Lizabeth Gayle Blevins (born c. 1953) is an American former college

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

coach. She was the head coach at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

from 1980 to 1987 and at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

from 1988 to 2010. With 1,245 wins in 31 years as a head coach, Blevins ranks 17th all-time in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

softball coaching victories.

Early years

Blevins is a native of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. She attended Wilbur Wright High School and graduated from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

in 1973.

Indiana University

Blevins was the head softball coach at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

from 1980 to 1987. She led the Hoosiers to

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

softball titles in 1980, 1983 and 1986. She had two 45-win seasons in 1982 and 1986 and a 47-win season in 1984. In 1986, she was named NCAA Division I Coach of the Year by the National Softball Coaches Association after her Indiana Hoosiers team finished in third place in the

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

. In eight years as the head coach at Indiana, Blevins compiled a record of 300 wins, 146 losses and 2 ties for a .672 winning percentage.

University of Iowa

In July 1987, Blevins accepted the head coaching job at the

. She was the head softball coach at Iowa for 23 years from 1988 to 2010. Blevins won 40 or more games in 13 of her 23 years at Iowa, including a career-high 53 wins in 1991, 52 wins in 1997 and 50 wins in 2005. She also led the Hawkeyes to 16 NCAA tournaments, four Women's College World Series appearances, five Big Ten regular season championships, and two Big Ten Tournament titles.

Coaching records and Halls of Fame

Blevins announced her retirement in June 2010. In 31 years as a head coach, Blevins compiled a record of 1,245 wins, 588 losses and 5 ties. At the time of her retirement, Blevins was the second-winningest softball coach in

history. She never had a losing season at Iowa or Indiana. Blevins was inducted into the

National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame was established in 1991 to recognize sports coach, coaches who have made extraordinary contributions to the sport of softpitch softball. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association ("NFCA") is ...

in 1999, and the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 2005. She was also inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blevins, Gayle 1950s births Living people American softball coaches 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Indiana Hoosiers softball coaches Iowa Hawkeyes softball coaches Dayton Flyers softball players Dayton Flyers women's basketball players Dayton Flyers women's tennis players Dayton Flyers women's volleyball players Educators from Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)

Early years

Indiana University

University of Iowa

Coaching records and Halls of Fame

See also

References