Title: Head coach, Illinois State University
Sport: Fastpitch Softball
ISU Record: 752-502-4

Only 25 head coaches in the history of NCAA Division I softball can claim to have won at least 800 games in their coaching career. Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer, now in her 24th season at the helm of the Redbird softball program, can claim such an honor. She is the all-time winningest coach in Illinois State Athletics history and Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Head Softball Coach. She has a combined nine Missouri Valley Conference and Gateway Athletic Conference regular-season championships. All of that and more define Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer.

Fischer’s 806 career victories, spread out among 27 seasons as a collegiate head coach (at both Eastern Illinois [1979-80] and Illinois State [1986-present]), rank her as the 42nd-winningest coach in NCAA Division I softball history and the 16th-winningest active head coach. Fischer has more wins in her Illinois State head coaching career than any other coach in Redbird Athletics history, with an ISU softball head coaching record that stands at 752-502-4 (.598) entering the 2009 season. In May 2007, Fischer was recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference as the all-time head softball coach in Valley history.

During her 23 seasons at the helm of the Illinois State softball program, Fischer has directed the Redbirds to national prominence, most recently with their sixth NCAA Regional appearance in 2007, the program’s second-straight at-large bid. Fischer has led her teams to nine regular-season Valley titles, including four in the last eight seasons. She also has two Gateway regular-season championships to her credit, as well as three Valley Tournament titles. Her success and devotion to softball extends beyond Illinois State, as she was the first recipient of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Distinguished Service Award at the Speedline Coach of the Year/NFCA Hall of Fame Banquet in December 2002.

In addition to guiding her teams to high levels of success, Fischer’s numerous awards and honors, plus her team’s accolades, speak for themselves. A recipient of six conference coach of the year honors, Fischer has led a coaching staff that was honored as both the Missouri Valley Conference Coaching Staff of the Year and the Speedline/NFCA Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the year in 2006. Two regional coach of the year citations, 16 All-Americans, five College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans and countless other honors highlight Illinois State’s success under Fischer.

She began her coaching career in 1974 after a four-year stint as an ISU student-athlete. She became a graduate assistant coach for ISU’s softball and basketball teams while completing a master’s degree in physical education.
As an athlete at Illinois State, Fischer helped lead the Redbirds to the 1969 Women’s College World Series, where they finished second.

Fischer then started a three-year coaching stint at Eastern Illinois in 1976. In two years with EIU softball, Fischer led the Panthers to a 32-17 mark, including a 1980 season that saw Eastern Illinois crowned the Illinois Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (IAIAW) State Champion, which secured the Panthers a spot in the regional championship.

Fischer took over the helm of Illinois State softball in the fall 1985. In her 23 seasons as head coach of the Redbirds, she has compiled a .598 winning percentage.

Fischer first became a member of the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) in 1960 and has been appointed as an NCAA Regional representative for numerous regional tournaments, as well as serving on NCAA Regional ranking committees. She has served as chair of the NFCA All-American Committee and is currently the NFCA Convention Director. She is also
tournament director for the NFCA Leadoff Classic, held annually in Georgia. From 1993- 97, Fischer served as the first-vice president for the NFCA.

Fischer continues to utilize her softball knowledge, not only as a coach and administrator, but also as a teacher. She contributes her skill through camps and clinics, while continuing to mold Illinois State into a national contender.