Gayle Blevins loves winning.

It’s one of her favorite things about her job, and she’s had more practice at it than all but a couple coaches in Division I softball history. To be exact, the Iowa coach has won 1,060 games in 26 seasons. She’s taken seven teams to the College World Series and she’s guided eight squads to Big Ten championships.

“I’d be kidding if I didn’t tell you I enjoy the winning,” Blevins said. “You couldn’t stay in this, lose a lot and enjoy that. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t play cards easily because I’m too competitive. But (winning) isn’t something I think about at night.”

Want to know what tops winning in Blevins’ mind? Hearing her phone ring and hearing a former player on the other end. Listening to how much her program affected the life of a player. Being told those things outweighs a thousand victories.

That feedback, Blevins said, is the most rewarding part of her job.

“Sometimes it’s years after they’ve left your program,” she said. “For some, it’s while they’re in the program. To me, that’s really wonderful when they can get it while they’re still there. If you can really appreciate and embrace all the things you go through while you’re in it, you have a different kind of purpose every day. You have a different kind of energy every day.”

Blevins has seemingly possessed that energy for years. She was 21 when she decided she wanted to pursue a career in coaching. She was named the head coach at Indiana six years later. She took the Hoosiers to the College World Series three times and left after the 1987 season for an Iowa program that she thought had great potential.

Iowa had been a middle-of-the-road Big Ten program before Blevins’ arrival. In her second season, the Hawkeyes won their first of five Big Ten titles.

Blevins asked was recently about the key to her success. She gave a two-minute response that directed the credit toward everyone but herself.

“I know it’s a well-worn cliché,” she said, “but you surround yourself with great people, that’s the key.”

— Andy Hamilton

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