JUDY GROFF NAMED TO NFCA HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2007
TUSCON, Ariz. (December 15, 2006) - Longtime American
International College softball coach Judy Groff
will be one of three inductees in the 2007 class of the National
Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, it was announced during
the closing business meeting of the 2006 NFCA National Convention
held last week. Groff will be inducted along with Central
College head coach George Wares and Simpson College head coach
Henry Christowski during the 2007 NFCA National Convention that
will be held from November 28-December 1, 2007 at the Las Vegas
Hilton.
Groff, who in 2007 will be entering her 39th season at AIC, is the only softball coach the College has ever known. Since starting the program in 1969, Groff has amassed a record of 860-512-4 (.626), currently standing as just one of five coaches in NCAA Division II history to amass at least 850 career victories. Over her tenure, the Yellow Jackets have posted 30 winning seasons, including 20 of the last 23, and she has guided AIC to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 22 seasons. In 1996 and 1997, Groff led the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back NCAA Northeast Region titles and a pair of berths in the Division II Softball World Series.
Over her career, the Yellow Jackets have won at least 30 games 18 times and AIC has averaged at least 32 wins per season since 1984. She has led American International to eight Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships and three NE-10 Tournament titles (1987, 1996, 2003), while also guiding her squads to five berths in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament, earning three ECAC crowns (1986, 1988, 1991).
Numerous players under Groff's tutelage have earned accolades from the Northeast-10 Conference as well as All-America honors. 30 players have earned First Team Northeast-10 honors, while no fewer than seven players have earned All-America status. Former third baseman Carolyn McGowan is the only four-time All-American in any sport at AIC, as she earned All-America honors from 1996-99.
An eight-time Northeast-10 Coach of the Year, Groff was inducted into the National Girls and Women in Sport Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Connecticut resident was inducted into the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame in 2003. She has been a longtime member of the NCAA Division II Regional Committee and is also a member of the NFCA Nominating Committee.
In the spring of 2006, Groff earned an honor
that is rarely bestowed upon an active coach when
the softball field at American International College, previously
known as Yellow Jackets Field, was renamed the Coach Judy Groff
Softball Field. A crowd of several hundred former players,
friends and well-wishers attended the dedication ceremony held
before a doubleheader with Saint Anselm College on April 29.
Groff earned a Bachelor's Degree in physical
education at West Chester University and later earned her master's
in Education along with an Advanced Certificate from Springfield
College. In addition to her coaching duties, Groff is the assistant
director of athletics at the College and is the Senior Women's
Administrator. From 1974-88, she also compiled a 274-171 (.609)
record as the head coach of the women's volleyball program at AIC,
which she started on her own.