General | March 15

DeKalb, Ill. – Dee Abrahamson, who served Northern Illinois University Athletics for more than 30 years as head softball coach and athletics administrator, will be inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame as part of its 2019 class, the league office announced Friday.
 
Abrahamson is one of four MAC legends who will be inducted into the MAC Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 during the MAC Honors Dinner at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel along with former MAC student-athletes Pauline Maurice (Kent State, softball), Bruno Pauletto (Central Michigan, men's track & field) and Greg Wojciechowski (Toledo, wrestling).    
 
"I have been so blessed to have so many people in my life who have helped me out, who got me to the right place and cleared the way for my success," Abrahamson said from Claremont, Fla. where she is conducting equipment testing in her continuing role with the NCAA. "The MAC has certainly been instrumental throughout my career, so getting the news about being selected to the MAC Hall of Fame was pretty amazing, actually.
 
"Being selected to the MAC Hall of Fame means a lot because my roots are in the MAC," she continued. "It started at WMU as a student-athlete, my first coaching job was at Western Michigan as a graduate assistant coach, then I ended my coaching career and had my career in athletics in the MAC at NIU. It's been a lifetime association for me, so that is especially cool because I got to stay in one place and meet so many phenomenal people. It was amazing that I was able to stay and be a part of the MAC from the beginning to the end of my career."
 
Abrahamson is the fourth Huskie to be selected to the MAC Hall of Fame, the first woman and the first from any sport outside of football.  Former NIU tailback Michael Turner was inducted last year, former NIU football coaches Joe Novak and Bill Mallory were part of the 2014 and 2013 induction classes, respectively. 
 
"Congratulations to Dee on this well-deserved honor," said NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier.  "For more than 30 years, she impacted the lives of hundreds of Huskie student-athletes, as the successful head coach of our softball program, and then as an administrator who helped advance all of our teams, our department and our university in so many areas. Add her contributions to the sport of softball on a national level and you have a true hall of famer."
 
The winningest coach in NIU softball history, Abrahamson's contributions off the diamond to NIU Athletics, its student-athletes, the Mid-American Conference and the sport of softball are even more impressive than her remarkable career as a coach.
 
As head softball coach from 1980-94, she led the Huskies to a 416-286-5 record and .592 winning percentage, highlighted by a trip to the Women's College World Series in 1988. During her tenure as the Huskies' head coach, NIU won 30-or-more games seven different times, including a 40-win season in 1993, a mark that still stands as the school record. During the 1988 College World Series season, the Huskies reached as high as No. 10 in the national poll while also recording a 16-game winning streak. She was selected as the conference coach of the year three times.
 
Following her success on the diamond, Abrahamson left coaching and embarked on a 17-year career in athletics administration at NIU. From 1994-2011, Abrahamson oversaw multiple units within the athletics department and rose from assistant athletic director to Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator for NIU. She had oversight responsibilities for 12 sports during her tenure, including baseball, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and tennis at different times during the Huskies' time in the MAC. She also directed the internal affairs units of NIU's athletic department including personnel, facilities, events, camps, clinics, athletic business, NCAA compliance and information technology.
 
During her time as an administrator, she helped oversee NIU's transition back to the Mid-American Conference, served as the athletics liaison for the design and building of the NIU Convocation Center, was involved in the hiring of coaches, NCAA Certification and directed multiple MAC Championships hosted by NIU. She initiated, and oversaw, NIU's Athletic Academic Excellence Program and The Victor's, NIU's annual all student-athlete awards celebration. At the university level, she served on the President's Commission on the Status of Women (1994-97 and 2006-08) and on the Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources Committee (2010-11).
 
Despite all the awards and accolades, when asked to list her most memorable moment or accomplishment of her career, she said it comes down to one thing – people.
 
"I think the thing I'm most proud of is the accomplishments of the people I got to work with – whether a student-athlete, a coach or staff member, a colleague, a friend," Abrahamson said.  "I look at the accomplishments of the people that have crossed my life path and it makes me proud to have played a part in their success."
 
Abrahamson became the NCAA Softball Secretary Rules editor in 1996, a position she held until 2015. She was the co-author of the original NCAA Softball Rules Book, published in 1997. Her responsibilities included all rule interpretations, editing the annual rule book, and educational programs for coaches and umpires.
 
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association honored Abrahamson in 2007 with the NFCA Distinguished Service Award for her lifetime dedication to the sport of fastpitch; she was only the second person in a 24-year period to receive the award. 
 
Recently announced as a 2019 inductee into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame in the Pioneer category, she currently serves as an equipment consultant for the NCAA. A nationally recognized expert in softball and bat technology, Abrahamson was also a liaison to the National Federation of High Schools and Amateur Softball Association (now USA Softball), which is the National Governing Board for the sport.  She served as vice-chair of the rules committee and of the equipment testing and standards committee of USA Softball for more than 12 years.
 
Abrahamson came to NIU in 1979 as softball coach from Lincoln Trail Community College, where she won 152 games while founding the women's athletic program. She has been inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame as a coach (2002) and as an administrator (2017).
 
Abrahamson, a native of Wilmette, Illinois, earned both her bachelor's and master's degree from Western Michigan in 1974 and 1975, respectively, where she swam competitively for two years.
 
Tickets are available for the MAC Honors Dinner on Wednesday, May 30 at 6:00 pm ET at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel.  Individual tickets ($100 each) and a table of ten ($950) are available for purchase. Contact Julie Kachner at the Mid-American Conference office at 216-566-4622.
 
-- NIU --