A true NCAA coaching legend, Jan Hutchinson serves as a volunteer assistant. Hutchinson retired from full time coaching in 2010 after 33 years as head coach at Bloomsburg.
As head field hockey coach, she coached the program to 16 national championships and 16 conference titles in 32 years at the helm, while as softball coach she is the NCAA Division II all-time leader in career wins and has made an NCAA-record 28 consecutive trips to the Division II championships. She also is the winningest college coach in any division with 1,806 combined wins between field hockey and softball.
FIELD HOCKEY
While at Bloomsburg, Hutchinson's field hockey squads posted winning records in 31 of her 32 seasons and amassed an overall record of 591-75-20Â for a winning percentage of .872. She is the winningest coach in NCAA field hockey history and is the only coach with over 500 victories.
Under Hutchinson, the Huskies have enjoyed many outstanding seasons and have won 16 or more games on 26 occasions. Her teams won national championships in 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and in 2009. Her string of four straight titles (1996-99) was the first time in the history of NCAA field hockey that the feat was accomplished. Her teams have also registered nine national runner-up finishes.
In addition, the Huskies captured Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and have garnered nine runner-up showings.
Hutchinson has been chosen as the national Division II Coach of the Year seven times in her career, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Her 2006 team went undefeated and untied on its way to the NCAA D-II championship, the fourth time in school history for that to happen.
Four athletes on the 2009 team achieved NFHCA All-American honors, bringing the total under Hutchinson to 54 performers who have combined to win 105 All-American awards. Under Hutchinson's leadership, 12 Bloomsburg players, including Vanartsdalen in 2007 and 2008, have also been named national "Player of the Year", the most of any coach in Division II.
SOFTBALL
One of the most successful coaches ever in Division II softball history, Jan Hutchinson coached the Huskies for 33 seasons.
During her career as coach of the Huskies, Hutchinson has posted a record of 1,215-288-2 and made an NCAA record 28 consecutive trips to the NCAA championship tournament (30 including AIAW and NCAA Division III). Hutchinson won 15 conference titles and one national championship with the Huskies. She has the most wins of any NCAA Division II coach in history and is sixth on the all-time win list regardless of division. She is also second on the NCAA Division list and seventh overall for highest winning percentage.
Bloomsburg went to the championship round 10 times, twice finishing as the national runner-up with losses each time in extra innings in the national title game. She also has six third-place showings and two fourth-place finishes. The Huskies also won the 1982 AIAW national DIII championship.
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 winning 15 softball championships. In addition, her players have enjoyed recognition in softball with 32 players earning 53 All-American awards.
OVERALL
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.
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, Blair Academy, Pennsylvania State, and Sussex County (NJ) Halls of Fame. In the year 2000, the Bloomsburg softball field was named in her honor.
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