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Linda Vollstedt named first ASU Coach Emerita; title befitting legend earned both on and off the course

Linda VollstedtLinda Vollstedt
Sun Devil Athletics

By Suzanne Luber Treviño 

Coach Emerita is a title reserved for legends in their sport, bestowed by university presidents on very few. Despite hundreds of winning coaches in Arizona State's storied history, until 2026 there were zero ASU coaches who held this prestigious title.  

Women’s Golf Coach Linda Vollstedt won six NCAA championships (1990, ‘93, ‘94, ‘95, ‘97, ‘98), launching 20 of her players into professional golf careers. She devoted the last 25 years to helping the golf program as director of marketing and promotions and then as Development Director at ASU Foundation. With her retirement, there is now one incredible Sun Devil who holds that legendary title of Coach Emerita. 

ASU President Michael Crow shared the honor with Vollstedt in the summer of 2026, in recognition of her 46 years of dedicated service to the university, as well as her contributions to the growth of ASU’s national prominence.  

During her coaching career, Vollstedt was recognized five times as Coach of the Year and was inducted into the National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 1994. Coach V was also named Golf World Magazine’s Top 10 College Coaches of the 20th Century and Golfweek’s 1997 National Collegiate Coach of the Year.  

While these accolades are impressive, it is the legacy that she left with the Sun Devil golfers who received lifelong lessons from her patient teaching and mentoring. Long after chipping and hitting lessons ended, Vollstedt was showing her student-athletes how to be successful off the golf course as well.  

Given the historic Coach Emerita title and the hundreds of lives Vollstedt helped shape, it felt appropriate to learn what her legacy means to a small sample of Sun Devil alumni. Through their own words and fond memories, Vollstedt’s impact is obvious. Her focus on mental and physical wellness, teamwork, grit and resilience is just a few of the important lessons she taught her golfers that have been shared well beyond the Arizona State campus.  

Kellee Booth

Blair O’Neal, Class of 2004
"Growing up, my dream was to play golf at ASU and specifically for Coach Vollstedt. I still remember the great conversations we had during my recruiting visit and how excited I was that she believed in me and saw something in me. She was a coach I had always looked up to, so being recruited by her was truly an honor. Her legacy is one that so many in the game admire, and her impact reached far beyond her players. I feel very fortunate and proud to have been one of her players." 

Kellee Booth, Class of 1998
“One of the things most of us disliked was filling out our post-tournament feedback sheets for Coach. She asked us what we did well during the tournament and what we could work on to improve for the next one. Most golfers are very critical of their performance, so writing what we did well was always the hardest part. I have used this throughout my adult life. I can get so caught up in the negative, yet this little task lets me look back on it positively and see that even when I failed, I got back up and tried again. The goal may still be out of reach, yet the journey along the way shows so many successes. I can then be proud of how much I have accomplished.” 

Tui Selvaratnam, Class of 1999
“Coach V was an amazing coach who helped me tremendously during my time on the golf team at ASU. I learned so much from her, both on and off the course, and many of the lessons she taught me are things I still use today with my own teams. I’m very grateful for the impact she had on me as a player and as a coach.”

 

Pictured: Kellee Booth, Class of 1998
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Wendy Ward, Class of 1995
“Coach Vollstedt has been an incredible mentor to me. I’ve often said she took a chance on me, being the first and last Texan she ever recruited. I wasn’t the top in my class, but she saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself: Potential. That’s what she saw in so many of us who later became NCAA National Champions. The three-peat still ranks as one of my most treasured accomplishments in golf. Coach not only had an eye for potential but also a sixth sense for building chemistry. She made us believe in the team and ASU tradition above and beyond ourselves. I always considered that vision  brilliant in a sport typically considered individual."

Heather Bowie, Class of 1997
“Coach V taught me what it meant to be a professional in everything I do. She showed me what it meant to represent something bigger than myself. Maybe most importantly, she taught me how important it is to control my environment and who I allow in it. She showed me the importance of being aware of things that were helping me and things that were holding me back.”

Tami Proctor Mayfair, Class of 1993
“Coach always taught me how to do my homework and be prepared by being several steps ahead. She also shared that winning is a habit, meaning you never slam your club after a bad shot and are as joyful and exuberant when you hit something good, which trains your brain to seek success. In teaching these golf lessons, they have, in turn, created success within my life.”  

Pictured: Wendy Ward, Class of 1995
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Jody Niemann, Class of 1999
“A great coach can teach you how to win. A great coach can teach you discipline, perseverance and teamwork. But a truly special coach leaves something behind that stays with you for the rest of your life. Coach V taught me the power of a positive mindset and that the way we approach challenges can be just as important as the challenge itself. She showed me that when you take care of yourself, work toward your own goals, and become the best version of yourself, you ultimately make the entire team stronger. She taught me what it truly means to be part of a team, and that sometimes your greatest contribution is simply showing up and being in the moment for the people around you.”

