Alumni Alumni Award
Chris Voelz '70
Executive director for Collegiate Women Sports Awards; Palm Springs, California
Chris Voelz’s career in athletics is defined by commitment to excellence and opportunity. She currently serves as executive director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards, which recognizes the best student-athletes across the NCAA’s three levels.
Voelz was a standout athlete during her time at Illinois State, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education teacher education. Voelz earned varsity letters in four sports and was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame in 1982. She has since gone on to prominent positions in the realm of athletics and has been a staunch advocate of women’s athletics.
Prior to her role with the Collegiate Women Sports Awards, she worked for the Women’s Sports Foundation, an educational nonprofit founded by Billie Jean King. Voelz still serves as an ambassador, steward, and member of its advocacy committee.
Voelz was the first women’s coach in team sports at Maine South High School from 1970-78. She was head volleyball coach and senior athletics administrator at the University of Oregon from 1978-88; during her tenure there, she led her team to a top 10 finish and served as president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Voelz was later athletics director at the University of Minnesota from 1988-2022, making her the longest-tenured athletics director at that institution. In that role, she managed 12 sports, a multimillion-dollar budget, and a staff of nearly 100 employees. The women’s athletic program experienced unprecedented success during her tenure, setting new records for fundraising, academic and athletic performance, and construction of seven athletic venues.
Voelz served on the first NCAA Gender Equity Task Force and has been a tireless advocate of Title IX. She co-authored the definition of gender equity adopted by the NCAA.
Voelz has been recognized often. She has earned the National Association of Girls and Women in Sports Honor Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of College Women Athletic Administrators, an organization she led as president. Fitness magazine recognized her as one of the top 10 influential people in women’s sports, and she was among Minnesota’s “100 Most Important Sports Figures of the Century.” Voelz is a member of Minnesota’s M Club Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.