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Nebraska Cornhuskers softball

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Nebraska Cornhuskers softball
Founded1976; 49 years ago (1976)
UniversityUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
Athletic directorTroy Dannen
Head coachRhonda Revelle (33rd season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationLincoln, Nebraska
Home stadiumBowlin Stadium (Capacity: 2,796)
NicknameCornhuskers
ColorsScarlet and cream[1]
   
NCAA WCWS runner-up
1985*
NCAA WCWS appearances
1982, 1984, 1985*, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2013
NCAA Tournament appearances
1982, 1984, 1985*, 1987, 1988, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023
Conference Tournament championships
Big Eight: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988

Big 12: 1998, 2000, 2004

Big Ten: 2022
Regular Season Conference championships
Big Eight: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988

Big 12: 1998, 2001, 2004

Big Ten: 2014
*vacated

The Nebraska Cornhuskers softball team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The program was founded in 1976 as a club sport and became an officially sanctioned varsity sport the next year. NU plays its home games at Bowlin Stadium, constructed in 2001 as part of the Haymarket Park complex.[2] Nebraska has made twenty-five appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament, with seven Women's College World Series berths. The team has been coached by Rhonda Revelle since 1993.

History

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Early success

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Nebraska's softball program began in 1976 as a club sport and was officially sanctioned as a varsity sport in 1977 in the wake of Title IX. Don Isherwood led the program in its early years but was fired in 1980 as the university wanted a head coach with a college degree.[3] NU hired Nancy Plantz, who led the Cornhuskers to the inaugural NCAA Division I Women's College World Series in 1982 (in its early years the tournament was held in Omaha, longtime host of the College World Series, meaning NU played the WCWS less than fifty miles from its Lincoln campus). Plantz's tenure ended in a disastrous 1983 season that was cut short by the university after player walkouts and a last-place conference finish.[4]

Nebraska was nearly unable to field a team in 1984 before hiring former NAIA Coach of the Year Wayne Daigle to lead the program.[4] The Cornhuskers set a school record for wins and returned to the WCWS as shortstop Denise Day was named the first All-American in program history. Daigle's second season saw the breakout of freshman pitcher Lori Sippel, whose no-hitter against Louisiana Tech in the WCWS opener helped send the Cornhuskers to the title game for the first time, where they lost 2–1 to UCLA. Months later, Nebraska'a national runner-up finish was vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions; according to the committee, Daigle allowed a redshirt player to travel with the team and purchased dinner for a recruit and her family.[5] This also made NU ineligible for postseason play in 1986, which would be Daigle's last at Nebraska; he resigned and returned to Texas, where he coached high school softball for the remainder of his career.[6]

Athletic director Bob Devaney named pitching coach Ron Wolforth Daigle's successor.[7] Wolforth led Nebraska back to the WCWS in each of his first two seasons, its fourth and fifth appearances in the event's first seven years. Wolforth's teams were less successful in the later years of his tenure and he grew weary of the NCAA's increasingly stringent rules and guidelines.[7] He resigned in 1992 to start a baseball and softball academy in Vancouver.[7]

Rhonda Revelle era

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Devaney hired former Nebraska pitcher Rhonda Revelle to replace Wolforth in 1993. Revelle quickly returned the program, which hadn't made the NCAA tournament since 1988, to national relevance. NU did not miss the tournament from 1995 to 2007 and finished nationally ranked in every season but one. In 1998, Nebraska completed the first undefeated conference season in Big 12 history and returned to the Women's College World Series. Revelle became the third person to reach the WCWS as a player and a head coach, and the first to do it at the same school.[8] Nebraska won at least fifty games in each of the next three seasons, culminating in another WCWS appearance in 2002; NU was eliminated with a pair of one-run losses. Nebraska's run of twelve consecutive top-twenty-five national finishes ended in 2007, and the following year the program missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln joined the Big Ten in 2011, and in its second year in the conference NU advanced to the WCWS. In 2013, Revelle won her 768th game as Nebraska's head coach, passing former baseball coach John Sanders for the most victories by any coach at the university. Nebraska won the Big Ten for the first time in 2014, losing a Super Regional to Alabama.

