Rhonda Revelle Head Coach University of Nebraska Softball

Honors and Awards • Two-Time NFCA Midwest Region Staff of the Year (1998 & 2002) • Midwest Region Coach of the Year (1995) • Two-Time Big 12 Coach of the Year (1998 & 2001) • Big Eight Coach of the Year (1995) • Recorded 600th Career Victory in 2008 • First Female Nebraska Coach (any sport) to Record 500 Career Victories • One of Only Three Coaches in School History to Win 500 Games at NU • Senior Woman Administrator (Jan. 1, 2006 to March 7, 2008) • Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award Recipient (2007) • Two-Time NFCA President (1999-2002; 2005-2006) • NFCA 2nd Vice President (1995-98) • NCAA Midwest Ranking Committee (1996-98) • NFCA All-American Committee, Chair (1993-94) • NFCA All-American Committee Member (1989-92) • National Fastpitch Coaching College Instructor • Nebraska Softball Hall of Fame Inductee (1997) • Fully Endowed Two Scholarships Entering her 17th season as Nebraska's head coach in 2009, Rhonda Revelle has directed the Huskers to one of the most successful stretches in program history. Last season, Revelle became just the 48th coach in the history of NCAA Division I softball to post 600 career victories. The winningest coach in program history, Revelle became the first female coach of any sport in Nebraska history record both 500 career victories and 500 victories at Nebraska. Her current career record stands at An 8-0 win over Cal State Fullerton on March 19, 2005, gave her career win No. 500, and a 3-2 win over Texas Tech on April 17 made Revelle only the third coach in Nebraska history to lead any Big Red team to 500 victories. She followed those 2005 milestones by leading the Huskers to an outstanding 44-12 record in 2006 and the third-best single-season winning percentage in school history. Under her guidance, the 2006 Nebraska softball team recorded 20 victories in the first 24 games, marking the fastest start in school history. The Huskers also matched the 2002 squad for the fastest team to 30 and 40 victories, respectively, in the history of the program. In 2007, Revelle guided a young Husker squad to 37 wins against one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. Leading a roster that featured 10 freshmen and sophomores among its 15 members, Revelle threw her team into the fire as NU played a total of 22 games against ranked opponents. The Huskers managed to post 35 victories for the 10th consecutive season under Revelle, despite playing 11 games - eight on the road and three at neutral sites - against teams that advanced to Super Regional play, including seven games against 2007 Women's College World Series qualifiers. The tough scheduling helped prepare NU for Big 12 Conference play, where the Huskers finished fifth with a 10-8 record. Nebraska's fifth-place finish was a strong showing from a young squad in a tough league that featured five ranked teams, including three in the top 10. Adding to the league's difficulty was the fact that the Huskers had to face each of the league's top four teams - all top-25 squads with three landing in the top 10 - on the road. Revelle's work landed Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season and the Huskers were selected to host an NCAA Regional at Bowlin Stadium for the fourth time in the past five years. Despite a disappointing 0-2 finish in the regional that saw Nebraska lose a pair of late leads, the young Husker squad finished with a respectable 37-20 record. The 2008 season was hampered by injuries and inexperience. Nebraska, which was tabbed as a Women's College World Series contender by ESPN.com in the preseason, finished 25-28 but began to put everything together at the end of the season. The Huskers won six of their final nine games, including four victories against ranked teams. NU defeated seventh-ranked Oklahoma en route to advancing to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament, where the Huskers fell to eventual national runner-up Texas A&M. The 2008 Huskers featured no seniors and with the lineup returning in tact - and the addition of All-American transfer pitcher Robin Mackin and five talented freshmen - Revelle and her team believe the end of 2008 marked the beginning of something special in 2009. As if her career coaching honors and records weren't enough, Revelle also served for more than two years as Nebraska's Senior Woman Administrator, before stepping down from her administrative duties to focus solely on her coaching efforts on March 7, 2008. During her tenure as SWA, Revelle was the only coach in the Big 12 Conference serving a role in the administration in addition to coaching duties, as Revelle replaced Dr. Barbara Hibner, who retired on Dec. 31, 2005, after a remarkable 28-year tenure at Nebraska. In her coaching duties, Revelle has led Nebraska to at least 35 wins in 10 of the past 11 years. Under her guidance, the Huskers were one of only nine teams nationally to advance every NCAA Tournament from 1995 to 2007. Revelle has guided NU to six Big 12 titles, including a sweep of the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles