Dartmouth to Honor Jersey of Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth College Athletics Department has never honored one of its athletes' jerseys in over 150 years of varsity athletics. That all changes on Saturday, Feb. 25, when it will unveil a banner representing the jersey of Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 for all her accomplishments as a student-athlete, business professional and humanitarian during a halftime ceremony at the Big Green women's basketball game against Penn.

Koziara Boudreaux, currently the President and CEO of Elevance Health, was a standout athlete for the Big Green. A four-time All-Ivy League player and a three-time recipient of the Ivy League Player of the Year in women's basketball, she earned a spot on the All-America Third Team as a senior in 1982. She remains the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,933 points (average of 21.9 per game) and rebounder with 1,635 (18.4 per game) and led Dartmouth to three conference crowns.

In addition to her prowess on the hardwood, Koziara Boudreaux was an All-American in the shot put in her senior campaign for the Big Green women's track and field team and the Ivy League champion in the event each of her four years. She also won the discus throw as a junior and senior, placing her in the top 10 for total individual titles in conference history for women's track and field.

Professionally, Koziara Boudreaux has been named as one of Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business and featured by Forbes as one of 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. She has been named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and one of the Top 25 Women Leaders. She also received the 2018 Billie Jean King Leadership Award for outstanding leadership and significant contributions to the advancement of women through achievements in sports and the workplace.

In January of 2022, Koziara Boudreaux received the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the highest honor the NCAA can bestow upon an individual. The first Dartmouth alum to receive the honor, she joined an elite group that includes four former U.S. Presidents and a number of legendary athletes and figures in American history. The award, widely known as "The Teddy," is awarded annually to a person who received at least one varsity letter for participation in varsity athletics and who went on to become a distinguished citizen of national reputation based on outstanding life accomplishments.

"Gail has created an extraordinary legacy," said Mike Harrity, the Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation at Dartmouth, "and she is a terrific role model for all our student-athletes as someone who is committed to excellence, dares greatly, and demonstrates compassion and drive in everything she does. It is only fitting that she be the first of our alumni to have her jersey honored by Dartmouth College."

After graduating from Dartmouth, Koziara Boudreaux earned an MBA in finance and health care administration from Columbia Business School. She also started her 20-year career at Aetna, ascending through the ranks to become Senior Vice President. In 2002, she became the President of BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, and was later named Executive Vice President of Health Care Service Corporation, the parent company of BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

In 2008, Koziara Boudreaux joined UnitedHealthcare as president of the company's commercial business, then was named CEO of United Healthcare in 2011. As the CEO, Koziara Boudreaux ran the largest division of the company, which accounted for the vast majority of the company's overall growth. She had responsibility for approximately $120 billion in revenue and managed more than 60,000 employees serving 45 million consumers. During her tenure, UnitedHealthcare increased its revenue by 50 percent.

Today, she is the President and CEO of the third largest company with a woman as its CEO. She oversees Elevance Health's nearly 100,000 associates and more than 119 million people served through the company's diverse portfolio of industry-leading medical, digital, pharmacy, behavioral, clinical, and complex care solutions. Her leadership and actions have helped distinguish Elevance Health as an employer of choice, focused on inclusion and diversity. The company has recently been recognized by:

Fortune as one the 100 Best Companies to Work For
Bloomberg on the Gender-Equality Index
Forbes as a Best Employer for Diversity and as one of America's Best Employers
The Human Rights Campaign as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality
Disability: IN & American Association of People with Disabilities on the Disability Equality Index Best Places to Work
The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility on the Corporate Inclusion Index

Koziara Boudreaux's recognition for her athletic exploits continued following her college days, being named to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 before receiving the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2007 for outstanding professionalism and athletic achievement. She was an inaugural member of Dartmouth's Wearers of the Green, the college's athletics hall of fame, in 1984, plus was recognized in the inaugural class of Ivy Legends of Basketball in 2017 and inducted into the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Hall of Fame last year.

Koziara Boudreaux and her husband Terry have been ardent supporters of Dartmouth College and the athletics department. Not only has she served as a Trustee for the college, but she and Terry also endowed the head coaching position for the women's basketball program. In addition, her two sons, Chris and Evan, were student-athletes and graduated from Dartmouth as well.

Tickets for the game are available online through the Dartmouth Athletics ticket website.

Schedules