Velvet Milkman (2024) - Hall of Fame - Murray State University Athletics

Velvet Milkman

Induction:
2024

Velvet Milkman - Women's Golf (1993-23)

Started the women's golf program in 1993.
Is the all-time leader at Murray State with 12 OVC Championships.
Career at Murray State displayed amazing longevity that spanned an amazing 22 years between her first title in 1997 and the last in 2019.
Dominant teams that won the OVC championship three consecutive times on three different occasions (1997-99), (2002-04) and (2017-19).
The Racers finished runner up five times and placed outside of the top-3 only five times in 28 OVC championship appearances.
Her MSU teams made seven NCAA appearances by competing in team regionals including Columbus, Ohio (2009), Columbus, Indiana (2010), Tallahassee, Florida (2014), Lubbock, Texas (2017), Madison, Wisc. (2018) and Auburn, Ala. (2019).
In 2022, Payton Carter became the first MSU and OVC player to play as an individual when she competed at the Franklin, Tenn. NCAA regional. Holmslykke became the first golfer from Murray State and the OVC to advance to the NCAA Championship in 2019.
Historic programs are made by great players and Coach Milkman was able to recruit and develop eight different student-athletes that combined to win 10 OVC Player of the Year honors.
List includes Jenny Daag (1998, 1999), Cuyler Hedley (2002), Lee Anne Pace (2003), Nikki Orazine (2004, 2005), Delaney Howson (2014), Moa Folke (2017), Linette Holmslykke (2019) and Payton Carter (2022). In 12 OVC team championships, Milkman's Racers had eight players produce 10 medalist winners at the OVC championship including Daag (1998, 1999), Hedley (2002), Pace (2003), Orazine (2004), Howson (2014), Folke (2016, 2017), Anna Moore (2019) and Carter (2022).
The Racers also performed at a championship level in the classroom with 35 winners of the OVC Medal of Honor signifying perfect 4.0 GPA's.
Delaney Howson (2014) won the OVC Scholar Athlete Award and the Racers won the OVC Academic Achievement Award four times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).
Milkman's teams produced six student-athletes that were named the top graduate in their field of study including Jesse Widman-Economics (2000), Ilka Loubser- Finance (2006), Ashley Kelbough - Outdoor Recreation (2006), Delaney Howson - Finance (2014), Sophie Hillier – Finance (2016) and Linette Holmslykke – Finance (2019), who also won the coveted NCAA Elite 90 Award in 2019.
Milkman served for 18 years as senior woman administrator for MSU Athletics and led the department as interim athletics director from July 2018 through February 2019.
She was one of the leaders in shaping women's golf at the NCAA level and served a four-year term (2009-12) on the NCAA Women's Golf Committee including two years as chair.
Was honored in 2022 with the Gladys Palmer Service Award, presented by the Women's Golf Coaches Association's (WGCA).
In 2024, was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Foundation Hall of Fame.