Hall of Fame
A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jill Hutchison was a pioneer in the sport of women’s basketball, as she influenced the game from relative obscurity to its current level of expanding popularity.
A head coach for 28 seasons (all at ISU), she compiled a 461-323 mark and qualified her teams for 12 national tournaments.
In all, her teams earned seven AIAW State Championships (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981) and grabbed five Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference titles (1983, 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1990).
She guided the Redbirds to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1983, 1985 and 1989) and seven WNIT showings (1971, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990 and 1996).
Hutchison coached two U.S. Olympians -- Charlotte Lewis in 1976 and Cathy Boswell in 1984 -- and served as head coach of the 1978 National Junior Team that captured the silver medal at the Pan American Games. She also led the 1983 USA World University Games Team to a gold medal as head coach.
A three-time Rawlings MVC Coach of the Year, Hutchison was chair of the basketball rules committee and was on the front line during the controversy surrounding the decision to switch to the “baby ball.”
She is a member of the Illinois State University and University of New Mexico Athletics Halls of Fame.