UTC graduate student Sigrún Ólafsdóttir was selected to the 2024-25 preseason all-Southern Conference team. Photo by Angela Foster.
To get a leader and “team mom” to young players, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team turned to an Icelander with a pedigree in the sport.
Sigrún Björg Ólafsdóttir, a graduate student in business administration, leads this season’s team in minutes played while averaging nearly 8.0 points per game.
Her love of basketball originated with her father, the late Ólafur Rafnsson, who passed away in June 2013 while attending the official opening of FIBA’s new headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. FIBA is the international governing body of basketball, with 212 national federations that collectively define the rules of the game and organize major competitions. Rafnsson was president of FIBA Europe for three years and president of both the Icelandic Basketball Federation and the Icelandic Olympic Committee.
Sigrún Ólafsdóttir (courtesy gomocs.com)
Sigrún chose basketball over a promising soccer career after her father’s death, said her mother, Gerður Guðjónsdóttir.
“There was never any pressure from her parents about which sport she should choose. That decision was entirely hers, but after her father passed away, much changed in her life and it likely had some effect. She was very much a daddy’s girl,” Gerður said.
Sigrún’s love of soccer took a back seat after she set foot on the basketball court.
“He [father] was a really good player and then he was really big in the basketball world, so he kind of got me to love the game,” Sigrún said. “He coached me up and my sister as well, so I kind of got that connection with him.
“I always wanted to play soccer, but then I was just always kind of good in basketball at a young age, so I grew up with that.”
Sigrún received a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance from UTC in May 2024, earning Latin honors and a 3.8 GPA.
Upon arriving at the University, she was extremely shy but now has taken on a leadership role.
“I was very nervous to speak English every day,” Sigrún said. Through watching American television and movies, “I had learned English and I could read English, but I’d never spoken English, so that was very nerve-wracking for me. So as soon as I got the hang of speaking English, I feel like I could be myself more and talk to people. My teammates and coaches helped me a lot with that.”
Sigrún’s family has always been deeply involved in sports, her mother said. She followed her sister and father as a member of the Icelandic national team.
Sigrún Ólafsdóttir
“Sigrún has always been very kind-hearted and her temperament is exceptionally good. From a young age, she has been a leader, but more of a silent leader. She doesn’t make much noise, but people listen to her, follow her and show her respect,” Gerður said.
Her daughter was asked to follow Shawn Poppie to his new job at Clemson University after winning Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors last season, but Sigrún said she chose to stay at UTC because of her love of Chattanooga.
“Sigrún comes from a very close-knit family,” said UTC first-year coach Deandra Schirmer. “It was a big decision for her to leave her family and come a whole world away to play basketball and earn a degree at UTC. She knew that she was making a big sacrifice to be here, and she has made it a point to make the most out of her time here.
“She has become an integral member of the community and a fan favorite. Sigrún leads with love and with hard work. She is someone who is going to give her all into anything she is working towards and her work ethic is contagious. She leads by example and is somewhat of our ‘team mom’ for the younger players. She has accomplished many things in her time here at UTC but is still the most humble individual. She is driven to represent her family and her country in the best way possible and she has definitely made them proud. She has had a lasting impact here and will leave a legacy of hard work and unselfishness.”
This is Sigrún’s final season of eligibility, so she hopes to finish her UTC MBA degree online after returning to Iceland. While she sometimes gets hot shooting from behind the three-point line, Sigrún prefers to play a tenacious defense.
“It just takes heart. You don’t need skill to do it,” said the 5-foot-9 shooting guard. “And I feel like defense wins games.”
In last year’s UTC win in the Southern Conference championship against Wofford, Sigrún was assigned to guard Wofford star Rachael Rose, who averaged 22.3 points a game during the season.
“It was like a scene from ‘Hoosiers’ where the coach said he wanted his defender to know the flavor of the opponent’s chewing gum,” said UTC Assistant Athletic Director Jim Horten. “Sigrún locked her down” in the 63-53 UTC victory.
Learn more
Sigrún Ólafsdóttir’s gomocs.com bio
Sigrún Ólafsdóttir’s honors at UTC have included winning the 2024 SoCon Pinnacle Award and being selected to the 2024 SoCon All-Defensive Team (photo courtesy of gomocs.com).
