BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Former SIUE softball Head Coach Sandy Montgomery already is an SIUE Athletics Hall of Famer as a player and a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Famer. Now she also is an Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Famer.
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Montgomery joins former UT Martin golf Head Coach Jerry Carpenter and the late Middle Tennessee track and field Head Coach Dean Hayes in the 2023 class of inductees. They will be formally inducted during the OVC Honors Brunch June 2 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame was organized in 1977 with the intent of honoring the coaches, administrators, faculty and staff who have been associated with the OVC for at least five years and provided extensive and outstanding service to the Conference. With the induction of this year's class, the membership will reach 96.
SIUE joined the OVC in 2008 in conjunction with its reclassification to NCAA Division I competition. Montgomery is the first SIUE representative to join the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame.
Montgomery retired from SIUE in 2018 after a legendary coaching and playing career at SIUE. One of the longest-tenured head coaches in school history, she completed her coaching career with a record of 1,051-540-2 for a winning percentage of .660.
During her eight years as a coach in the OVC, she amassed a record of 130-67 with seven winning seasons. The Cougars claimed the 2014 OVC Tournament Championship, and then won the OVC regular season crown in 2015 with a 20-6 league record. In 2017 the team won 41 games and finished in the Top 50 nationally in RPI. Montgomery was named the 2015 OVC Coach of the Year and from 2014-17 the Cougars appeared in the title game of the OVC Championship.
Montgomery first came to SIUE in the fall of 1981 as a student-athlete under Head Coach Cindy Jones. She was inducted into the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame as a player after setting many of the school records for pitching. While coaching all of the players who would go on to break her records, she continues to hold the record for the lowest earned run average in a career (0.85) and shutouts (42).
She also served as an SIUE Associate Director of Athletics and helped lead the department from the NCAA Division II ranks to NCAA Division I membership in 2008. Montgomery made a lasting impact on the SIUE softball program, overseeing a major renovation of Cougar Field and the building of the Fulginiti Indoor Facility.
Montgomery joined the Athletics Hall of Fame as a player in 2006. She was induced into the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2022.
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