Deb Pallozzi Inducted Into NFCA Hall of Fame
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Ithaca softball head coach Deb Pallozzi and Tennessee co-head coach Ralph Weekly became members of one of the most elite groups in all of softball on Dec. 2 at the 2011 NFCA Convention in Las Vegas, the NFCA Hall of Fame.
During Pallozzi’s tenure, Ithaca has made 19 NCAA regional appearances, won 10 consecutive Empire 8 regular-season titles, seven tournament crowns and the 2002 NCAA Division III National Softball Championship. While at the helm of the Bombers, Pallozzi has coached some of the best players in school history including 14 NSCA and Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America selections.
The awards have not just been limited to her players, as
Pallozzi has been the recipient of several awards during her storied career. She is a five-time Empire 8 Coach of the Year and is a four-time NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honoree.
Pallozzi is one of just 55 members of the NFCA Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class in 1991 and just the seventh Division III coach in the Hall of Fame. She is one of 21 active college coaches who have received the NFCA's highest honor.
Her induction is the third for a current Ithaca head coach in the past six years. Baseball coach
George Valesente was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2005 and men’s lacrosse coach
Jeff Long was inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009.
Since taking over as the Bombers’ head coach in 1989,
Pallozzi has won 651 games in 24 seasons, leading Ithaca to 19 NCAA playoff appearances, including the 2002 national championship. The Bombers have made eight other trips to the World Series, placing fourth in 2005 and 2008. Pallozzi’s teams have won or shared the Empire 8 regular-season title all 10 years the sport has been sponsored by the conference and won the conference tournament five of the eight times it’s been held. She’s been named Empire 8 Coach of the Year five times.
A 1979 graduate of Cortland where she played four years of softball, Pallozzi was inducted into her alma mater's hall of fame in 2004. She was an assistant volleyball coach at Ithaca from 1988 to 1994, helping the Bombers reach the final four her final season.