Created as a product of student research in association with the History Department to explore the history, impact, and legacy of the women's softball program and Title IX at Utah State University.
History of women’s athletics at USU
Utah State University (USU) has a rich history in sports, included in this is the intriguing journey of softball, which has evolved significantly over the past 90 years. Softball first appeared at USU in 1932 as an intramural sport for men, described as a more laid-back version of baseball played indoors. Its popularity grew rapidly, leading to the formation of a twelve-team intramural league by 1933, with games played at Adam’s Field.
In 1960, the first intramural women's leagues were established with most of their games being played on the Quad. A significant breakthrough came in 1969 when Fern Gardner, a multi-sport All-American athlete, took over as head of women’s intercollegiate sports. Gardner revolutionized women’s sports at USU, advocating for more funding and better schedules. She coached multiple sports, including softball, leading teams to national notoriety.
In 1975, co-ed intramural games, including softball, were allowed. In 1980, the women's softball team, under head coach Kelly Phipps, became national champions for the first time the team was often described as “Wild and Abandoned”. The next season, under new coach Lloydene Searle, they won the title again.
Over the next 17 years under Coach Searle, the team reached the NCAA World Series five times and won five conference championships. Searle left in 1997 with a record of 467-345-2, the highest win percentage of any USU women's softball coach.
After Searle, the program went through various coaching stints, going through six head coaches in 15 years, none of whom maintained a winning record. Only one of these coaches achieved moderate success. Steve Johnson, who retired in 2023 with a record of 186-249, still never led the team to the level of success found in the 80s.
Currently, under first-year head coach Todd Judge, the Aggies are 21-18, sitting sixth in the Mountain West standings, still striving to return to the NCAA World Series.
By Ethan Jeppesen
Ags to Defend National Crown newspaper article
Bibliography
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Big West Athletic Conference. 1999. “Final 1999 Softball Statistics Report.” https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/WSB/Softball_Women's_Division%20I_1999_731_Utah%20State%20University.pdf.
Big West Athletic Conference. 2020. “Big West Conference Softball Records.” https://s3.amazonaws.com/bigwest.org/documents/2020/6/3/20_SB_Record_Book.pdf.
“Buzzer 1960.” 1960. Logan, Utah: Utah State University. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=buzzer.
Cache Valley Daily. 2009. “Utah State Softball Coach Fired.” Cache Valley Daily (Logan), May 28, 2009. https://www.cachevalleydaily.com/archives/utah-state-softball-coach-fired/article_9cca7ac4-eab5-5cc2-9cbb-bc0e494b7ac9.html.
Mountain West Conference. 2024. https://themw.com/standings/?sport=21&season=517.
“1982 Softball Schedule.” n.d. 1982 Softball Schedule. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://utahstateaggies.com/sports/softball/schedule/1982.
Passarella, Ken. 1975. “Gardner leaves for Utah post.” Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), April 25, 1975, 16.
Schraegle, William A. 1985. Weathering the Constant Storm: A Story of Utah State Athletics. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Special Collections.
“USU womens softball 1980 Schedule.” n.d. 1980 Softball Schedule. Accessed April 8, 2024.
1980 Softball Schedule - Utah State University Athletics (utahstateaggies.com)
“USU womens softball 1981 Schedule.” n.d. 1981 Softball Schedule. Accessed April 8, 2024.
1981 Softball Schedule - Utah State University Athletics (utahstateaggies.com)
“Utah State Head Softball Coach Steve Johnson Announces Retirement.” 2023. (April). https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2023/4/28/utah-state-head-softball-coach-steve-johnson-announces-retirement.aspx.
Utah State Today. 2009. “Carissa Kalaba Named Utah State Head Softball Coach.” July 16, 2009. https://www.usu.edu/today/story/carissa-kalaba-named-utah-state-head-softball-coach.
Utah State University Student Newspapers. 1932. “Utah State University Student Newspapers | 1932-03-24 | Page 3.” March 1932-03-24, 1932, 3. https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=26162871&q=Softball&rows=10&sort=date_tdt+asc%2Cparent_i+asc%2Cpage_i+asc&facet_paper=%22Utah+State+University+Student+Newspapers%22.
Utah State University Student Newspapers. 1934. “Utah State University Student Newspapers | 1934-03-21.” March 1934-03-21, 1934, 7. https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=26163266&q=Softball&rows=10&sort=date_tdt+asc%2Cparent_i+asc%2Cpage_i+asc&facet_paper=%22Utah+State+University+Student+Newspapers%22.
Utah State University Student Newspapers. 1975. “Utah State University Student Newspapers | 1975-04-11 | Page 16.” April 1975-04-11, 1975, 17. https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=26223953&q=softball&rows=10&sort=rel&year_start=1975&year_end=1975&facet_paper=%22Utah+State+University+Student+Newspapers%22.
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