National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - Briefly in the NewsApril 28, 1997
Woman reaches 1,000 victoriesAlready having coached her field hockey and softball teams to seven national championships, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania coach Jan Hutchinson gained an exclusive honor April 20 when she became the first woman to gain 1,000 victories in NCAA competition. She is also the first coach to reach 1,000 wins by combining victories from two sports that are coached on a full-time basis.
"To be the first woman to get 1,000 wins in the NCAA will always be something that is very special to me," Hutchinson said. "This will certainly rank up there (in my career highlights). The other one that stands out to me is the year we won two national championships in the same year." That accomplishment took place in the 1981-82 academic year, when Bloomsburg won the field hockey title in the fall and the softball championship in the spring. The milestone victory came in a 6-0 victory over Dowling College in the final game of the Bloomsburg Invitational softball tournament. Bloomsburg is 38-2 this spring in softball and was ranked No. 5 nationally in the most recent Division II poll. Last fall, the field hockey team won its sixth national championship. Hutchinson's teams have been in the NCAA playoffs in both sports every year since the 1982-83 season, and she has been honored as the national coach of the year in both sports. She has coached 27 field hockey athletes to 47 berths on all-America teams, while 22 of her softball players have earned all-America recognition 37 times. Beer booted by Tar HeelsThe University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and its broadcasting partner have just said no to beer advertisements on Tar Heel football and men's basketball broadcasts. In place of the advertisements, listeners will hear former and current North Carolina student-athletes, among others, encouraging students and fans to use alcohol responsibly. A March 20 report by a university substance-abuse task force recommended removing the ads from North Carolina broadcasts. The Village Companies, the Tar Heels' multimedia partner in football and men's basketball, chose to go a step farther, eliminating all advertisements for alcoholic beverages on its 65-member network. "We want to show our support for the university's efforts to curb under-age drinking and promote responsible alcohol use," said Jim Heavner, president of The Village Companies. Athletes help battle floodA group of 75 student-athletes, coaches and administrators from the St. Cloud State University athletics department pitched in April 10 to help with flood-relief efforts in the upper Midwest. Members of the Huskies' football, volleyball, baseball, women's basketball and men's basketball teams helped with the sandbagging at Holman Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, a municipal airport near the confluence of the flood-swollen Minnesota River and the Mississippi River. One of the buildings the group was trying to protect houses a local unit of the National Guard. St. Cloud State junior football player Jeremy Sinz said the trip provided a great bonding experience for the athletes. "It wasn't all that great outside, but we went and made the best of it," he told the St. Cloud Chronicle. "It wasn't easy work, but we had fun. Everybody was working out of the kindness of their heart. "It helped us bond together more as a team. It was a positive experience all the way around." Mascot changeBeginning next year, Miami University (Ohio) athletics teams will be known as the "Redhawks." The university's board of trustees approved the change by voice vote April 18. Miami had used "Redskins" as its nickname for 68 years, but the institution concluded that term constituted a racial slur. "I don't think it was a politically correct move," trustee Wayne Embry, a former Miami basketball star and a board of trustees member, told The Associated Press. "I think it was a humanly correct move." There was, however, some resistance to the change. "It's typical of what's going on in the world today," said former trustee Harold Paul. "The majority did not rule. The overwhelming opinion of the student body, the overwhelming opinion of the alumni, was that there should not be a change of any kind. The only majority recognized today was the board and the administration." -- Compiled by David Pickle |
Hutchinson, who was the subject of a New York Times story on the day of the landmark victory, has a combined record of 1,000-185-20 (.838), including marks of 671-136 (.831) in 20 seasons of softball and 329-49-20 (.852) in 19 years of field hockey.