BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has announced its 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees and Concordia-St. Paul volleyball setter Maggie McNamara earned the honor.
The induction ceremony will be held Tuesday, July 12 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Moorhead, Minnesota at the NSIC's annual Summer Kickoff event. A social will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the ceremony at 6:00 p.m. Reserve your tickets for the banquet by visiting https://northernsun.org/HOFBanquet and filling out the online Hall of Fame Banquet Registration Form. Registrations are due no later than July 1, as space is limited for this event.
Maggie McNamara had a historic career for Concordia University, St. Paul volleyball from 2006 to 2009. She is one of the most decorated players in college volleyball history, at any level, as she still holds the NCAA record for career assists across all three divisions.
She amassed a career total of 7,351 assists as she averaged an NCAA Division II record 14.11 assists per set over her four years. She also holds the single-season NCAA Division II record in assists per set with 15.09 as a freshman. She also holds the top two single-season performances in assists per set in the 25-point scoring format (2008 & 2009) and first and fourth spots in the 30-point scoring format (2006 & 2007).
McNamara led the Golden Bears to three NCAA Division II National Championships. She is a two-time AVCA and Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, a four-time AVCA and Daktronics All-American, an AVCA National Freshman of the Year and the 2009 Sports Imports Division II Female Athlete of the Year in all sports. She also earned recognition for her efforts in the classroom as she was a 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team pick, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District pick and a three-time NSIC All-Academic team member.
During her career, the Golden Bears held a 146-8 record and a 75-1 mark in NSIC play as the team won their first three of seven consecutive national titles. The team added four NSIC championships and reached the NCAA Central Region championship in all four of her seasons on campus.
The 2009 Golden Bears went a perfect 37-0 and extended their winning streak to 74 matches as they won back-to-back-to-back national crowns. McNamara made it four straight years as the nation's leader in assists per set at 13.26 en route to claiming her second National Player of the Year selection.
In 2017, McNamara was named one of the NSIC top-25 female student-athletes from the past 25 years.
McNamara received her bachelor's degree in mathematics in 2010 before taking a position as a Buyer and Inventory Manager at Steinel America, Inc., where she worked for six years. After spending two years at Amazon, she moved into her current position at CHS working as a Buyer in the Processing and Food Ingredients Division.
McNamara remains active in the volleyball community. She spent time at Northern Lights and Blazer Volleyball clubs in the Junior Olympic circuit while also coaching at Visitation High School and the University of St. Thomas. During her first year at St. Thomas, the Tommies claimed the NCAA Division III National Championship.
McNamara resides in the Twin Cities and has two children, Maddox and Emmitt.
The class of 2022 includes: Maggie McNamara, Concordia University, St. Paul; Jim Kapitan, Minnesota State University Moorhead; Amanda (Madden) Mahlke, Northern State University; Link Steffen, Southwest Minnesota State University; Matt Schneck, St. Cloud State University; Katie Wilson, Wayne State College; and Ben Barrone, Winona State University.
Founded in 1986, the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC - the former men's conference) Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor those who made significant contributions to the conference, to create favorable publicity and public relations for the league and to help preserve the history of the NIC, its member institutions, student-athletes, and other significant individuals affiliated with the league. For the first two inductions (1986 and 1990) each selection hailed from the NIC. In 1992, the Northern Sun Conference (NSC - the former women's conference) and the NIC merged, creating the current Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). After annual inductions since 2000, the NSIC Hall of Fame now boasts over 200 members and one team.
Each NSIC institution (who has been a league member for at least ten years) is asked to submit one candidate for consideration for induction into the Hall of Fame. Each of the candidates are derived from individuals who have been affiliated with the NSIC, NIC, NSC and their member institutions.
In order to be eligible for the NSIC Hall of Fame, candidates must have made their contributions in one of the following areas: 1) former student-athletes, 2) administrator/coach, 3) official/supervisor/coordinator, 4) contributor/supporter, or 5) team. The conference provides two plaques; one of which will go to the inductee and one to the institution represented. A history of each inductee will be kept in the NSIC Office and each institution will prominently display the plaques of their respective NSIC Hall of Fame inductees.