in 2004. She also led the Huskers to the 2000 Big 12 Tournament title, the 2001 Big 12 Conference regular-season title and a spot in the 1998 and 2002 NCAA Women’s College World Series. In finishing runner-up in the 2008 Big 12 Championship, Revelle guided her team to the championship game for the league-high seventh time in the 13-year history of the tournament. Revelle led Nebraska to a second-place league finish in 2006 after finishing in seventh place in 2005. In 2004, Nebraska posted a 45-17 record and earned the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships, becoming the first team in league history to sweep the regular-season and tournament titles more than once. NU hosted its second of three consecutive NCAA Regionals and earned the No. 2 seed, marking the eighth straight season Nebraska earned a No. 2 seed or higher (the format switched in 2005 and regional teams were not seeded). Along the way, NU defeated 12 ranked teams, including a 3-0 upset of third-ranked California at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. In 2003, the Huskers opened the season with a 16-4 record, the best 20-game start in school history. After going 12-1 in February and defeating seven ranked teams, Nebraska rose to its highest ranking ever in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll at No. 3. The Huskers remained in that spot for four weeks. NU eventually finished the season with a 39-17 record. Throughout her tenure at Nebraska, Revelle’s players have consistently earned national and conference awards for athletic and academic excellence. During the past 13 years, 14 Huskers have won All-America awards – including 10 first- or second-team members – and 74 Huskers have garnered all-conference honors, including 42 first-teamers. In 2007, NU had four players earn all-conference accolades, including a league-high three underclassmen. A confident, caring and charismatic coach, Revelle has also been active in the University and Lincoln communities, and encourages her players to do so as well. Revelle has served on several local YMCA committees, and she was an instructor in the University of Nebraska "Emerging Leaders" program in 2001. Revelle is also a member of the UNL Cather Circle, a mentoring organization composed of distinguished female alumni. Three Straight 50-Win Seasons Revelle led NU to a 153-50 record from 2000 to 2002, the most successful three-year period in program history. She led the Huskers to one of their most memorable seasons in 2002. NU went 50-14 and captured the program’s seventh Women’s College World Series bid. Along the way, the Huskers earned a No. 4 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll on Feb. 27, then the school’s highest ranking. The Huskers were ranked in the top five for nine consecutive weeks. NU also set a school record for consecutive wins with 23 straight in 2002. Nebraska broke its previous record of 18 consecutive wins March 19, when it defeated eventual national champion California 4-3, in the championship game of the Capital Classic. Nebraska defeated six ranked teams during the stretch. For their efforts, Revelle, associate head coach Lori Sippel and assistant coach Jennifer (Cline) Ogee were named the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2002. Revelle also guided NU to 50-win seasons in 2001 and 2000. In 2001, Nebraska won a school-record 47 regular-season games. NU won 10 games against teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll, twice defeating defending national champion Oklahoma. The Huskers won the Big 12 title and earned their 12th overall and seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, finishing with a 51-15 record. In 2000, the Huskers came within two wins of qualifying for the College World Series after a late-season surge that saw Nebraska win 20 of its last 23 games. The Huskers won a school-record 52 games and a school-record 20 home games, going undefeated in Lincoln for the first time since 1992. NU also won the Big 12 Conference Tournament title, defeating eventual national champion Oklahoma to advance to the tournament final. Year-by-Year, 1993-1999 In Revelle’s first season, she inherited a young team that had posted a 23-30 record the previous year before going 18-23 in 1993. After a season of adjustment and transition, the 1994 Huskers saw significant improvement despite a third consecutive sub-.500 season (25-33). All-Big Eight selection Tobin Echo-Hawk led the conference in hitting with a .439 batting average, and was a first-team All-Midwest member. In 1995, Nebraska burst onto the national scene by winning its first eight games of the season and ranking as high as eighth in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association rankings. Revelle’s team finished the 1995 season with a No. 15 ranking after advancing to the NCAA Regional in Tucson, Ariz. The 1996 season began much the same way, with the Huskers winning 10 of their first 11 games, reaching a high of ninth in the polls and finishing the season ranked 17th. Even more impressive, the Huskers took second