Teri Clemens, Truman’s 1978 Female Athlete of the Year, has been selected to the NCAA Division II 40th Anniversary Tribute Team. Clemens was a three-sport star for the Bulldogs competing in Softball, Tennis and Field Hockey and later gained notoriety leading the Washington (Mo.) University Bears to seven Division III Volleyball titles.
Clemens was a four-year letterwinner for the Bulldog field hockey team from 1974 through 1977.
She was the softball team’s leading hitter as freshman in 1975 hitting .393 with nine runs batted in and a 6-4 pitching record. In 1976, she hit .314 with a team leading 12 RBIs.
Clemens moved to the tennis courts for the 1977 and 1978 springs.
She was 14-5 as the Bulldogs went 12-1 in ’77 and 6-11 in 1978 as the team captured the MAIAW championship.
Following graduation, she began her historic coaching career by winning three Missouri state volleyball high school championships at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis.
That string of championships earned her the head coaching job at Washington University in August of 1985.
She led the Bears to the 1989 NCAA Division III championship and then built a dynasty that won titles from 1991 through 1996.
Clemens boasts the highest winning percentage all-time in collegiate volleyball with a .873 mark (529-77) during her 14-year career at Washington University.
She was a 10-time University Athletic Association (UAA) Staff of the Year honoree and led the Bears to 11 of the first 12 UAA championships while going 136-1 (.993) in 12 years of conference play.
She was inducted into the Truman Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Washington University Hall of Fame in 1999.
In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of NCAA Division II, 48 former student-athletes are set to be honored by the NCAA throughout 2013.
Developed through a partnership with the Division II Conference Commissioners Association, the 40th Anniversary
Tribute Team highlights one male and one female from each of the division’s 23 current conferences, plus two at-large nominees. Clemens and Central Missouri’s Jim Crane were the MIAA honorees.
“This group of former student-athletes is meant to reflect the core values of Division II athletics,” said Josh Looney, associate director of Division II. “Commissioners have helped identify a diverse group of championship individuals from Division II’s 40-year history.
Not only did these former student-athletes act as champions in athletics and in the classroom, they’ve gone on to live championship lives as well.
“This group is a true representation of Division II’s commitment to providing its student-athletes a ‘Life in the Balance’ that extends beyond athletics.”
Division II gained its own unique intercollegiate athletics identity when Divisions I, II and III were formalized during a special NCAA Convention held in 1973.
Prior to 1973, the NCAA was organized into two divisions––“University” and “College.”
The year-long 40th Anniversary celebration will feature a number of initiatives branded by Division II’s tradition, history and community influence.
A special 40th Anniversary highlight video was unveiled to Division II membership during the 2013 NCAA Convention, officially kicking off the celebration.
Each member of the Division II 40th Anniversary Tribute Team will receive a commemorative 40th Anniversary gift and is slated to have his/her accomplishments profiled through Division II media channels.
Conferences were asked to submit a list of nominees representative of Division II’s ideals.
The only requirement was that nominees exhausted their athletics eligibility within the past 40 years and attended a college or university active in Division II.
Courtesy Truman State University
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