Karen Fitzpatrick, Ball State (Field Hockey)
During Karen Fitzpatrick’s 21 year tenure as head field hockey coach at Ball State, Fitzpatrick built the Cardinals into one of the premier programs in the country, accumulating a 285-130-11 mark for a 68% winning percentage. Her 285 victories placed her in the top five nationally among active Division I head coaches at the time of her retirement. Fitzpatrick was head coach from 1980 through 2000 and the Cardinals produced a .500 or better record in all but two seasons.
Upon her retirement, Fitzpatrick was the winningest coach in the 19-year history of field hockey in the MAC. She was an 11-time recipient of the MAC Coach of the Year accolades, and led Ball State to a remarkable 153-29 all-time mark vs. conference opponents for an .841 winning percentage. Under her guidance, Ball State teams captured an unprecedented 16 regular season MAC titles and 10 league tournament crowns, plus advanced to four NCAA Championship Tournaments, including three quarterfinal appearances. The success of her program garnered the respect of national pollsters, placing Ball State in the national poll on a regular basis, including several times in the top 10.
The national exposure that Ball State received was increased by the outstanding players that Fitzpatrick brought into Ball State and developed. She tutored 18 players to All-America recognition, including five with first-team distinction. A league record 71 of her players claimed first-team All-MAC accolades—twice the number of any other conference school at that time. In addition, a Ball State player was named MAC Player of the Year six times over the nine-year history of the award at that point in time.
Fitzpatrick also stressed high academic standards. Cardinal players collected Academic All-American accolades six times, including five with first-team mention. The combination of outstanding success in both the athletic and academic areas positioned Ball State field hockey players among the top student-athletes in the country. After the 1999 season, Sally Northcroft was honored with the Honda Award for the sport of field hockey and was further lauded as the recipient of the NCAA Top VIII Award. Jen Brown was named the 1997-98 Wood Hayes National Division I Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, making her the top Division I female athlete in all sports. In addition, Janelle Tranquillo and Kerri Schoultz were the recipients of NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships in 1998 and 2000, respectively.
Fitzpatrick retired from Ball State following the 2000 season and currently resides in Atlanta, Ga.