Tracie Cone, Class of 1994
“Coach Vollstedt has been one of the few people who have truly influenced my life. As a young player, she shaped so many of the ways I viewed the world and how I conducted myself as a student-athlete on my own for the first time. I am forever grateful for the patience, wisdom, advice and rules. She taught me how to be a team player in a very individual sport. She taught me the value of hard work. She taught me how to learn from disappointment and failures, and that those are opportunities to improve and get stronger. She taught me about learning from my mistakes. But most importantly, she modeled how to be a kind, caring and compassionate person.”

Tana Figueras Thomas

 

Tana Figueras Thomas, Class of 1992
“I arrived at ASU as a freshman who was admittedly a little dumb, completely uninformed, and probably far more confident in my abilities than I had any right to be. Linda had a remarkable way of humbling me while simultaneously making me believe I could become something far greater than I understood at the time. She instilled in me the desire to become a coach like her.  I wanted to impact others the way she impacted me. I am who I am today because of her. Every accomplishment I have had as a coach, every award I have received, and the career I have built over more than three decades can be traced back to what Linda taught me. Her impact on me was not only about golf, but about preparation, discipline, humility, leadership, perseverance, and what it means to truly care about the people you are entrusted to lead. I have spent my career trying to give my players what Linda gave me. I can only hope that some of what she instilled in me has been passed on through them. I will be forever grateful that I had the extraordinary privilege of being one of Linda Vollstedt's players and, ultimately, her student as I grew in my coaching career.” 

Pictured: Tana Figueras Thomas, Class of 1992.
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Michelle Estill, Class of 1989; played 1985-1986 and Assistant Coach 1986-1989
“Thanks to legendary Coach V, I was able to achieve one of my dreams, a college degree, and then went on to become a 17-year LPGA veteran. Coach V took a chance on me and chose me as a walk-on, even though I had limited talent and not much proven golf success, she saw potential.  One of her amazing talents was recognizing talent and possibilities in student-athletes and molding them into amazing women and great golfers. I grew from an average golfer to an ELPGA and LPGA professional golfer for over 20 years. Coach V was ahead of her time in college coaching and proved it through the talent she helped develop and the NCAA titles she won. My biggest thanks to Coach V was that she allowed me to go to college, become her assistant coach after one year of eligibility and receive my degree.  Something I would not have been able to do without her help and guidance.  Being part of her team and watching her passion of each student-athlete, their success and ASU shaped my future.  I am forever grateful for the opportunities, guidance, friendship and leadership Coach V has given me.” 

Cathy Curry, Class of 1982
“As a junior at ASU, Linda Volstedt was my third coach in as many years. I had just recovered from back surgery the previous year, and my layoff had caused both my game and confidence levels to sink. Coach V showed a real human interest in me as a person and was very empathetic to my situation.  Her encouragement and confidence in my abilities provided me with the fortitude to trust my swing, and my scores quickly improved.  By my senior year, I won the PAC-10 individual championship. Linda’s unconditional support helped me as a golfer and more importantly as a young woman.  Thank you, Coach V, for more than you know!” 

O'Neal, Blair-2

Amy Fruhwirth, Class of 1991
“Linda Vollstedt placed upon us the importance of nutrition, sports psychology, and strength training and keeping stats. Those were the things I used during my amateur and professional careers. The stats during the round and how we kept them on the scorecard are what I used on Tour. It helped me break down what I needed to work on within my game.  She also had us work with a sports psychologist, and what I learned from back then is what I use now. I think she was ahead of her time with those things that could help her players.” 

Kerry Graham, Class of 1968 and LPGA Life Member and LPGA Past National President
"Linda Vollstedt is a master guru of coaching. We were roommates at ASU while playing collegiate golf.  Through the years, I have treasured her wisdom and friendship.  She set NCAA records for National Championships and for Coach of the Century, and she really was that good.  Linda had a golf cart accident after she had already won 6 NCAA Championships in eight years of coaching at ASU.  That accident shortened her career.  She was easily on her way to 20 NCAA Championships if she hadn’t been sidelined by that accident.  Her special magic was her sense of the energy of each player and their family during recruiting.  Linda was the best at recruiting, not by picking the most successful high school students, but by picking the high school students who were going to be the most successful in the college environment, and then she coached them to use their energy best, both as individuals and as team members. Linda Vollstedt is a magician in recruiting, inspiring and developing team trust.” 

Pictured: Blair O’Neal, Class of 2004

Congratulations to Coach Linda Vollstedt on an inspiring ASU career capped with the prestigious Coach Emerita title. Her legacy of teaching, empowering and winning will always be a part of Sun Devil Women’s Golf. 

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Suzanne Luber Treviño graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School in 1995 with a degree in broadcasting. She was the Sports Information Director for the 1993 and 1994 ASU Women’s Golf Team, as well as the manager of the undefeated 1995 ASU women’s golf team. She is currently using many of the skills that Coach V taught her, advising senior leaders in Generation Operations as Executive Program Lead at Arizona Public Service.