Sports Home • Today at BU • BU Home • Alumni • Admissions • Academics

One of the most successful coaches ever in Division II softball history, Jan Hutchinson enters her 28th season as head softball coach at Bloomsburg.

During her career as coach of the Huskies, Hutchinson has posted a record of 958-216-2 (.815) and have made an NCAA record 22 consecutive trips to the NCAA championship tournament. She has the most wins of any active NCAA Division II coach and is second overall on the all-time Division II list for victories and best winning percentage. Overall, among all divisions, Hutchinson is seventh in career victories and winning percentage. The Huskies have also played in and won more NCAA tournament games than any other Division II school.

In December of 2004, Hutchinson received the highest honor for a softball coach when she was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA) Hall of Fame.

Bloomsburg has been to the championship round eight of the last 15 seasons, twice finishing as the national runner-up with losses each time in extra innings in the national title game, six third-place showings and two fourth-place finishes. The Huskies also won the 1982 AIAW national championship.

Hutchinson, who also coaches field hockey at Bloomsburg, was also the first woman ever to gain 1,000 combined collegiate coaching victories in a career. As the career leader in field hockey coaching wins with a mark of 483-64-20 (.869), Hutchinson has won 1,441 games, lost just 280 and has 22 ties between the two sports, a winning percentage of .833.

In softball, Bloomsburg holds 16 NCAA Division II individual, team or championship records.

In only her fourth season, Hutchinson won the national championship "double" in the 1981-82 school year, claiming the field hockey title in the fall and the softball championship that spring.

Bloomsburg has dominated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition in the two sports, winning 14 of the last 22 softball championships and 13 field hockey titles.

In field hockey, the Huskies have won 12 national championships (three straight from 2002-2004) and an NCAA-record four straight from 1996-99. Bloomsburg is the only NCAA team to ever win four straight national championships in field hockey.

The Huskies also won NCAA field hockey titles in1993, 1987, 1984, 1983 and 1981 and have finished national runner-up eight times.

Field hockey has had 45 players earn 81 All-American awards. Softball has had 30 players gain 50 All-American honors. Hutchinson has been honored as national coach of the year once in softball and twice in field hockey, most recently following the 2004 season. Hutchinson has also coached two softball players and 10 field hockey players to National Player of the Year honors.

Hutchinson's coaching talents have not only helped those as student-athletes, but several of her former players have gone on to coach at the intercollegiate level. At Bloomsburg, she has former All-American performers as top assistant coaches in both field hockey and softball. Others have gone on to coaching jobs elsewhere, such as Janelle Breneman (assistant softball coach at the University of North Carolina), Marci Hickey (head softball coach at Coppin State), Leah Conte (assistant field hockey and lacrosse coach at Mary Washington College) and Kathy Frick (former head coach at Goucher College, Bloomsburg and current head coach of Lafayette University lacrosse.)

Two former softball players have also played professionally. Janelle Breneman was a member of the Georgia Pride and Marty Laudato was a member of the Tampa Bay Fire Stix. In 1999 Laudato was named WPSL Hitter of the Year.

A 1971 graduate of East Stroudsburg, Hutchinson also earned a master's degree in education from the school in 1979. Prior to Bloomsburg, she initiated the women's physical education program at Blair Academy and served as head coach for field hockey, basketball and softball.

In the summer of 2000 the Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees honored Hutchinson by naming the softball field in her honor. She has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame at both Newton (NJ) High School and Sussex (NJ) County.