{"id":60487,"date":"2026-01-29T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=60487"},"modified":"2026-02-01T15:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T20:31:20","slug":"in-memoriam-miriam-mim-mumaw-61-coached-the-first-womens-intercollegiate-athletics-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/in-memoriam-miriam-mim-mumaw-61-coached-the-first-womens-intercollegiate-athletics-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: Miriam \u201cMim\u201d Mumaw \u201961 coached the first women\u2019s intercollegiate athletics teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Note:<\/em><\/strong> A service of celebration for Miriam \u201cMim\u201d Mumaw will be held on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at 3 p.m. at Washington Community Fellowship (907 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington D.C.). Memorial contributions may be made to the Washington Community Fellowship Church Renovation Fund, which can be found at <\/em>wcfchurch.org\/pages\/give-WCF<\/em><\/a>. Online condolences may be made to the family at <\/em>mcmullenfh.com\/obituaries\/miriam-mumaw<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A pioneering coach, co-athletic director, and professor at 91大神 in the 1960s and \u201970s\u2014and the youngest daughter of John R. Mumaw<\/strong>, 91大神\u2019s fourth president from 1948-65\u2014Miriam \u201cMim\u201d Mumaw \u201961<\/strong>, of Arlington, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 5, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During her tenure at 91大神 (then known as Eastern Mennonite College or EMC), Mumaw coached the school\u2019s first women\u2019s basketball (1966-75), women\u2019s volleyball (1968-79), and field hockey (1970) teams. She achieved the most success with the volleyball team, winning a state championship over James Madison University in 1973 and posting a perfect 21-0 season in 1976. Her overall record with the squad stands at 151-99. Mumaw was inducted into the 91大神 Athletics Hall of Honor<\/a> in 2002. Only three other coaches share that distinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who were fortunate enough to cross paths with Mumaw, either on 91大神\u2019s campus or at Washington Community Fellowship (WCF), describe her as a people person who greeted everyone she met with warmth. They speak highly of her meticulous attention to detail, which shone brightly in her volunteer service to WCF and in her career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices, where she worked for more than 40 years. They also remember her for her love of baseball, particularly the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, and her generosity in sharing her season tickets with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mumaw was a beloved mentor, leader, and friend, known by many for her deep commitment to 91大神 and her congregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe was a titan, a fierce advocate for women in athletics and for 91大神 in general,\u201d said Carrie S Bert<\/strong>, the first woman to serve as 91大神 athletics director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dave King \u201976<\/strong>, 91大神\u2019s athletics director for 17 years before Bert, agreed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMim advocated for the expansion of women\u2019s sports at a time when that wasn\u2019t supported by many in the institution, including her father who had been president of the college,\u201d said King. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During one of her visits to the 91大神 Athletics Suite, Bert recalled, Mumaw had shared with her how her father, likely reflecting the feelings of the wider church, had opposed the growth in women\u2019s physical activities at 91大神. \u201cMim just laughed and said, \u2018Well, that wasn\u2019t going to stop me \u2026 we just had to agree not to talk about it,\u2019\u201d shared Bert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMim was always so encouraging of me, both in words of affirmation and in the wonderful way she would squeeze my hand while we chatted,\u201d Bert said. \u201cI could feel her positivity and enduring support in those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n King told the Augusta Free Press<\/a> that he first met Mumaw when he arrived as a student in 1972, but \u201chad no idea of the trailblazer she was and the impact she had on women\u2019s sports\u201d until he returned as director of athletics in 2005. \u201cBesides coaching women\u2019s sports and teaching PE classes, her involvement with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) exposed EMC athletics to the broader collegiate athletic community and elevated the EMC sports programs,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mumaw was born on Jan. 14, 1938, in Harrisonburg, the youngest of five daughters, to John R.<\/strong> and Esther Mosemann Mumaw<\/strong>. She was 10 years old when her father, a professor and ordained minister, took office as president, succeeding John L. Stauffer<\/strong>. He would serve in that role for the next 17 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was an important part of her growing up,\u201d said Byron Peachey<\/strong>, a nephew of Mumaw and longtime 91大神 staff member. \u201cShe lived down the road on College Avenue and EMC was an even smaller community than it is now. Everybody knew everybody else\u2019s business. And so for her and her four older sisters, there was a spotlight on them and a set of higher expectations for what they did and how they conducted themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mumaw graduated from 91大神 in 1961 with a degree in business education. She then taught business education classes at Iowa Mennonite School for four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat would\u2019ve been an opportunity for her to spread her wings, outside of this glass bowl at 91大神 where everybody knew her,\u201d Peachey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1964, while Mumaw was in Iowa, her mother died \u201cvery suddenly,\u201d Peachey said. She returned to Harrisonburg to care for her father (in 1965, he married Evelyn King<\/strong>, former dean of women for 91大神, and resigned as president).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hired by 91大神\u2019s fifth president (1965-80) Myron S. Augsburger<\/strong>, Mumaw coached the school\u2019s first women\u2019s intercollegiate athletic teams, including women\u2019s basketball, volleyball, and field hockey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was groundbreaking for EMC,\u201d Peachey said. \u201cShe was a real innovator. \u2018Trailblazer\u2019 <\/em>is an overused word, but she truly was one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1968, after completing her master\u2019s degree at the University of Iowa, Mumaw began teaching accounting and physical education courses at 91大神. She also served as co-athletic director and co-chair of the physical education department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sandy Brownscombe<\/strong>, coach of 91大神 women\u2019s basketball (1978-89), field hockey (1978-93), and men\u2019s volleyball (1991-98) also in the Hall of Honor, said that Mumaw held significant roles at the state, regional, and national levels within the AIAW, which governed women\u2019s college athletics before the NCAA took over in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMim was a foundational figure for women\u2019s athletics in Virginia through the AIAW,\u201d Brownscombe said. \u201cShe started volleyball in the state of Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nGrowing up in a glass bowl<\/h2>\n\n\n\n