Come listen as Coach Clark talks about UT Women's Softball as they head to the 2011 NCAA Regional Championship.
Watch her video on why she's glad to be coaching at UT: http://www.texassports.com/allaccess/?media=239782
Speaker's Bio:
Few coaches can boast of successful 15-year spans in their careers, and even fewer can claim such a span at the beginning of their head coaching days. Since starting The University of Texas' softball program in 1996, Connie Clark has not only been successful, she has built one of the most successful program's in college softball.
In 14 varsity seasons, head coach Connie Clark has positioned Texas softball firmly on the national map. No longer considered an upstart program with tremendous potential, Texas has earned its reputation for having the best players, the best facilities, the best traditions and the best coaches. When people talk about Texas softball, they talk about only one thing: winning.
Since its ascension to varsity status in 1997, Texas has emerged as one of the most dominant softball programs in the nation under the direction of Clark. In only 14 seasons as a varsity program, Clark - the 1987 Broderick National Softball Player of the Year as a collegian - has led UT to four Women's College World Series appearances (1998, 2003, 2005 and 2006), 11 NCAA Tournament appearances (1998-2000, 2002-03, 2005-10), five Big 12 Conference Tournament titles (1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005) and four Big 12 regular-season titles (2002, 2003, 2006 and 2010). In fact, Texas' appearance in the 1998 WCWS - in just its second varsity season - still ranks as the quickest arrival at the NCAA Division I softball "Elite Eight" tournament in the history of the sport.
Clark's overall record at UT is 552-260-3 (.679).
About the Team:
The University of Texas Softball team has earned the No. 3 national seed in the 2011 NCAA Championship and will host an NCAA Regional at Red and Charline McCombs Field.
The Longhorns will be making their seventh-straight and 12th overall NCAA appearance when they host the three-day NCAA Austin Regional.
Texas (45-8) received an at-large berth to the 64-team 2011 NCAA Championship and will compete in a four-team, double elimination NCAA Regional from Friday-Sunday, May 20-22.
Head coach Connie Clark’s squad will open regional action on Friday against Texas State at 6:30 p.m. Central. The Bobcats (33-23) won the Southland Tournament and received an automatic bid into the NCAA field.
The other two teams at the Austin Regional are Houston (40-16), which earned an at-large berth and Louisiana Lafayette (49-9) the champion of the Sun Belt Conference. Houston will take on ULL on Friday at 4 p.m. Central in first-round action.
The game times for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Austin will be announced as soon as they are available.
Arizona State (50-6) was named the No. 1 seed in the 64-team field, while Alabama (46-8) earned the No. 2 seed, followed by the Longhorns, fourth-seeded Florida (47-9) and fifth-seeded Missouri (46-7).
Thirty conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 34 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this weekend.
Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition, when possible.
The Big 12 Conference led all conferences with eight teams in the championship. The Southeastern Conference and Pac-10 placed seven in the championship while five teams from Conference USA were selected. California State University, Fresno, remains the only team to be selected to all 30 championships. Four teams are making their initial appearances in the tournament: Jackson State University, Jacksonville University, University of Memphis and New Mexico State University.
