Since coming to Allegheny in the fall of 2003, Sandra Sanford has revitalized the softball program, leading the Gators to the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference and back onto the national scene. In eight years, Allegheny has claimed three NCAC Tournament titles, two regular season conference championships, and has gone on to the NCAA Division III Tournament in three of the past six years.
In her eight years, she has guided the Gators to a 149-149 overall record against a highly competitive slate both in the region and around the nation. Allegheny has been even better in NCAC play (65-47) including 11-3 records and regular season championships in 2004 -- her first year -- and 2008. In addition to being NCAC Coach of the Year in 2006, Sanford has mentored three NCAC Newcomers of the Year (‘06, ‘08, ‘09), two NCAC Pitchers of the Year (‘04, ‘06) and two NCAC Players of the Year (‘07, ‘08). She also has had eight players named to the All-Central Region Team.
Highlighting Sanford’s tenure are three conference tournament titles in four years; 2004, 2005 and most recently in 2007. The Gators took the 2004 tourney as the top-seed before upsetting No. 1 seeds Ohio Wesleyan in the 2005 finals and Denison in 2007. With the wins, Allegheny advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th, 14th and 15th times in school history.
Prior to her arrival at Allegheny, she served as an assistant under legendary and Hall of Fame coach Donna Newberry at Muskingum from 1999-2001, helping the Muskies win the NCAA Division III National Championship in her final season. In 2000, the Muskingum staff was selected as the Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year, while in 2001 Sanford and company were selected as the National Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. As the hitting coach, Sanford helped Muskingum set what was then an NCAA Division III record with 47 home runs in 2000, which they topped the following year with 48.
In the summer of 2001, she had the honor of being the head coach of the Coast-to-Coast softball team, an all-star team that traveled to the Netherlands and Belgium for international play.
Before working at Muskingum, Sanford was an assistant coach at Bates College during the 1997-1998 academic year and was also an assistant coach at Teikyo-Post University for the 1996 season.
Sanford graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1995, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in human development and family relations. As a senior captain with the Huskies, she led the team to the 1995 Big East Conference championship and the title game of the NCAA Regional Tournament. Sanford was named to the All-Northeast Region First Team in 1995.
During her tenure with the Gators, Sanford has served on many national committees, including serving as a facilitator for the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Leadership conference, where she traveled to Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston and Dallas working with student-athletes.
She is also a member of the Regional ranking committee for the Central Region, and is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, earning her One-Star Master Coaches Certificate from the National Fastpitch Coaches College. Additionally she is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA).
Sanford, a native of Southbury, Conn., earned her master’s degree in education from Muskingum in 2002.
