Laurie Melum is in her third year as academic coordinator for the Jackrabbits' 21-sport varsity athletics program, overseeing the academic center located in the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center.

Melum played an instrumental role in both the academic and on-court success of the Jackrabbit women's basketball program where she was an assistant for nine years. She joined the women's basketball coaching staff as an assistant in 2000 and helped lead the Jackrabbits to six postseason appearances.

The Jackrabbits made three consecutive NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances (2002-04), including winning the 2003 Division II national title, and continued their run of success at the Division I level by compiling a 120-32 record over the last five seasons. SDSU made back-to-back appearances in the Women's NIT during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons before earning a berth in the 2009 NCAA Tournament in its first year of eligibility. The nationally ranked Jackrabbits won back-to-back Summit League regular season titles and added a league postseason tournament title in 2009.

With Melum serving as the team's academic coordinator, SDSU led all divisions of women's college basketball in team grade-point average three consecutive seasons: 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. The Jackrabbits were honored on the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association Top 25 Honor Roll three other times (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2008-09), finishing no worse than third among Division I programs.

Melum played an instrumental role in the development of the Jackrabbit women’s basketball program into a championship-caliber team at the NCAA Division II level and has helped direct a seamless transition into the Division I ranks by serving as recruiting coordinator. Melum’s recruiting has allowed the Jackrabbits to attract a number of top in-state high school recruits throughout the D-I transition, while continuing to secure commitments from top-level players throughout the Upper Midwest.

She also provides on-court instruction for the Jackrabbit backcourt players. In working with the team’s guards, Melum guided the development of 2006 Division I Defensive Player of the Year Heather Sieler and WNBA second-round draft pick Megan Vogel.

A Rapid City native and graduate of Stevens High School, Melum played four years at Augustana, earning all-North Central Conference and academic all-NCC honors as a senior in 1997. In NCC career statistics, Melum still ranks fifth on the charts for three-pointers with 150, eighth in three-point attempts, 358, and ninth in three-point percentage, .419.

Melum continued with the Viking women’s basketball program as a student assistant while completing a degree in elementary education in 1998.

Prior to coming to SDSU, Melum served as head volleyball coach and assistant girls’ basketball coach at West Central High School in Hartford. She also coached the Dakota Blue, a club basketball team featuring some of the top South Dakota high school players, for three summers. The Dakota Blue team won the 2000 Miss Basketball National Championship.