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Delaware's Hitchens announces retirement
10:33 a.m., May 17, 2006--Mary Ann Hitchens, the University of Delaware's senior associate director of athletics and recreation services, has announced that she will retire effective June 30. Hitchens has spent more than 40 years at UD as a student, head coach and nationally recognized athletics administrator. Hitchens is a native of Milford who came to UD as a student in 1963, when intercollegiate athletics opportunities for women did not exist. She received undergraduate and graduate degrees from UD, and went on to enjoy outstanding success as head coach of the women's basketball and field hockey teams. She has spent 29 years as an athletics administrator, the last eight in her current position as senior associate director, and has been the senior women's administrator since 1977. “Mary Ann has been such a close friend and trusted colleague for so many years, it's hard to imagine our athletics program without her,” UD Director of Athletics Edgar N. Johnson, who has worked with Hitchens since he joined the UD athletics department in 1969, said. “I can't say enough about what a great person she is and what she has meant personally to me and to this University. Her presence and hard work have been so vital to the success of Blue Hen athletics and she has positively touched the lives of so many student-athletes, coaches, and our athletics staff through the years.” Johnson added Hitchens “has been a true pioneer for women's athletics and has earned the respect of administrators throughout the country. It's been wonderful to work so closely with her over the years, and we wish her all the best for the future.” “Mary Ann has not only made her mark as one of the most successful coaches in University of Delaware history, but also as one of the most extraordinary administrators,” Carol Miller, the field hockey head coach who was an All-American player under Hitchens, said. “She has provided such a memorable experience to all of our student-athletes. I came to know her as a coach who inspired greatness through her life's example of excellence and her intent to afford us an environment to create, learn, and grow on our own.” Miller said Hitchens “had the ability to inspire us to perform at our best,” and added that her administrative style is very similar. “Her brilliance came with hiring the best in their respective fields, offering us the guidelines and policies from which to work, and encouraging us to use our vision to successfully direct our teams,” Miller said. “Her presence will be greatly missed, but her accomplishments will live on in each and every student-athlete and coach at the University of Delaware.” Hitchens received her bachelor's degree in physical education from Delaware in 1967 and, after two years as a teacher and coach at Brandywine High School, earner her master's degree in education in 1971. She joined the UD athletics staff in 1969 as freshman coach of the then experimental women's basketball program. Two years later she became head coach of the school's first intercollegiate team and served for seven years, leading the squad to a combined record of 71-35. Her teams never had a losing season and advanced to the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) regionals each year. She was named field hockey head coach in 1973 and led the team to a 16-year record of 196-76-30, which included 15 winning seasons three conference titles and six national playoff appearances. UD finished second in the 1978 Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship tournament. During her tenure, Hitchens coached nine All-Americans and was selected as East Coast Conference coach of the year four times. She stepped down following the 1988 season to devote more time to her duties in athletics administration. As senior associate director, Hitchens coordinated administrative operations and personnel for athletics and recreation services as well as summer sports camps. She served two terms as president of the America East Conference, in which UD teams competed before joining the Colonial Athletic Association, and was the first woman to hold that post. Prior to being promoted to senior associate director, Hitchens served as assistant director of athletics and was a pioneer in the growth of a 12-sport women's varsity program that has produced many nationally recognized teams. During her tenure, UD women's athletics teams have captured three national titles, participated in national tournament competitions in multiple sports, and captured numerous conference championships. In 1995, she helped coordinate the 25th anniversary celebration of women's athletics at UD and received the E. Arthur Trabant Award for Women's Equity. Hitchens was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 1997 and was a member of the third induction class of the University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2000, Hitchens was honored with the Katherine Ley Award presented by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Established in 1983, the award honors a women's athletics administrator who is a strong proponent of opportunities for women's athletics, a strong leader, and a role model for women coaches and administrators. |
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