BSU Volleyball Coach Kevin Ulmer Dies After Bout with Cancer

Kevin Ulmer (Credit: Bemidji State University)

Kevin Ulmer, the head coach of Bemidji State volleyball, died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 41 after a three-year battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family when he passed away.

Coach Ulmer took the reins of the Beavers’ volleyball program in 2016 and began a rebuilding process that last year resulted in the team’s most successful season of his tenure, with the Beavs finishing 10-16, the squad’s best finish since 2010.

The late coach was also successful in developing student-athletes that excelled in the classroom, with 30 players garnering fall NSIC All-Academic honors and winning multiple AVCA Team Academic Awards.

BSU Director of Athletics Britt Lauritsen issued a statement earlier today mourning the loss of Coach Ulmer, saying: “We are heartbroken to lose our colleague, our coach, and our friend Kevin Ulmer.”

She continued, “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.”

Kevin Ulmer is survived by his wife Kate, his three daughters, and hundreds of volleyball athletes, families, co-workers, and friends whom he impacted as a coach. A GoFundMe in support of Kevin and his family has raised nearly $60,000.

Both of BSU’s volleyball games this week against Minnesota State and Minnesota Crookston have been cancelled. The Beavers’ home opener is still scheduled for September 25th at 6 p.m. against Minnesota Duluth.