17.16 yards per return), ninth in scoring defense (16.5 points per game) and ninth in punt return defense (2.82 yards per return).  On an individual front, sophomore Dain Hudson turned in the seventh-highest highest punt return average (15.0 yards) in the country.  

• The UMD women's basketball team captured the overall regular season championship in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with an outstanding 26-6 overall record and a 20-2 NSIC record, their 12th overall in school history and first since 2002-03.  In addition, women's basketball head coach Mandy Pearson was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Coach of the Year. Pearson is the Bulldogs first Coach of the Year award winner since Karen Stromme was honored with the award during the 1998-99 season. This past season Coach Pearson led the Bulldogs to an unbeaten home record for the first time since the 1999-00 season, as well as back to back 20 win seasons for the first time since 2003-04 and 2004-05. The Bulldogs own sophomore forward Brooke Olson was named the NSIC's Player of the Year, as well as being named to the All-NSIC First team. Senior forward Katie Stark and junior forward Sarah Grow were both named to the All-NSIC second team as well as being named to the All-NSIC Defensive team.

• UMD men's hockey rolled up 22 overall wins in men's hockey and concluded their 76th year of intercollegiate competition before the season abruptly ended. UMD finished second in the NCHC standings and posted a top two finish in the league's regular season standings for the third time in four seasons. 

• Now graduated goaltender Hunter Shepard closed out his career as a Bulldog as one of the most decorated goaltenders in NCAA history.  Shepard was a two-time All-American (first team in 2018-19, and second team in 2019-20), two-time NCHC Goaltender of the Year (2018-19 and 2019-20), three-time Mike Richter Award Finalist, and a Three-time All-NCHC selection. Shepard owns the NCAA record for consecutive starts with 115, an ironman run that stretched between October 21, 2017 and March 7, 2020. He is also UMD's all-time leader in wins (he was 76-37-5 overall), goals against average (1.94), saves percentage (.922) and shut outs (17). He also holds the distinction of being the only UMD goalie to ever secure all-conference first team status on more than one occasion. In eight lifetime NCAA Tournament appearances, he posted an 8-0 record, an 0.97 goals against average and a .953 saves percentage with one shutout. He was also the first goaltender to backstop his team to back-to-back NCAA national titles (2017-18 and 2018-19) in a half century. He also served as a team captain with the 2019-20 Bulldogs, the first goaltender to do so in 43 years.

• Defensive standout Scott Perunovich joined college hockey lore by winning the 2019-20 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Perunovich joins Jack Connoly, Junior Lessard, Chris Marinucci, Bill Watson and Tom Kurvers as the sixth Bulldog hockey player to receive the most prestigious award in college hockey. At six, UMD has the most recipients of this highest honor in all of men's collegiate hockey.  Perunovich concluded his junior year occupying the no. 2 spot on the NCAA defensemen scoring charts with a UMD-leading (and career-best) 40 points. His 22 power play points and 34 assists also ranked first and second, respectively, among all NCAA skaters. This past February, the Hibbing, Minn., product became the 58th member of the UMD Century Club -- the first Bulldog blueliner to reach that milestone since three-time All-American Norm Maciver back in 1984-85.  A three-time NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year Award winner, Perunovich closed out 2019-20 with the highest career points per game average (0.91) of any active NCAA defenseman in the nation.

• UMD produced thirteen All-Americans during the 2019-20 athletic season, including sophomore Haleigh Reindl, who was named a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track All-American. The rest of the 2019-20 All-American circle includes women's volleyball junior Kate Berg and senior Emily Balts, football junior offensive lineman Dan Monson, senior free safety Bill Atkins (honorable mention), senior linebacker Isaac Erdmann (honorable mention), and junior offensive lineman Noah Leblanc (honorable mention), men's basketball senior Brandon Myer, women's basketball sophomore Brooke Olson and the men's hockey quartet of junior defenseman Scott Perunovich, sophomore forwards Noah Cates, Kole Koepke, and senior goaltender Hunter Shepherd.