In 2019, Revelle was placed on paid administrative leave after complaints of emotional abuse and harassing text messages.[9] Several colleagues and former players voiced support for Revelle, who was later reinstated without further punishment.[9][10] Revelle won her 1,000th game at Nebraska in 2021.

Venues

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Main article: Bowlin Stadium

Bowlin Stadium, part of the Haymarket Park complex in downtown Lincoln, has been the program's home venue since 2002. It has a listed capacity of 2,796 (though the university says it can hold over 3,000), with nearly 1,000 chairback seats in addition to metal bleachers down the first base line and all-grass berms down both foul lines. Nebraska has ranked in the national top ten in attendance five times and hosted five NCAA Regionals since moving to Bowlin Stadium.[11] On April 27, 2024, a stadium-record crowd of 2,691 saw Northwestern defeat Nebraska 8–1. Bowlin Stadium is adjacent to the larger Hawks Field, which hosts Nebraska's baseball team.

The Kentucky bluegrass playing surface at Bowlin Stadium was named the collegiate softball "Field of the Year" in 2004 by the Sports Field Management Association.[11]

Coaches

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Coaching history

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No. Coach Tenure Overall Conference Accomplishments
1 Don Isherwood 1976–1980 106–85 (.555) 16–24 (.400)
2 Nancy Plantz 1981–1983 77–53 (.592) 17–16 (.515) Women's College World Series (1982)
Conference champion (1982)
Conference tournament champion (1982)
3 Wayne Daigle 1984–1986 110–31 (.780) 26–6 (.813) Women's College World Series (1984, 1985)
Conference champion (1984,1985,1986)
Conference tournament champion (1984, 1985, 1986)
4 Ron Wolforth 1987–1992 188–126 (.599) 29–25 (.537) Women's College World Series (1987, 1988)
Conference champion (1987,1988)
Conference tournament champion (1987, 1988)
5 Rhonda Revelle 1993–present 1,127–665 (.629) 366–256 (.588) Women's College World Series (1998, 2002, 2013)
Conference champion (1998, 2001, 2004, 2014)
Conference tournament champion (1998, 2000, 2004, 2022)

Coaching staff

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Name[12] Position First year Alma mater
Rhonda Revelle Head coach 1993 Nebraska
Lori Sippel Associate head coach 1990 Nebraska
Olivia Ferrell Assistant coach 2024 Nebraska
Diane Miller Assistant coach 2009 Missouri Southern State

Awards and honors

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All-Americans

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First-team

  • Denise Day – 1985
  • Lori Richins – 1986
  • Ali Viola – 1996, 1998
  • Jenny Voss – 1998
  • Jennifer Lizama – 1999
  • Taylor Edwards – 2015
  • M. J. Knighten – 2016

Second-team

  • Denise Day – 1984
  • Lori Richins – 1987
  • Lori Sippel – 1986, 1987
  • Tobin Echo-Hawk – 1995
  • Ali Viola – 1995
  • Jennifer Lizama – 1997, 2000
  • Christie McCoy – 1998
  • Leigh Ann Walker – 2000
  • Peaches James – 2004
  • Tatum Edwards – 2013

Third-team

  • Tobin Echo-Hawk – 1996
  • Kim Ogee – 2002
  • Anne Steffan – 2005
  • Taylor Edwards – 2011
  • Tatum Edwards – 2014
  • Kiki Stokes – 2015, 2016

National awards

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Conference awards

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  • Player of the year: Ali Viola (1995, 1998), Peaches James (2004)
  • Pitcher of the year: Tatum Edwards (2013)
  • Freshman of the year: Ali Viola (1995), Jennifer Lizama (1997), Ava Bredwell (2022)
  • Coach of the year: Rhonda Revelle (1998, 2001, 2014)

