Jan Hutchinson To Be Inducted into the E. Stroudsburg Hall of Fame

EAST STROUDSBURG -- East Stroudsburg University will induct five All-American student-athletes, the first women's soccer championship team in PSAC history, and the winningest coach at any division in NCAA history into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame on Homecoming Day, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008.

The 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame class includes All-Americans Bob Seagraves '79, Mike Reichenbach '84, Jack Goldowski '85, Vicki Vaites-Heitczman '96 and Jan Blake Hoffman '97. Jan Hutchinson '71, who holds the NCAA record for wins during her coaching career at Bloomsburg, and the 1994 women's soccer team will also be inducted.

Hutchinson, who did not compete in athletics as a student at East Stroudsburg due to injury, has assembled a career as one of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA history at Bloomsburg University. As the head coach of the Huskies' field hockey and softball programs, Hutchinson enters the 2008 season with 1,676 career wins and has won 28 PSAC championships - 14 each - between the two sports. She has led Bloomsburg to 14 national championships in field hockey and holds the all-division record with 546 career wins, and owns the Division II softball record with 1,130 career victories.

Hutchinson's achievements in coaching have not gone unnoticed by her peers. She has been honored with induction into both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Halls of Fame. In addition, Hutchinson was named the winner of the C. Vivian Stringer Award by the United States Sports Academy in the summer of 2006.

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 the University of North Florida), Leah Conte (head field hockey coach at South County, VA, Secondary School), Kathy Frick (former head coach at Goucher College, Bloomsburg, and current head coach of Lafayette University lacrosse) and Nicole Hartranft Rhoads (head field hockey coach at Alvernia College).

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 University, 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. She has also been inducted into the Newton High School, the Sussex County (NJ), and the Luzerne County (PA) Halls of Fame. In the year 2000, the Bloomsburg softball field was named in her honor.