When North Carolina softball coach Donna Papa came to Chapel Hill in 1985, portable toilets served as locker rooms and Papa’s trunk was the team’s equipment shed.
After notching her 1,000th career win Sunday in a series sweep of the Florida State Seminoles, Papa acknowledged just how far the program has come.
“You just think about your whole career being somewhere,” Papa said. “I’ve been very fortunate to be somewhere for 26 years and to be at the helm of the program to grow it and to develop it.”
After the win, a presentation was made featuring messages from former assistant coaches Beverly Smith and Janelle Breneman. Papa was presented with a banner and framed jersey with “Papa” on the back and the number 1,000 to commemorate the occasion.
Papa began her career as the head coach of both volleyball and softball at Susquehanna University. A four-time ACC coach of the year, Papa has coached 11 All-Americans.
Papa has coached the Tar Heels to four regular-season ACC titles and the 2001 ACC tournament championship.
Coming into the 2011 season, Papa was ranked 12th among all active Division 1 coaches in career wins.
The stat book does not fully illustrate the impact Papa has had on the Tar Heels’ softball program, as she was a driving force behind the development of Anderson Stadium, the team’s home since 2002.
“We were getting killed in recruiting because we didn’t have a facility,” Papa said. “It was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears trying to get it built … it was worth it.”