Season-by-season results

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Regular season champion Tournament champion Regular season and tournament champion
Year Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason[a] Final
rank[b]
Big Eight Conference (1977–1995)
1977 Don Isherwood 12–15 1–4 T–4th
1978 25–14 4–3 7th
1979 33–18 3–8 6th
1980 27–23 8–9 4th
1981 Nancy Plantz 27–21 5–6 3rd
1982 33–14 9–3 1st NCAA Division I College World Series
1983 17–18 3–7 7th
1984 Wayne Daigle 39–13 6–2 1st NCAA Division I College World Series
1985 33–8 11–1 1st NCAA Division I Runner-up[c]
1986 38–10 9–3 1st
1987 Ron Wolforth 41–11 8–2 1st NCAA Division I College World Series
1988 39–20 7–3 1st NCAA Division I College World Series
1989 32–28 6–4 3rd
1990 31–19 3–5 5th
1991 22–18 3–5 5th
1992 23–30 2–6 5th
1993 Rhonda Revelle 18–23 5–11 5th
1994 21–33 5–15 6th
1995 43–20 10–6 3rd NCAA Division I Regional 18
Big 12 Conference (1996–2011)
1996 Rhonda Revelle 42–23 10–8 4th NCAA Division I Regional 18
1997 29–24 10–6 4th NCAA Division I Regional 25
1998 48–12 16–0 1st NCAA Division I College World Series 5
1999 35–21 10–8 4th NCAA Division I Regional 20
2000 52–21 15–2 2nd NCAA Division I Regional 14
2001 51–15 16–2 1st NCAA Division I Regional 14
2002 50–14 11–5 2nd NCAA Division I College World Series 6
2003 39–17 10–8 6th NCAA Division I Regional 13
2004 45–17 14–3 1st NCAA Division I Regional 14
2005 36–23 9–9 7th NCAA Division I Regional 25
2006 44–12 13–4 2nd NCAA Division I Regional 15
2007 37–20 10–8 5th NCAA Division I Regional
2008 25–28 4–14 T–9th
2009 35–19 9–9 5th NCAA Division I Regional
2010 30–29 7–11 T–6th NCAA Division I Regional
2011 41–14 9–9 6th NCAA Division I Regional 21
Big Ten Conference (2012–present)
2012 Rhonda Revelle 33–23 14–9 3rd
2013 45–16 16–6 2nd NCAA Division I College World Series 8
2014 44–18 18–5 T–1st NCAA Division I Super Regional 16
2015 35–23 17–6 3rd NCAA Division I Regional
2016 35–21 13–9 5th NCAA Division I Regional
2017 24–29 13–10 5th
2018 31–23 9–13 9th
2019 21–31 9–14 T–8th
2020 9–14 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 22–22 6th
2022 41–16 17–5 2nd NCAA Division I Regional
2023 36–22 13–10 4th NCAA Division I Regional
2024 30–23 12–9 4th

Notes

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  1. ^ From 1969 to 1981, the AIAW sponsored a women's collegiate softball tournament. The NCAA began sponsoring the sport following the 1980–81 academic year.
  2. ^ USA Today began weekly polling of college softball coaches in 1995.[13]
  3. ^ Vacated by the NCAA in 1986[14]

References

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  1. ^ "The Power of Color" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Bowlin Stadium". Nebraska Athletics. Nebraska Huskers. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  3. ^ Jeff Sheldon (16 October 2002). "Pioneers remember Title IX's inauguration". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b Jack Denker (9 September 1983). "New women's softball coach revives team's hopes and spirits" (PDF). The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. ^ "University of Nebraska softball team disqualified from NCAA playoffs". Los Angeles Times. 21 May 1986. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Discouraged Daigle resigns". Lincoln Journal Star. 31 July 1986. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Dirk Chatelain (21 June 2014). "New approach could help lessen arm woes". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Nebraska WCWS Stats". NCAA. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Nebraska Softball players filed complaints of harassment, emotional abuse against Revelle". KOLN. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Nebraska Reinstates Head Coach Rhonda Revelle After Review". Softball America. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Bowlin Stadium - Facilities". Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Nebraska Huskers Softball Coaches". Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Polls for 2022; View Previous Years". NFCA. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  14. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Nebraska Penalized". New York Times. 21 October 1986. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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