University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2026
- Class:
- 2022
Among the most successful women's golfers and student-athletes at UNI, Hannah Bermel is the recipient of the 2026 Merlin Taylor Academic Hall of Fame Award.
First awarded at the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony in 2015, the Merlin Taylor Academic Hall of Fame Award is presented to an individual who not only displayed excellent play as an athlete, but excelled out of sport in the classroom academically and led by example in their journey towards furthering their education. Previous honorees have included student-athletes that have not only earned accolades in competition, but also academic recognition, including Academic All-American status, conference scholar-athlete honors and honor roll selections.Â
A Cedar Falls native, Bermel played five seasons for the Panthers from 2017 to 2022 and left her mark not only as a talented golfer, but one of the program and Missouri Valley Conference's (MVC) most decorated student-athletes. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from UNI with degrees in communication disorders and gerontology, Bermel was the first women's golfer to be named MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team four times in the history of the conference. Additionally, she was named the winner of the MVC's Elite 17 Award in 2019, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average competing in the conference championship event.
On the course, Bermel's career average round score of 77.76 helped her standout as one of the program's best as the first Panther to earn four First Team All-MVC honors in team history. A four-time MVC Golfer of the Week honoree, she led Panther golfers in 17 of her 38 career tournaments played, finished in the top-ten individually in 13 tournaments and also captured three individual tournament titles (2019 MVC Preview, 2019 Creighton Classic, 2021 Indiana State Spring Invite).Â
UNI tied its all-time best team performance at the MVC Championships with Bermel on the roster with runner-up showings in 2019 and 2021, and also captured five team tournament championships. Her senior season also included a career-best round of 69 at the 2022 Jackrabbit Invite.
Bermel, the daughter of longtime Panther head golf coach John Bermel, has spent the past years as an assistant coach for her alma mater. All four of her siblings, Abby, Jake, Hailey and Ben, have also all played golf at UNI.