•  UMD women's hockey netminder Maddie Rooney concluded her career as a Bulldog by becoming UMD's all-time career saves leader on January 17th and finished her career with a staggering 3,449 stops, which led all active NCAA goaltenders this season. Rooney now owns three of the top four single-season records for saves in UMD history, including the fourth most of 964 saves set this season. One of only two Bulldog goaltenders to have made more than 1,000 stops in a season, Rooney also owns both the most games played by a UMD netminder (122) and minutes played (7,277:49), as well as third-most wins with 59. A five-time WCHA Goaltender of the Week this past season and named 2019-20 All-WCHA Second Team selection. Rooney won two World Championship gold medals with the U.S. National Team during her time at UMD, as well as a gold medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics with Team USA. Four University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey players were named to three different 2019-20 All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association Teams; Ashton Bell was named a All-WCHA First Team Defenseman, Gabbie Hughes an All-WCHA Second Team Forward, and with her, Maddie Rooney was named an All-WCHA Second Team Goaltender.  Sydney Brodt was selected to the All-WCHA Third Team. The Bulldogs finished 8th in the country, according to both the final USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.

• The UMD men's basketball program had their best season since the 1996-97 season with a 22-9 overall record and a second place Northern Division finish while having three players named to the All Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Teams. In addition to being named to All-NSIC First Team, senior forward Brandon Myer was tabbed as the NSIC Player of the Year. Myer was also named NABC First Team All-American, NABC First Team All-Central Region, was a nominee for NABC DII Player of the Year, a Bevo Francis top 50 player, D2CCA third team All-American, Small College Hoops Third Team All-American, the first NSIC player to be named USBWA National Player of the Week and was NSIC Player of the Week five times. In addition, Myer broke the UMD All-Time Scoring record and is the first Bulldog to eclipse 2,000 points (2,045 points). In addition, redshirt freshman guard Drew Blair was named to the All-NSIC Second team and senior forward Alex Illikainen was named as an All-NSIC Honorable Mention.

CLASSROOM

 • Overall, UMD's nearly 400 student-athletes -- including redshirt freshmen -- collectively posted an all-time high GPA of 3.36 in 2019-20 and of that group, 173 achieved GPAs of 3.50 or above and 26 turned in perfect 4.00 marks. The Bulldogs also set an all-time GPA record this past spring semester with a 3.44. The women's volleyball Bulldogs registered the best GPA (3.66) of any UMD team during the academic year while the 2019-20 Chancellor's Cup went to the UMD women's basketball Bulldogs for maintaining the best collective grade point average of 3.585 during the last two semesters (spring 19' and fall 19') (the Chancellor's Cup is awarded prior to the end of the academic year).

• A total of 172 different UMD student-athletes qualified for a spot on the NSIC All-Academic Team (record 59 in the fall, record 52 in the winter, and a record 61 during the spring) at some point in 2019-20. In addition, 10 Bulldog men earned All-Academic Team status from the NCHC with Bulldog sophomore Tanner Laderoute receiving NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition.

• UMD women's hockey landed 12 student-athletes on the American Hockey Association's 2019-20 Division I Krampada All-American Scholars list last month.  Those Bulldog players included sophomore Taylor Anderson, freshman Kasundra Betinol, senior Sydney Brodt, sophomore Kylie Hanley, sophomore McKenzie Hewett, senior Ryleigh Houston, junior Anna Klein, sophomore Anneke Linser, sophomore Lizi Norton, junior Naomi Rogge, sophomore Kailee Skinner, and sophomore Taylor Stewart.  The 12 All-American nods follows a record-breaking 12 players UMD also had named as WCHA Scholar-Athletes, with notably five repeat honorees.  The Bulldogs put an impressive 18 players on the WCHA All-Academic Team. 

• A duo of Bulldogs were voted CoSIDA Academic All-Americans for the 2019-20 season -- senior Emily Balts (volleyball - second team) and junior Dan Monson (football – second team).

• Six Bulldogs – Anna Hall (women's track and field), Kendall Hill (men's track and field and cross country), Alyssa Kavajecz (women's track and field), Bailey Ramich (women's volleyball), Elizabeth Schlafke (women's track and field and cross country), and Keena Seiffert (women's volleyball) -- representing four sports, earned a NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award for 2019-20. The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed upon NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher and are on track to graduate after the season.

• The NSIC Elite 18 Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NSIC's 18 Championships, was bestowed to Bulldog senior Kendall Hill (men's indoor track and field).

• UMD had two student athletes named NSIC Honor Student-Athlete Award Winners. Junior defensive tackle Dan Monson and senior setter Emily Balts were this year's winners for the Britton and Kelly Awards. 

