Melinda Fischer ’72, M.S. ’75, used to brave the coldest months of the year inside drafty Horton Field House, prepping for softball seasons while her team’s field was covered in snow. Now she spends her winters visiting friends in Arizona and soaking up the rays in Maui, where sunshine is only occasionally blotted out by the volcanic haze known as “vog.”

Fischer earned the rest and relaxation afforded by her newfound snowbird status, yet she often misses those practices in Horton where players became a team, where character and toughness were forged. 

“We always said that if you could play in Horton—if you could handle those Horton hops—then you could play on any field in the country,” she said. 

Fischer retired in 2022 after 37 seasons leading Illinois State’s softball team. During that time, she won 1,118 games, more than any other Redbird coach in any sport. She’s led her teams to championships, earned coaching awards, and been inducted into halls of fame. 

Now, even in retirement, she continues to collect hardware. Fischer is the recipient of Illinois State’s 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award. 

“Illinois State has been my life. It’s been my home. So, this means so much to me,” she said. “It’s humbling to receive the award, but it represents so many people other than me.”

Fischer’s love of Illinois State started before she stepped foot on campus. Growing up in Pekin, she gravitated to athletics before girls’ team sports were even offered at her high school. She found mentors, though, in physical education teachers and coaches in the local Lassie League. She learned they had all attended Illinois State. 

“I fell in love with Illinois State because of the mentors I had and how much they praised the education they received and the athletic opportunities available at Illinois State,” Fischer said. “I wanted to do what they were doing.”

Fischer arrived on campus without being recruited—no female student-athletes were in those days—and had to try out for Illinois State’s field hockey, basketball, and softball teams. She earned a roster spot on all three.

“That was my first real opportunity to play competitively,” said Fischer, a member of Illinois State’s 1969 softball team that finished as runner-up in the first-ever Women’s College World Series. 

Fischer’s love of sport only grew at Illinois State, where she majored in physical education. After graduation, she taught at Hufford Junior High in Joliet but returned to Illinois State in the fall of 1974 to earn a master’s degree. Before becoming Illinois State’s softball coach in 1985, she served as co-head coach of the Redbird basketball team alongside another legend, Dr. Jill Hutchison, M.S. ’69. Fischer also coached basketball and softball at Eastern Illinois and taught and coached at Peoria Richwoods High School.

Those ever-changing roles early in her career prepared her to adapt and change over nearly four decades as Illinois State’s softball coach.

Over the years, a white softball became a yellow one. Wooden bats were replaced by metal composites. Players, assistants, and administrators came and went. What remained constant was Fischer’s commitment to the people around her. 

“The most important thing for me was to represent myself and our teams with the utmost respect and integrity to honor those who gave me the opportunity to live out my dream,” she said. “Your past gets you to where you are today, and for me, it was because of so many great people.”

Fischer says she can’t name all those people, but she does a pretty good job of it. Her mental Rolodex runs deep. She’s kept a file on every player she’s coached—more than 300 in all—and among the dog-eared folders are mothers and daughters, twin sisters, players from near and far. She’s kept tabs on former assistants who moved into other roles, many who became head coaches. She’s stayed in touch with longtime assistant Tina Kramos, now Illinois State’s head softball coach. 

But sporadic interactions didn’t quite cut it when she first retired. She missed the people. “That first year was tough for me,” she said. “I was antsy. I’d try to do this or that, but I wanted to go to practices. I’d get in the car, and it would just start taking me that direction.”

Fischer still follows the team, of course, but she’s kept her distance. Her favorite spot to watch games is tucked away in the press box, where she’s occasionally reminded no cheering is allowed. 

Illinois State’s softball field is where Fischer spent a great deal of her life, after all, and another recent honor came late last year when a campaign was announced to name it Melinda Fischer Field. Many of those people from her mental Rolodex were among the first donors.  

“I don’t even have the words for that. It’s just so special,” Fischer said. “It’s so humbling, so exciting, and it also represents so many people.”

Alumni Award winners

Alumni Achievement Award

Jyl Madlem ’95
Technical Consultant, Abbott Rapid Diagnostics

E. Burton Mercier Alumni Service Award

Dewhitt L. Bingham, M.S. ’87
Retired Clinical Assistant Professor, Illinois State University

John W. Maitland Commitment to Education Award

Dr. Ricia A. Chansky, Ph.D. ’09
Professor of English, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Erica Lauren Maholmes, M.F.A. ’22
Freelance Lighting Director

Andrew Purnell Jr. Trailblazer Award

Linda A. Foster, M.S. ’16
Retired Superintendent of Building Services, Illinois State University

Dr. Erica Wills, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’15
Tenure-track Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Alumni Association will recognize seven alumni award winners on April 25. Nominations are being sought for the 2026 Alumni Awards. The deadline to nominate is July 31. Make a nomination online at Alumni.IllinoisState.edu/Awards.