Hall of Fame
After Coach Lorene Ramsey coached the first season of ICC Volleyball, Karen Guthmiller took the reins in 1974 and coached until 1990, leading Cougar volleyball to 13 NJCAA Top 10 finishes and laying the foundation for ICC to be a national power.
Guthmiller's 13 seasons of 10th place or better for NJCAA Volleyball are already impressive, but especially when she led the program for 16 seasons, adding up to 81% of the time. That run includes the 1984 National Runner-Up team which is also being inducted this year. Other top five teams include the 1983 3rd Place Team and 1985 3rd Place Team. On the volleyball court, a stout number of 47 players went on to pursue academics at a four-year institution.
On the softball field, Guthmiller was highly regarded as Coach Ramsey's right-hand assistant. With Guthmiller on staff, the Cougars made the National Championship Game three times: 1982 (National Champions and also 2024 ICC HOF Inductees), 1987 (Runners-Up), and 1989 (Runners-Up). She coached 16 All-Americans during her time with the program. She was inducted into the NJCAA's inaugural Hall of Fame in 1998.
After ICC, Guthmiller served as the assistant coach for Illinois State Volleyball (1990-1993), and was also the Tennis Coach (1993-1998) and Athletic Director (1993-2007) at Lee College in Baytown, Texas, where she still resides today. She has stayed involved with Lee College, serving such roles as the Division Chair (1993-2007), Faculty Assembly President (2015-2017, 2019-2021), and the Co-Director of the Empirical Education Center (2020).
Affectionately known as "Miss G", she now can add ICC Athletics Hall of Fame member to the list.