• Six individuals from UMD men's and women's cross country earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II All-Academic Team citations for 2019. To attain All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have completed at least 12 semester/quarter hours through the semester of competition, maintain at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA II indoor and/or outdoor championships. The four Bulldog qualifiers from the women's team include seniors Elizabeth Schlafke and Melissa Drenckhahn, junior Morgan Radel and sophomore Haleigh Reindl. And on the men's team, senior Jake Kluver and sophomore Matt Trutna were recognized.

• The UMD women's cross country team was recognized as a 2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team. To qualify as an All-Academic Team, the institution had to possess a cumulative team grade point average of 3.00 or higher. The Bulldogs posted a 3.45 GPA and were among 148 schools to receive this distinction.  Also, for the 14th consecutive year, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's cross country team was recognized as an NCAA Division II All-Academic Cross Country Team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and posted a 3.39 GPA and was one of 120 schools that received this honor.

• The National Football Foundation Honor Society distinction in recognition of their exemplary academic achievements was bestowed upon two Bulldog football student-athletes; senior linebacker John Birkholz and senior linebacker Aaron Gorres. 

• UMD women's tennis student-athlete, Natalie Cahill, was awarded the UMD Darland All-American Scholarship.  Each year, faculty and staff are invited to nominate a student for the Darland All-American Scholarship. Nominees show the potential to contribute to America's future based on their character, citizenship, leadership, and values. The scholarship is awarded to students who have exhibited academic excellence and leadership skills.

• UMD once again received an American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for registering a 3.30 or above cumulate team grade point average. UMD was also honored by making the AVCA Honor Roll, a feat which is accomplished by having one of the top 36 GPA's across all of Division II volleyball. Finally, 10 (of a possible 12) Bulldogs attained Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Academic Team status in 2019, including seniors Emily Balts, Hanna Meyer, Bailey Ramich, Kenna Seiffert, and Abby Thor, juniors Kate Berg, Megan Freeberg and Lexy Langenfeld, and sophomores Sydney Lanoue and Brook Scheurer.

COMMUNITY

 • UMD student-athletes, coaches and staff collectively logged 3,087 hours of community service during the past year (July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020). 

• Nearly 100 different organizations and charities were beneficiaries of the Bulldogs' volunteering efforts this past year, including Safe Haven, Neighborhood Youth Services, Duluth's Laura MacArthur, Homecroft and Myers-Wilkins Elementary Schools, Bentleyville, Special Olympics, the Boys and Girls Club of the Northland, Aftenro Home, Damiano Center, Make-A-Wish, Salvation Army, Udac, Duluth 709 Baseball, Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, the ALS Foundation, Duluth East-Ordean Middle School, YOUMatter, the UMD Newman Center, Duluth Freighters Hockey, the Northland Community Wellness Day, Habitat for Humanity, and the Duluth Lion's Cub.

• Women's tennis led all UMD teams in average volunteer hours (over 45 hours per player) in 2019-20 en route to claiming the UMD Team Impact Award for the fourth time in its four-year existence while women's soccer finished second. UMD women's soccer ranked first in all of Division II in community service hours for their respective sport.

• Bulldog Athletics raised over $14,000 for Operation One Voice through the sale of camouflage caps and commemorative coins along with individual donations as part of Military Appreciation events during the 2019-20 athletic seasons. Fundraising kicked off on September 21st in the annual Military Appreciation Night at James S. Malosky Stadium as the Bulldog football program sported uniquely branded helmets for the game, featuring photographs of military veterans submitted by families.  Also, in conjunction with UMD Stores, the Bulldogs sold t-shirts and merchandise with proceeds benefiting Operation One Voice. Operation One Voice is a program designed by police officers, firefighters and community leaders to generate funds to help support the immediate needs of children and families of wounded and fallen Special Operations Forces.

• During the "Week of Champions" presented by Northland Subway, the Bulldogs award two individuals in recognition of the COMMUNITY.  Emily Hinz (women's soccer) and Jade Miller (men's hockey) were the recipients of the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, which is presented annually to UMD student-athletes who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the field of play and has made noteworthy humanitarian contributions in the Duluth and University communities.

