Janet Mitten Hutchinson

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Janet (Jan) Hutchinson is a graduate of Newton High School and East Stroudsburg State College. In high school she played varsity field hockey, basketball, track and field, but was unable to participate in sports in college due to an injury. Jan initiated the women’s physical education and field hockey, basketball and softball teams at Blair Academy and coached there from the fall of 1971 through December 1977. Her field hockey record at Blair was 65-14-8 and softball record was 51-13. Janet started at Bloomsburg in 1978 and was the field hockey and softball coach. Her field hockey record stands at 591-75-20. Her teams were NCAA National Champions 16 times, NCAA National Runner-ups 9 times and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Champions 16 times with 9 PSAC second place finishes. She was named National Coach of the Year in 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2006. She coached 12 national players of the year and 52 players who garnered 101 All-American honors. Her softball record stands at 1215-288-2.  Bloomsburg softball made 28 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament. Her teams were National Champions in 1982, NCAA National Runner-ups in 1991 and 1995, placed third five times, and were fourth in two other seasons.  Bloomsburg softball captured 16 PSAC crowns and came in second nine other years. She mentored 32 players who earned 53 All-American awards. She coached one national player of the year and was named National Coach of the Year in 1992. Jan is the first female coach in NCAA history to reach 1000 wins, an accomplishment featured in Sports Illustrated.  Jan is a member of the Newton High School, Blair Academy, and Sussex County N.J. Halls of Fame. She was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Field Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005. Jan is also a member of the East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg Halls of Fame. In 2006, she received the C. Vivian Stringer Award from the U.S. Sports Academy. She is the winningest NCAA field hockey coach in all Divisions (I, II, III) and the winningest NCAA Division II softball coach. In 2008, she was inducted into our Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame which opened the door to her eventual inclusion into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.