BEMIDJI, Minn. – It is with a heavy heart and great sorrow that the Bemidji State University Athletic Department must share the news that Beaver Volleyball head coach Kevin Ulmer has passed away Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with cancer surrounded by his family. He was 41 years old.
We ask you to send your thoughts and prayers to the entire Ulmer family, his wife Kate and their three daughters.
We are heartbroken to lose our colleague, our coach, and our friend Kevin Ulmer,” said Bemidji State Director of Athletics Britt Lauritsen. “The late Stuart Scott, an ESPN anchor who also battled cancer, said, “When you die that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” Kevin was a man of deep faith, of pure love for his family, of wholehearted dedication to his team and to Bemidji State Volleyball. The manner in which he lived will carry on in the lives of the women he has coached, and in all of us in the department, the community, and beyond who love and care about Kevin. It is a privilege, even in the midst of our grief, to carry on the light that burned so brightly in Kevin every day. We are sending all our love and light to Kate and their three beautiful daughters as they navigate this loss.”
Memorials services for Kevin will be announced at a later date.
Kevin was the head coach of the BSU Volleyball program for the past nine seasons after joining the Beaver family in June of 2016. Since taking over the program, he has guided 62 student-athletes to their successes on and off the court. 30 of those have earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Academic Team honors with six earning the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award which is bestowed to those with a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate.
Kevin’s student-athletes have consistently been atop the ranks in the classroom and have won multiple American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Awards. He has also coached two All-NSIC selections in the toughest conference in Division II volleyball in Jessica Yost and Rylie Bjerklie.
Kevin came to Bemidji State after serving as the head volleyball coach at Bethel College (Ind.) for four seasons and served as an assistant coach at Georgetown College (Ky.).
He graduated from Northwestern College (Iowa) in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health education and earned his master’s degree in biomechanics and exercise physiology at the University of Kentucky.
A Go Fund Me has been established to help the Ulmer family cover medical expenses during this troubling time as well as an NSIC Volleyball Rally for Coach Ulmer has been established and can be found here.
Friday’s match at University of Minnesota Crookston has been canceled.
For more information on the Bemidji State volleyball program, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversVB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers and Volleyball Facebook) and follow them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversVB)
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women’s hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
Info courtesy of bsubeavers.com