Diane Ninemire

Diane Ninemire
Biographical details
Born (1957-02-12) February 12, 1957 (age 67)
Omaha, Nebraska
Playing career
Softball
1977Midland Lutheran
1978–1980Nebraska–Omaha
Women's basketball
1977–1980Nebraska–Omaha
Position(s)Shortstop, left fielder, guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1982Texas Woman's
1983–1987California (asst.)
1988–2020California
Head coaching record
Overall1,355-687-1 (.663)
TournamentsNCAA Division I: 98–66 (.598)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • NFCA Hall of Fame (2009)
  • NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year (2002)
  • 2× Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year (1991, 2012)

Diane Lynn Ninemire (born February 12, 1957)[1] is an American softball coach. She was the head coach of the California Golden Bears softball team from 1988 until March 3, 2020 when she resigned—effective immediately—for health reasons. When she resigned, she ranked ninth all-time in wins in college softball history with a career record of 1,355-687-1.[2][3]

Early life and education

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Ninemire grew up in nearby Ralston and graduated from Ralston High School.[4][5] Playing softball and basketball at Midland Lutheran College (now Midland University) in the 1976–77 season, Ninemire transferred to the University of Nebraska–Omaha after one year, lettering in softball and basketball there as well.[6][2] On the Nebraska–Omaha softball team, Ninemire played at shortstop and left fielder.[2] Ninemire graduated from Nebraska–Omaha in 1980 and completed a master's degree in physical education at Texas Woman's University in 1987.[2]

Coaching career

In 1981 and 1982, Ninemire was an assistant coach under Donna Terry at Texas Woman's University. Ninemire then followed Terry to the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) in 1983.[2] Ninemire became interim head coach in 1988 after Terry took a medical leave of absence and continued long term after Terry's death in June 1988.[7]

When she resigned, Ninemire had a 1,355-687-1 record in 31 seasons.[8] Cal won the 2002 Women's College World Series, the first national championship for any women's sports team at the school.[2] Ninemire won Coach of the Year honors from the Pac-10 (later Pac-12) Conference in 1991 and 2012, NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2002, and an NFCA Hall of Fame induction in 2009.[2] The 2005 team shared the Pac-10 championship, and the 2012 team won the inaugural Pac-12 title.[2]

Head coaching record

Sources:[9][10]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
California Golden Bears (Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference) (1988–2020)
1988 California 39–24 7–11 5th NCAA Regionals
1989 California 38–26 10–10 4th NCAA Regionals
1990 California 41–28 9–9 T–3rd NCAA Regionals
1991 California 48–20 14–6 3rd NCAA Regionals
1992 California 47–16 8–8 3rd Women's College World Series
1993 California 37–20 12–10 4th NCAA Regionals
1994 California 40–21 10–12 5th NCAA Regionals
1995 California 41–21 20–8 3rd NCAA Regionals
1996 California 41–22 14–12 4th Women's College World Series
1997 California 36–26 13–14 4th NCAA Regionals
1998 California 35–27 12–14 4th NCAA Regionals
1999 California 51–22 13–14 5th Women's College World Series
2000 California 49–25 6–15 T–7th Women's College World Series
2001 California 54–18 6–14 7th Women's College World Series
2002 California 56–19 12–9 4th WCWS Champions
2003 California 49–20 10–11 3rd WCWS Runners-up
2004 California 53–13 13–8 T–2nd WCWS Runners-up
2005 California 52–15 13–8 T–1st Women's College World Series
2006 California 48–14 12–9 3rd NCAA Super Regionals
2007 California 34–32 7–14 8th NCAA Regionals
2008 California 43–27 7–14 5th NCAA Super Regionals
2009 California 38–20 10–10 5th NCAA Super Regionals
2010 California 44–19 10–11 T–4th NCAA Super Regionals
2011 California 45–13 15–6 2nd Women's College World Series
2012 California 58–7 21–2 1st Women's College World Series
2013 California 38–19 10–14 T–5th NCAA Regionals
2014 California 23–29 4–18 9th
2015 California 39–18 10–14 7th NCAA Regionals
2016 California 33–24–1 11–11–1 6th NCAA Regionals
2017 California 32–24 6–17 8th NCAA Regionals
2018 California 35–21 7–16 7th NCAA Regionals
2019 California 28-27 5-18 8th
2020 California 10-9[n 1] 0-0 NA NA
California: 1,355-687-1 (.663) 337–367–1 (.479)
Total: 1,355-687-1 (.663)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ninemire stepped down after the first 19 games of the season. Tammy Lohmann served as acting head coach for the remainder of the season.

References

  1. ^ "Olympic Athletes - Biographies, Medals & More".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Diane Ninemire Biography". University of California. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "2015 Softball Schedule and Result". University of California.
  4. ^ Henrichs, Todd (May 18, 2004). "Regional a homecoming for Cal coach". Lincoln Journal-Star. Archived from the original on June 4, 2004. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  5. ^ California Softball Game Notes: Utah (PDF), University of California, Berkeley, April 19, 2018, retrieved October 24, 2018, ... after the passing of mentor, friend and then-head coach Donna Terry, the Omaha, Neb., native, continued and eventually surpassed the success of her predecessor...
  6. ^ https://static.omavs.com/custompages/stats/wbball/career/histcarr.htm#NINEMIRE__Diane
  7. ^ Wagner-McGough, Sean (February 19, 2014). "The Sky Above, the Field Below". The Daily Californian. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "NCAA Statistics".
  9. ^ 2018 Softball Record Book (PDF), University of California, Berkeley, 2018, pp. 28, 46–56, 60–62
  10. ^ "Softball Standings". Archived from the original on August 1, 2015.