Bloomsburg Athletics

A pioneer in women's intercollegiate athletics, Mary Gardner became one of the first female athletic directors in the country responsible for both a men's and women's athletics program. She was appointed Bloomsburg's athletic director in July 1988 and served until her retirement in 2011. Under Gardner's direction, BU won the Dixon Trophy in 1996 and 1997, signifying the top all-around athletic program in the PSAC. Other successes include four NCAA national championships in field hockey, a second-place finish in football and two second-place finishes in softball (1991 and 1995). In addition, Bloomsburg University was cited by Sports Illustrated for Women and recognized as one of the best Division II programs for women in both 1999 and 2000. In 2003, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) honored her as Division II Athletic Director of the Year. In June of 2016 she honored with the D2 Athletic Directors Association (ADA) Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
Prior to becoming the head of the athletic department, Gardner was an assistant professor in BU's exercise science department and served as associate director of athletics for a year and a half. She initiated and served as head coach of the women's swimming and diving program for 14 seasons, posting an overall record of 88-28, and led the men's program for one season. The university's first field hockey coach, she registered a four-year record of 20-12-9. Gardner coached 44 All-Americans, several of whom won individual national titles.
 
In addition to Gardner's daily responsibilities, she served on numerous NCAA committees, including the Division II Management Council and the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics. She chaired the Division II Membership Committee for two years and was a mentor with the NCAA Fellows Leadership Program. She also served on the Amateurism Project Team, Football Issues Project Team, Legislation Committee, Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee and the NCAA Swimming and Diving Committee. Tournament director of numerous NCAA and PSAC championships, Gardner was a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Executive Committee and chair of the conference field hockey and swimming committee.
 
The Hatboro, Pa., native earned bachelor's and master's degrees at East Stroudsburg University, where she was the school's first three-time national champion in swimming and a varsity letter winner in both field hockey and swimming. She is a member of both the Hatboro-Horsham and East Stroudsburg University Halls of Fame. She and her husband Dean are the parents of two children, Tim and Kaitlin, and have five grandchildren.