Kansas Sports Hall inductee: Tracy Bunge

Tracy Bunge never believed she could make softball a lifelong pursuit.

But Bunge’s career – first as a player at Kansas, then as a coach – coincided with the sport’s rise in popularity, and Bunge never had to give it up.

She followed her All-America career with the Jayhawks with more than two decades as a college coach – including 13 at KU – and now she’s on staff with the Dutch national team.

“I got in the middle of my senior year (at Kansas) and I thought I was going in a certain direction. I thought I was going into business,” Bunge said. “I had literally a breakdown moment with my assistant coach at the time, Gary Hines.… I said, ‘I think I want to coach’ and he says, ‘Well, then coach.’

Bunge’s first year at Kansas was 1983, two years after the NCAA began sponsoring women’s sports.

That made Bunge one of the university’s first female stars, as the Bartlesville, Okla. native set the KU record for lowest career ERA (0.68) and was an All-America selection as a senior in 1986, when she pitched four shutouts.

Bunge was also one of the Jayhawks’ best hitters, leading the team in home runs in each of her seasons. She was inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

“I feel very honored to have seen the transition of the program during the time that I was a part of it,” Bunge said. “Those four years at KU were where women’s sports really began to scratch the surface and become (more) legitimate, so to speak.”

Bunge is KU’s coaching wins leader. Her professional coaching career has happened while softball has become more mainstream with the establishment of several American stars.

“It’s been so much fun to watch,” Bunge said. “And it’s so much fun to feel like you’re a part of it.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Kansas Sports Hall inductee: Tracy Bunge."