Illinois State Softball Coach Honored by NFCA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced on Monday that the organization and its Board of Directors have decided to honor Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer, by renaming its Distinguished Service Award after the longtime Redbird coach. Fischer was the first recipient of this award in 2002.

"Melinda is so deserving of this honor,” said NFCA Executive Director Carol Bruggeman. “She has dedicated decades of service to the NFCA in a variety of roles. Most notably, Melinda has worked tirelessly in planning, organizing, and executing our annual Convention. Her expertise and attention to detail have helped the Convention thrive over the years. Melinda is selfless and serves with a giving heart, expecting nothing in return. There is no one more deserving of having her name permanently etched into the NFCA Distinguished Service Award."

The NFCA Hall of Famer has served in several capacities with the NFCA, including First Vice President (1993-97), chair of the Division I All-America Committee and director of the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic. Fischer has served multiple times on the All-America Committee and returns to the post of Mideast Region representative for the 2019 season.

“This honor was completely unexpected,” Fischer commented. “Volunteering with an organization for a sport that you love seems pretty natural. Each and every year, I have been able to witness first-hand how things within the NFCA have evolved, and how things have continued to get bigger and better as we move into the future.”

On the field, Fischer is entering her 34th season at the helm of the Redbirds. She is just one of 22 NCAA Division I head coaches to have won 1,000 games with at least 10 years of Division I head coaching experience. To top that, the winningest coach in Illinois State Athletics history is only one of nine NCAA Division I head coaches to win 1,000 contests at one institution. Fischer's 1,074 career victories, spread out among 35 seasons as a collegiate head coach (at both Eastern Illinois [1979-80] and Illinois State [1986-present]), rank her as the 16th-winningest coach in NCAA Division I softball history and the eighth-winningest active head coach.