Former Kentucky Women’s Golf Head Coach Bettie Lou Evans Has Died
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former University of Kentucky women’s golf head coach, Bettie Lou Evans, died on Tuesday.
Evans was the Wildcats’ women’s golf coach from 1979 to 2001, before serving as the Director of Golf Operations for the men’s and women’s programs for the next 17 years.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bettie Lou Evans, who played such a tremendous role in the development of golf in our commonwealth,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics. “From her days as a student-athlete at Transylvania, to her four decades at UK, to the time she invested in the golfing community, Bettie Lou’s name is synonymous with the sport.
“In addition to loving the game, she loved teaching and caring for the young people on her teams. That was in great evidence two years ago, when she was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, and so many of her former players came out to support and congratulate her. Our heartfelt sympathies are with (husband) Stan and their family and friends.”
During her time at the helm of the UK women’s golf program, she led her teams to post-season play 14 times, which included five trips to the NCAA Championships. There, her teams finished as high as fifth place in 1986 and 10th place in both 1988 and 1991.
She coached two All-Americans, six All-Southeastern Conference First Team players, four All-SEC Second Team players and five Academic All-Americans during her 23 seasons as head coach at UK.
Evans was the 1992 SEC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year, and the 1986 and 1990 Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
In 1997, she was inducted into the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and in 2021, she was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. She also is a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame and the Transylvania University Sports Hall of Fame, her alma mater.
Evans was greatly involved with golf throughout the commonwealth, serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Kentucky State Golf Association before she was elected president in 1978.
UK women’s golf regularly hosts the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, which has been held 30 times, dating back to 1979. The Wildcats have won the tournament, which was formerly known at the Wildcat Fall Invitational, 13 times, including the most recent edition in 2019.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
