Hall of Fame
Denise, a native of Detroit, Michigan, lettered two years on Wayne State University's women's volleyball team. During her two years at Wayne State, Gotham earned Division I All-State honors. Gotham earned varsity women's volleyball letters in 1979 and 1980 while leading her team to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship in 1980 and co-championship in 1979. In 1980, Gotham led her team to the University of Michigan tournament championship where Wayne State defeated 1979 State Champion, Central Michigan University. Wayne State finished the 1980 season with a 23-7 overall and 13-1 conference record. Her freshman season, Gotham received The South End's "Top Tartar" award recognizing her as the top athlete of the year. After playing at WSU, Gotham played two seasons at Central Michigan University, where she was co-captain and was named a First Team All Mid-American Conference selection. Gotham finished up her senior year at CMU with a .386 hitting percentage, placing her sixth in the NCAA division I statistics standings. In 1981, Gotham played on the East Team in the Summer Olympic Sports Festival and earned the honor of being the only volleyball player from Michigan to play in the festival. Gotham graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1984. She is currently working on her master's degree in Instructional Technology at Wayne State. After graduating from CMU, Gotham taught mathematics at Ferndale High School. She then instructed industry computer training courses for three years before returning to teaching. She taught part time in the Garden City School District before becoming the technical director at the South Lyon Community School District. She held that position for four years before returning to the classroom. She taught computers in Northville for two years and is now currently teaching math at Novi Middle School. Denise, who met her husband, Donald, while attending Wayne State University, have one son (Derek) and one daughter (Danielle) and live in South Lyon, Michigan. Donald is a member of the Wayne State University family as he played football at WSU from 1976-81 and participated in the discus and shotput.
