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This March, Hutchison will be inducted into the Missouri Valley
Conference Hall of Fame at a ceremony during the State Farm MVC
Men's Basketball Tournament. She is a member of the 11th induction
class to the Valley Hall of Fame and is the eighth person to be
enshrined in the Lifetime Achievement category.
"During the sesquicentennial, we honored some of the individuals
who have played prominent roles in the history of Illinois State
Athletics," said Dr. Sheahon Zenger, director of athletics. "In the
past year, we recognized Doug Collins and D.A. Weibring, and on Feb.
2, we will honor Jill Hutchison. With her merits alone as a head
basketball coach, Jill is worthy to have a banner with her name on
it hang from the rafters of Redbird Arena, but then to add her
contributions and vision in the sport of women's basketball, as we
know it today, is truly remarkable. Illinois State has had a number
of pioneers in its 150-year history, and Jill Hutchison is one of
those pioneers."
Hutchison spent 28 seasons (1970-73, 1974-99) as the head women's
basketball coach at Illinois State and compiled a record of 461-323.
The winningest coach in Illinois State basketball history (men or
women), Hutchison led her teams to 19 winning seasons, five Gateway
Conference titles, seven AIAW state championships, two AIAW national
tournaments, seven WNIT appearances and three NCAA tournaments. The
three-time Rawlings MVC Coach of the Year (1985, 1988, 1996) coached
13 first-team all-conference players, and every senior player under
her direction received a degree. She was inducted into the Illinois
State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984.
Hutchison was also a very successful coach on the international
level. She led the United States to a gold medal at the 1983 World
University Games, a silver medal at the 1978 Pan American Games and
served on the player selection committee for three Olympic squads.
Two of the greatest players in school history, Cathy Boswell and
Charlotte Lewis, played for Hutchison, as well as being members of
Olympic and professional basketball teams.
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Hutchison was a four-time president of the Women's Basketball
Coaches Association and is widely credited with influencing the
growth of the women's game from a level of relative obscurity to its
current popularity. She was a part of the adoption of a smaller
ball, the current format of the women's tournament and the first
women's television contract. She is the author of "Coaching Girls'
Basketball Successfully," an instructional book designed to help
coaches successfully teach fundamentals to developing players.
The Albuquerque native earned her bachelor's degree from the
University of New Mexico in 1967, where she is also a member of the
athletics hall of fame. She also earned a master's degree from
Illinois State and a doctorate from UNC-Greensboro. She remains an
active member of the basketball community, serving as a color
analyst on the Valley's television network and WJBC, as part of the
Redbird Radio Network.
Hutchison's banner will be the fifth to hang from the rafters of
Redbird Arena. Along with Boswell and Lewis, former men's basketball
player Doug Collins and former athletics director Milt Weisbecker
all have banners commemorating their careers.
At halftime of the game against Creighton, as is done annually
for all Illinois State athletic programs, several former Redbird
women's basketball letter winners will be recognized, many of whom
played for Hutchison.
[Text from file received from
Jimmy Knodel,
assistant media relations director,
Illinois
State University]
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