Gayle Blevins Named 2005 IU Hall of Fame Inductee
10/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oct. 18, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The IU softball team can attribute its 31-year history of tradition and success to many players and coaches that have worn the Cream and Crimson. This Friday, Oct. 21, one of those former standouts, softball head coach Gayle Blevins (1980-87), will join the ranks of IU's elite student-athletes and coaches as she is inducted into the IU Hall of Fame. The softball program, which grew leaps and bounds during Blevins tenure, will honor her this weekend with an alumni tailgate in conjunction with the IU football game against Ohio State on Saturday, Oct. 22.
"When I first heard about receiving the award, I was deeply honored," Blevins said. "It also has given me a chance to go down memory lane as many former players have called me once they heard I was being inducted."
Blevins joins six other inductees (football: Gene "Pat" Gedman (1950-52); women's tennis: Deborah Edelman Kane (1990-93); men's tennis coach Dale Lewis (1949-57); men's golf: Shaun Micheel (1988-91); men's swimming: Fred Schmidt (1963-65) and men's soccer player and football kicker Pete Stoyanovich (1985-88)) this Friday at the induction ceremony at the IU Auditorium and also will be honored during halftime at the Ohio State game on Saturday.
"I think, if anything, this helps to validate the careers of all of my former players that I coached at IU," Blevins said. "Hopefully, every former student-athlete that played and participated in this program understands this an award for the entire program itself. IU has a tradition-rich history and this honor only goes to affirm that for everyone who has come through this program that their participation meant something special. Their effort has now been recognized."
While at Indiana, Blevins led the Hoosiers to their second WCWS appearance (finished second) in just her first season at the helm of the program. Blevins went on to lead the Hoosiers to another WCWS appearance in 1983 and 1986, captured the Big Ten Championships title three times (83, 85-86) and stepped down from the program with an overall record of 316-151-3.
Blevins currently coaches for the University of Iowa where she has continued her winning tradition. Her most recent accomplishment includes leading the Hawkeyes to the 2003 Big Ten regular and tournament championships, the first time an Iowa squad has captured both titles in the same year. That same year, the former IU coach then led Iowa to the Women's College World Series Regional finals where it fell in the championship game. Overall, Blevins has taken the Hawkeyes to four World Series (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001), five Big Ten Conference titles and one Big Ten Tournament title.
In conjunction with the Hall of Fame festivities, head coach Stacey Phillips is hosting Indiana softball's annual alumni event this Saturday as she invites all former softball student-athletes to attend an alumni tailgate.
Alumni Tailgate Information in PDF Format
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