Sliding Into History: The Legacy of USU Women's Softball Champions 1980 – 1981: Oral Histories with USU Players & Coaches

Kay Cameron played on the 1984 softball at Utah State as a catcher. This interview covers her experience playing softball, the everyday experiences of the softball team, and what it was like as a women athlete at Utah State.

Allison Dennison played softball at Utah State from 1981-1984 in a variety of positions. She was a member of the 1981 national champion team. She also helped manage the team in 1985. This interview covers time at USU, the national champion, and the changing landscape of softball.

Cindy Krueger played softball from 1980-1983 at Utah State as a pitcher and third basemen, and was on both national champion teams. This interview covers her early softball career and her time at USU.

Rob Petrini played softball from 1980-1983 at Utah State as a short stop and was on both national champion teams. She went onto coach women’s softball at Brigham Young University, Northwestern University, and Penn State. This interview covers her early softball career, her time at USU, and how it shaped her later career.

Lloydene Searle played for the Aggies from 1972 to 1975, becoming one of the first women to earn a scholarship to play at USU. A highly accomplished athlete, she received all-conference honors in both basketball and softball as a student-athlete. After graduating in 1975, Searle returned to Utah State to coach the women’s softball team. She led the team to a national title in 1981 and returned to the Women’s College World Series five times. Over her career, she earned a 467-345-2 record, making her the all-time leader in games coached and won for Utah State.

Marilyn Weiss was USU’s Director of Women’s Athletics from 1975 to 1981. In that short time, she built five women’s teams from the ground up, including three national championship teams. Weiss hired former Olympians and pro players to coach her teams, including Mary Jo Peppler and Marilyn McReavy, in volleyball. She scoured USU graduate programs for possible coaches who already had financial support, such as John Horan in softball, and she amassed budget deficits so that her teams could travel for practice and competition. This success came with only ten scholarships for all five combined women’s sports in 1975. 

The interview covers Marilyn's career prior to her time at USU, her recruitment and experiences at USU, her departure for Florida State, and the effects of Title IX.

Theresa George played softball at Utah State in the mid 1980’s as third baseman. Stacy Willis played during the same time period as a first baseman. This interview covers their early softball careers, their time at USU, and changing landscape of softball.

Jane Worthington played softball at Utah State from 1981-1982 as an outfielder and was part of the 1981 national champion team. After graduating USU in 1982, she began coaching college softball and has been the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University for 30 over years.

This interview covers her time at USU, the experience of playing on a national champion team, and coaching women’s softball.