Cardinal Hall of Honor
Dr. Belle Mead Holm served as Lamar University’s women’s athletics director for 19 years, from 1964 to 1983. Upon her arrival at LU in 1964, Dr. Holm found a young, yet budding, women’s athletic program that grew and cultivated into teams that could compete on a national level. She started the highly successful women’s tennis program at Lamar in 1964, and guided the team to a Texas state championship in 1965.
A strong advocate of women’s athletics, Dr. Holm held numerous positions in state and national organizations, wrote several articles and gave numerous lectures. In 1971, he was chairman of the board of the Texas Foundation of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, the forerunner to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW).
Dr. Holm was also instrumental in the formation of the Southland Women’s Conference, serving as the president of the executive committee. The SLWC began competition in the fall of 1983 and merged with the Southland Conference a year later.
