50 Iowa moments since Title IX: Softball coach Renee Gillispie’s 900th career win

Editor’s note: This is first in a series counting down the top 50 moments in Iowa Hawkeyes women’s athletics history in the 50 days leading up to the 50th anniversary of Title IX in June.

Renee Gillispie said she didn’t know she was at 899 career wins going into Iowa softball’s Feb. 27 morning game against Cornell (N.Y.) earlier this year.

After the Hawkeyes ran away with a 9-0 rout in Leesburg, Fla., their head coach was in for a chilly surprise.

“After I got dumped with water, that was when I realized what it was,” Gillispie said.

While 829 of Gillispie’s 900-plus wins came away from Iowa City — Division I coaching stops at Bradley, Texas Tech and Central Florida preceded her time at Iowa — the feat put the Hawkeyes’ coach in rare company.

She’s one of 19 active Division I head coaches to have 900-plus wins.

But as Gillispie sees it, hitting the 900 mark just means “I've been in it for a long time.”

“And I have had some great coaches along the way and great players along the way to be able to have 900 wins,” Gillispie said.

That 900 number isn’t exactly the most important thing to Gillispie.

“I've never been one to focus on wins and losses,” Gillispie said. “For me, it's always about the players and their experience.”

She wouldn’t mind 1,000 wins, though.

“You’re always hoping you continue to win,” Gillispie said. “I'm looking forward to really rebuilding the program.”

As for that 84-degree February day in Florida, the 900-win achievement and the water dumped on her to celebrate it were cool on another level.

“If you did that to me today, I'd probably be screaming,” Gillispie said on a brisk spring day in Iowa.

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