Beginning her seventh season at Purdue is head coach Carol Bruggeman. Hired in 1993, Bruggeman began work that June as the chief architect responsible for constructing the Purdue softball program. Under the guidence of Bruggeman the program has averaged 30 wins a year the short seven seasons.
"Purdue has been an excellent place for a new softball program to develope," Bruggeman says. "The support of the administration, combined with the excellent facilities, outstanding community support and the academic reputation have allowed for quick growth of the program."
In the team's first season, Bruggeman guided the Boilermakers to a 21-17-1 (.545) record, the most wins for any first-year team in Big Ten Conference softball history - Michigan State's 15 victories in 1974 was the next closest. In 1995 the Boilers finished 23-31 overall and competed in the Big Ten for the first time.
After a 36-win season in 1996, the Boilers made history in 1997 by reaching their first-ever Big Ten Tournament. In dramatic fashion, Purdue clinched the fourth and final spot in the tourney by beating Minnesota 3-2 on the last day of the season. The Boilers posted a 41-25 record overall.
She has coached nine different players to All-Mid East Region honors and has had 13 All Big Ten selections.
Bruggeman's Purdue softball program has achieved success in the classroom as well. The Boilers have posted 31 Academic All-Big Ten honorees in six years, including four in 1999. The team has also had a member selected to the GTE Academic All-America team each of the past four years.
Her teams are also active in several community service projects each year.
Bruggeman's work ethic, organizational skills, personality and evaluation of talent has been evident in recruiting during her short stay in West Lafayette. She has recruited outstanding classes in the United States and Canada. Purdue has players from Indiana, as well as Georgia, Illinois, California, Hawaii and Canada on its roster.
"The types of players we recruit reflect a certain style of play: real aggressive, assertive, quick-paced, give 110 percent all the time-type of player. That's my style and the style I want to be played here at Purdue."
Bruggeman came to Purdue from Michigan, where she was an assistant coach from 1989-93. The Wolverines averaged 38 wins during that time, including a school-record 46 in 1993. They won back-to-back Big Ten championships in 1992 and [apos]93 and earned NCAA Tournament berths both years, the first two postseason trips in the school's history.
No stranger to Big Ten softball, Bruggeman was a graduate assistant at Iowa, her alma mater, in 1988. She was a standout infielder with the Hawkeyes, earning all-conference and all-region honors during her four-year career. She also was an Academic All-American, three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and received Iowa[apos]s Athletic Academic Medal of Honor.
In conjunction with her coaching duties, Bruggeman conducts the Purdue summer and holiday softball camps and clinics each winter and summer. She represents the university through various public appearances and speaks in clinics throughout the country. She is also the national Division I representative for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Bruggeman, a native of Charter Oak, Iowa, earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1987 and a master's in athletic administration and coaching in 1990, both from Iowa. She is currently working on her doctorate in educational administration.
During the summer of 1997, she was inducted into Iowa[apos]s Softball Association Hall-of-Fame for her contribution to the sport.