ST. CLOUD, Minn.–St. Cloud State University Head Women’s Basketball Coach Dr. Lori Ulferts has announced her resignation as head coach. She has accepted a position as a professor in the St. Cloud State Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sport Science Department.

Ulferts has been the St. Cloud State head coach since March of 1994 and through 14 seasons with the Huskies has compiled a 219-178 won/loss record. Her 219 wins ranks second on the SCSU all-time coaching chart behind women’s basketball coaching legend Gladys Ziemer, who collected 321 wins in 20 seasons with the Huskies. The 2007-08 season marked the 23rd season overall for Ulferts as a collegiate head coach, in which she has compiled a 381-267 record.

“I would like to thank the University for its support over these last 14 seasons,” said Ulferts. “I would also like to thank Gladys Ziemer who hired me and led the way for St. Cloud State women’s collegiate athletics. I love being a coach but I am also looking forward to concentrating on being an instructor.”

“Hundreds of women student-athletes benefitted from having Lori Ulferts as their coach,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Morris Kurtz. “St. Cloud State University is fortunate that Lori will continue to provide her knowledge, skill and enthusiasm in the classroom. We very much appreciate her significant contributions to Husky Athletics and wish her well in her new assignment.”

Ulferts has guided the women’s basketball team in one of the most successful eras in women’s athletics at St. Cloud State. By her second season at St. Cloud State, Ulferts had posted a winning record, the first since the 1990-91 season. She went on to post nine winning seasons including her best record of 29-5 during the 2005-06 season.

St. Cloud State women’s basketball success included back to back trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the Huskies posted a 23-10 overall record and tied for third in the highly competitive North Central Conference. St. Cloud State was selected to compete in the NCAA Division II North Central Region Tournament as the seventh seed. The Huskies won the region title with an 81-70 win over Concordia-St. Paul. That sent the Huskies to Hot Springs, Arkansas and the 2005 Elite Eight. The Huskies season ended with a quarterfinal loss to Merrimack College, 79-78.

In 2006, St. Cloud State made a return trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. This time SCSU posted a 29-5 overall record, finished second in the North Central Conference, and were ranked third in the final NCAA Division II ESPN/USA Today women’s basketball poll. On Jan. 10, the Huskies played in one of the most hyped games in SCSU women’s basketball as the fourth-ranked Huskies hosted the second ranked University of North Dakota in a North Central Conference game at Halenbeck Hall. Both teams were undefeated at the time, as SCSU had a 17-0 record and UND a 20-0 record. UND won the
contest, 66-58 before an announced crowd of 4,871. Two months later, UND and SCSU would meet again, this time for the North Central Region title. The region tournament was played in Grand Forks, just as it had been in 2005, and this time SCSU was seeded third. The Huskies posted wins over Augustana College and Concordia-St. Paul, setting up a championship confrontation with the number one team in the country, University of North Dakota. UND had run its undefeated record to 34-0. The Huskies won 75-69 and advanced for the second straight year to the NCAA Elite Eight in Hot Springs, Ark. In quaterfinal play, SCSU posted a 78-71 win over Shaw University, In the semifinal game, the Huskies fell to American International College, 70-58.

St. Cloud State was the third collegiate coaching stop for Coach Ulferts. She began her collegiate coaching career at the University of Minnesota, Crookston in 1985. In four seasons, she compiled a 71-27 overall record and twice was named the Minnesota Community College Coach of the Years. In 1989, she was named the head coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and over five seasons posted an 81-62 record and was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 1992.

Ulferts grew up in Warren, Minn., and attended the University of North Dakota where she lettered in basketball, volleyball, softball, and field hockey. Ulferts graduated from UND in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. Ulferts earned a master’s degree from Frostburg State University, Maryland and a doctorate in education administration from the University of North Dakota.

In the fall of 2005, Ulferts was inducted into the University of Minnesota, Crookston Athletic Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the University of North Dakota Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2006, as a member of the 1980 UND Field Hockey Team. In June of 2008 she received the North Central Conference Legacy Award.

The Ulferts File:

1985-89: Head Coach at Minnesota, Crookston (71-27)

1989-94: Head Coach at Moorhead State (81-62)

1994: Named Head Coach at St. Cloud State University

1994-95: 8-19, 5-13 NCC

1995-96: 14-13, 8-10 NCC

1996-97: 8-19, 3-14 NCC

1997-98: 13-14, 8-10 NCC

1998-99: 18-9, 9-9 NCC

1999-00: 18-9, 10-8 NCC

2000-01: 21-9, 12-6 NCC

2001-02: 14-13, 9-9 NCC

2002-03: 8-19, 3-13 NCC

2003-04: 17-11, 7-7 NCC

2004-05: 23-10, 6-6 NCC

2005-06: 29-5, 9-3 NCC

2006-07: 17-11, 5-7 NCC

2007-08: 11-17, 3-9 NCC

Career record at SCSU: 219-178 (14 seasons)
Overall career record: 381-267 (23 seasons)

NCAA Playoff Appearances:
2000-01; 2004-05; 2005-06

2005 North Central Region Champions
2006 North Central Region Champions

2005 NCAA DII Elite Eight Quarterfinals
2006 NCAA DII Elite Eight Semifinals

(Source St. Cloud State)