WORTH NOTING

• UMD's average men's hockey home attendance of 6,122 this winter was the fourth-highest figure among the nation's 60 NCAA I institutions. Women's hockey posted the fourth-best attendance average (1,177) out of 41 NCAA programs. In women's NCAA II volleyball, the Bulldogs average attendance ranked 12th nationally.

• Former University of Minnesota Duluth football coach Jim Malosky, is one of four Minnesota football personalities included on the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot announced by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame. Jim Malosky led the University of Minnesota Duluth football program from 1958-97. When he retired, Malosky was the winningest coach in Division II history. During his 40-year coaching career, the Bulldogs won nine conference championships and produced 33 winning seasons. Malosky was named NSIC, MIAC and/or NAIA Coach of the Year 13 times. He also played quarterback for head coach Bernie Bierman at the University of Minnesota from 1947-1949. The home for UMD Football also bears his name, James S. Malosky Stadium. 

• Long time Athletic Administrator Bob Nygaard concluded a nearly four decade legacy for UMD Athletics.  Bob's contributions over that span included sports information, media relations, sports marketing, partnership with Mentor Duluth and many other community organizations, women's tennis administration and countless other endeavors.  In recognition of his service, Press Row at Amsoil Arena will be named in his honor.  In addition, stay tuned for a feature story on Bob's tenure later this year.

• UMD head women's volleyball coach Jim Boos, has been appointed to a four-year term on the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball National Committee. "I am honored and excited to be back on the NCAA Women's Volleyball National Committee after an eight-year hiatus," said Boos.  "Certainly there are new and exciting challenges ahead and I look forward to collaborating with this committee as we work to grow the game of women's volleyball". Boos will begin his tenure on September 1st and will serve on a committee that oversees, among other things, the selection, seeding and bracketing for the annual NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. Boos served on this same committee from 2006-2012 including serving as National Vice Chair in 2010 and as the National Chair in 2011 and 2012.

• UMD Athletic Director Josh Berlo was appointed to a four year term on the NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Committee beginning on September 1st, 2020. "I am very honored to have been appointed to the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Committee and look forward to collaborating with this impressive group of member administrators and coaches in support of the game of women's hockey," said Berlo. The committee oversees, among other things, the selection, seeding and bracketing for the annual NCAA Division Women's Ice Hockey Championship.

• A total of 11 UMD players signed contracts to play sports at the professional level in 2019-20. Six of the 11 athletes are from the men's ockey program, they include Scott Perunovich (St. Louis Blues), Nick Wolff (Boston Bruins), Hunter Shepherd (Hershey Bears), Justin Richards (New York Rangers), Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg Jets) and Jarod Hilderman (Jacksonville Icemen). Men's basketball player Brandon Myer signed with Lahti Basketball Club of Finland. Four women's hockey players signed professional contracts -- Maddie Rooney, Sydney Brodt and Ryleigh Houston all signed with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), while Jalyn Elmes signed with Sweden's Brynas.

• UMD athletic sponsorship and ticket revenue topped the $3 million mark for the fifth consecutive year. The Bulldogs have approximately 150 sponsorship partners and continue to sport one of the strongest hockey season ticket holders groups in the NCHC (men) and WCHA (women).

• UMD was recognized for its innovative athletics marketing and fan-experience efforts this past June when it received a "Best of" Awards (Gold citation) from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA).

• UMD junior track and field and cross country runner Braydon Kubat has been chosen to serve as one of the two Student Athletic Advisory Council representatives on the NCAA Division II Management Council. In this role, the Owatonna, Minn., native will serve as the voice for some 120,000-plus NCAA II student-athletes on national issues and legislation, namely the student-athlete well-being and experience. 

• UMD Athletic Director Josh Berlo and UMD Facilities Manager Chris Stevens, were recently awarded UMD Disability Resources "Recognizing Access Award" for their leadership in recent enhancements to Romano Gymnasium (which underwent significant upgrades over the course of the last two years).  Recipients were recognized for creating meaningful access & inclusion at the University of Minnesota Duluth during the 2019-2020 academic year.  

• On the fundraising front, more than $1 million was raised from nearly 2,000 donors during the 2020 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. This marks the seventh year in a row and seventh time overall that Bulldog athletic development generated over $1 million in gifts. These totals include current gifts and future pledges to the Bulldog Club Annual Fund as well as named scholarships, program support, capital projects, facility enhancements and various fundraising events.