For five decades, Betty Wiseman has been an active figure atBelmont University. As a student, coach, and professor, Wiseman hasbeen a great ambassador for the University and the Department ofAthletics.
As Assistant Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator,Wiseman advises the athletic department on the status of women'ssports and conducts administrative tasks in relation to all sports.She serves as liaison between Athletics and Student Affairs,coordinates counseling, discipline, and all random drug-testing forathletes, and serves as advisor to Belmont's Student-AthletesAdvisory Committee. In addition, she works with teams as theyparticipate in service opportunities throughout the year, includingorganizing and leading a yearly foreign mission trip with athletesto do Sports Evangelism overseas. Countries served through thesetrips include Poland, Portugal, Costa Rica, Brazil, Venezuela,South Africa, Ukraine, Malta and Italy.
Wiseman also serves on many committees and boards. In 2008 shecompleted a four-year term as one of the Atlantic Sun Conference'srepresentatives on the NCAA Management Council. The ManagementCouncil serves as the main legislative body for Division I sports.She has been a member of many Atlantic Sun Conferencecommittees.
After graduating from Belmont in 1965, the Portland, Tennesseenative was named as Associate Professor of Health and PhysicalEducation in 1966 and began a teaching career of 40 years. She wasnamed Professor Emeritus in the Department of Health and HumanPerformance in 2006 where she served as Chair for six years. In1968 the former high school basketball standout began a new careeras a women's sports trailblazer when she founded the women'sbasketball program at Belmont, one of the first programs, not onlyin the state, but in the southeast. Wiseman was the head women'sbasketball coach at Belmont for 16 seasons, compiling a 248-152record. She led Belmont to four consecutive berths in the NationalWomen's Invitational Tournament from 1973-1977. In thosetournaments, her teams knocked off such programs as Alabama,Nebraska, and North Carolina. She was inducted into the BelmontAthletics Hall of Fame in 1981.
Wiseman has been honored by several organizations for hercontributions to collegiate athletics. In 1999 she was given theJosten-Berenson Service Award by the Women's Basketball CoachesAssociation during the NCAA Women's Final Four in San Jose,California to recognize her lifelong commitment to women'sbasketball. In 2003 Belmont honored her by naming part of theuniversity's new athletic facility the Striplin-Wiseman AthleticOffice Complex. Finally, in 2004, Wiseman was inducted into theTennessee Sports Hall of Fame for her contributions to promotingwomen's basketball in the state. She is the first Belmont coach orathlete to be so honored. In July 2007 she was featured in anarticle on the front page of The Tennessean, as a Tennessee SportsLegend.
She is a member of Brentwood Baptist Church where she serves asTrustee, is a member of the adult choir, serves as a substituteteacher in Sunday School, and is an active missions volunteer.