at the inaugural Big 12 Championship, narrowly missing the conference’s first title in any sport. In 1997, Revelle helped keep the momentum rolling, as Nebraska advanced to the finals of the NCAA Regional Tournament in Tucson, Ariz. Early in the season, the Huskers’ win column suffered at the hands of a tough schedule, but the 29-24 Huskers were able to finish with a flurry, beating Arizona State twice at the regional, while falling twice to eventual national champion Arizona. Revelle guided her team to a final ranking of No. 5 in 1998, after NU swept through the Big 12 season and postseason tournament 20-0 for the first time in Big Eight or Big 12 history. The Huskers recorded a then-school-record 48 victories in winning a school-record 80 percent of their games. The Huskers lost 75 percent of their offensive production from the 1998 squad, and many dubbed 1999 a rebuilding season. NU surprised everyone but itself, battling back from the loser’s bracket in the NCAA regional semifinals to come within one victory of earning a WCWS berth. Before Nebraska A former pitcher for Nebraska from 1981 to 1983, Revelle was a member of the 1982 team that made the school’s first-ever appearance in the WCWS and won its first-ever Big Eight Championship. Revelle still ranks among the school’s career top 10 in saves (seven) and ERA (1.60). A native of Eugene, Ore., Revelle graduated from Nebraska in 1984 with degrees in physical education and health. Before returning to Lincoln in 1993, she spent four years as an assistant coach at San Jose State University in California, where she earned a master’s degree in human performance with an emphasis in sports management. While at San Jose State, Revelle helped the Spartans to three consecutive top-20 finishes and two postseason appearances. She served as the pitching coach, recruiting coordinator and camps and clinics director. Before taking the position at San Jose State, she spent one year as an assistant coach at Cal State-Hayward and two seasons - including her only other stint as head coach - at Nebraska Wesleyan, guiding the Plainswomen to back-to-back conference championships. During the spring of 1997, Revelle and assistant coach Lori Sippel were honored for their efforts in coaching, playing and promoting softball in Nebraska by being inducted into the Nebraska Softball Hall of Fame. An accomplished guest speaker and respected among her peers, Revelle served as president of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association from 1998 to 2002. She also served on the All-America Committee for six seasons and was the national chairwoman of the committee for two years. An Era of Excellence Revelle took over a struggling Husker program in 1993. In just her third season, she guided NU to a then-school-record 43 wins. While rebuilding the program, Revelle compiled a 82-76 record through her first three seasons. But starting with the beginning of the Big 12 Conference era in 1996, she has taken the Husker program to new heights, posting a 533-247 (.683) record. Over the last 13 seasons, Coach Rhonda Revelle has cemented Nebraska’s place among the nation’s elite. During that time, NU has won nearly 70 percent of its games, claimed six conference titles and finished the season ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 poll 11 times. The Huskers have also made 12 appearances in the NCAA Tournament in that stretch, trailing only Oklahoma for the most appearances of any Big 12 school in the Big 12 era. Nebraska softball is in an elite class when it comes to postseason play. Overall, NU has earned 18 NCAA Tournament bids, one behind Texas A&M for the most NCAA berths of any Big 12 school. The Huskers have also advanced to the Women's College World Series seven times, more than any other Big 12 school. Under Revelle, the Huskers have also seen a dramatic increase in fan support. Since moving into Bowlin Stadium in 2002, NU has finished in the top 10 nationally in average attendance every season but one. Nebraska has drawn at least 10,000 fans annually in six of the seven seasons since Bowlin Stadium opened, including a school-record 19,103 fans in 2004. That season, NU led the nation with an average increase of 340 fans per game, finished third in total attendance and finished fourth in average attendance. Media exposure for the program has also seen a dramatic rise, as Revelle has continued to build Nebraska softball into one of the premier programs in the nation. The Huskers are regulars on national television, appearing on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox Sports Net and College Sports Television in the last few seasons. Nebraska also has nearly every home game broadcast live on Huskers.com or the Husker Sports Network, as well as select road games and the entire Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments.

"TheSportsCoach.com is a great way for coaches, players and parents to stay updated on the latest instructional methods on an ongoing basis."

Linda Derk Head Coach,
Tampa Bay Firestix Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL)