Villanova’s DiBernardi to retire after 2018 season

For more than a generation, Maria DiBernardi is the only softball coach Villanova has known. Well, that’s about to change.

The university announced Friday that DiBernardi will retire following the 2018 season, her 34th as the head coach.

With a career record of 853-73410, DiBernardi is the winningest coach in program history. During her career she has led the Wildcats to the Big East Tournament 16 times and three-second place finishes since the tournament began in 1990.

In that time DiBernardi’s teams have produced 303 Big East academic all-stars, 28 All-Big East first-team selections, four Big East Pitchers of the Year, 28 All-Region players and 11 CoSida Academic All-Americans. DiBernardi’s players have consistently maintained a 3.0 GPA with the 2017 posting a 3.4 mark in the classroom for the spring semester.

Her 853 wins rank 23rd among active coaches and 40th all-time in Division 1. DiBernardi posted 12 30-win seasons in her career which included 40-win campaigns in 1999, 2001 and 2002.

“My 34 years at Villanova have been among the most rewarding and memorable experiences of my life,” DiBernardi said in a statement released by the university. “My players and staff have been family to me and my daughter, Deanna, for as long as we can remember. I am eternally grateful to the university, the athletic department, my coaches and my team for giving me the experience of a lifetime.”