College of Saint Benedict

In her 30-year tenure as a head coach and the athletic director, Carol Howe-Veenstra helped pave the way for the success of future student-athletes in the College of Saint Benedict athletic department.

Though she officially retired from athletics following the 2014-15 school year, Carol remained active with the Minnesota Coalition of Women in Athletic Leadership – as well as the CSB community – to continue to work for equity for women in sports around the state of Minnesota.

One of 50 athletes, coaches, administrators, media, and supporters selected to the Title IX Honor Roll for their contributions to women's athletics in Minnesota, Carol worked for 15 years (1985-99) as the head volleyball coach at Saint Benedict, Howe-Veenstra coached 10 All-Americans and guided CSB to 11 NCAA Tournaments – including six Sweet 16 appearances and a Final Four appearance in 1990.

Six times, she led the Bennies to MIAC volleyball titles. She was named MIAC Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1997 and Region Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1990. Howe-Veentra received the Nell Jackson Administrator of the Year Award from Women Leaders in Sports in 2011.

As the school's athletic director, Howe-Veenstra pushed to create more opportunities for Bennie athletes. With her leadership, the school's varsity hockey program began in the 1997-98 season and was instrumental in the push for upgraded facilities and opportunities for all of the college's varsity teams.

Carol was a Breaking Barriers Award recipient at the 1996 National Girls and Women in Sport Day Minnesota celebration and won a Special Merit Award from the committee in 2002. Under her watch, the CSB athletic department finished in the top three in the MIAC All-Sport race 18 times, including first place finishes in the 1994-95 and 1998-99 seasons.