Hall of Fame
For more than 30 years Putnam was a top-level field hockey varsity player, as well as a club and collegiate coach in Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado, California, and at CWU. She led the Wildcats between 1968-80. Putnam served as tournament director for the 1978 United States Field Hockey Association/Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Field Hockey Championships. Involving 65 teams, it was the first national tournament hosted by Central and the only time the governing bodies for both club and intercollegiate field hockey teams held a combined national tournament. Putnam joined the Central physical education department in 1967 and was a member of the university faculty through 1992. She was the first woman academic dean at Central, leading Extended University Programs from 1982-1988. Putnam also served as president of the Northwest College Women's Sports Association in 1971 and, that same year, was a US representative to the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece. In addition, she illustrated numerous athletics-related books. Before coming to CWU, the US State Department selected her to conduct workshops in Guatemala for teachers who taught physical education in the kindergarten through university levels.
