Growing up in Lawton, Oklahoma, University of North Texas head softball coach Rodney DeLong was a die-hard Oklahoma Sooners football fan. When he began coaching softball, DeLong, now in his third season with the Mean Green, looked up to Sooners head softball coach Patty Gasso. So it was only fitting that on February 29, 2020, DeLong would lead his team to victory over the school he rooted for as a boy while making history at the same time.

Mark Allister is the author of Women’s College Softball on the Rise: A Season Inside the Game. He will be writing on DIII softball this spring and would welcome story ideas and comments at allister@stolaf.edu