Former teacher, coach, assistant athletic director and school board president Carol Tumey died on Oct. 1 at the age of 82.
Tumey began her career at Center Grove High School in 1963, first as a PE teacher. She served as the department chair for the PE department, intramural director and Assistant Athletic Director. Over her tenure, she developed the first girls’ sports program at CG and served as coach of volleyball, cross country and track and field, as well as basketball, where she served as the school’s first girls basketball coach for 12 years.
“What a loss for Center Grove,” retired CG teacher Deb McClurg, whose volleyball team won the 2000 state title, said. “Carol was the pioneer for girls sports at Center Grove. She was the one who started girls sports at Center Grove, and she was the heart and soul for Center Grove girls sports. She was truly an advocate for Title IX. She provided so many open doors for female athletes.”
The importance Tumey placed on Title IX was evident to former Center Grove athletes.
“The culture she created was always striving for more equality,” former girls basketball player and 1992 CG grad Kari Hallett Miller said. “I saw that growth play out during my athletic career. At first we always practiced in the small gym. By my senior year, we alternated equal access to the main gym.”
Tumey’s influence in athletics, particularly the development of girls athletic programs, earned her numerous awards, including the Indiana Athletic Administrator of the Year, Regional Athletic Administrator of the Year, the St. Vincent Health Silver Medal and induction into the Franklin College Hall of Fame in 2000, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, and the Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014. While a track coach at Center Grove for 35 years, Tumey was named the National Girls Track Coach of the Year in 1980.
For McClurg, Tumey’s support of her teaching and coaching career stand out.
“She was part of hiring me in 1994 as a physical education teacher and coach. She was a great mentor and supporter of our Physical Education Department,” McClurg said. “I remember at our 2000 state championship volleyball game being down 7-14 in the last set. I turned around, and as an athletic director should, Carol was behind the bench prepared to congratulate our team on a nice try and a great season. However, it turned out differently and her consoling smile turned into a bigger smile, congratulating us on winning the title. That’s one of many memorable memories of Carol.”
Tumey graduated from Leavenworth High School in 1959 and Franklin College in 1963. After retiring from Center Grove in 2003, she returned to the Franklin College Education Department as an adjunct professor.
Roger Raymond • Oct 3, 2024 at 11:39 am
Carol Tumey was one if the two people who gave me a start in physical education and coaching when I was a new inexperienced teacher. John Clements and Carol recommended me for the job opening to then superintendent Wilbur Hardin. I spent the best 6 years of my educational experience at Center Grove HS. The years went by quickly then and still do today. It was a special time at CGHS in the mid 1970’s. Carol and Dale were special friends back then. Thank you Carol. God bless and keep you. I am sad today but grateful for our time together.
Coach Roger Raymond
Lake Buena Vista HS
Orlando, FL