A pioneer in the growth of the University of Delaware’s women’s athletics program that has produced several nationally recognized teams, Mary Ann Hitchens enjoyed outstanding success during a 37-year tenure with the Blue Hens as a nationally respected multi-sport coach and administrator.
Hitchens joined the UD athletics staff in 1969 as freshman coach of the women’s basketball team. The three inaugural programs, field hockey, basketball, and swimming were designated as pilot programs for the first two years of UD’s women’s athletics program (1969-70 and 1970-71). She was named head varsity coach the following year and led the squads to a combined record of 71-35 and six regional (EAIAW – Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) championship appearances over an eight-year period. During those years, the teams never had a losing season.
She was named head coach of field hockey in 1973 and led the team to a 16-year record of 196-76-30, which included 15 winning seasons, three conference titles and six national championship playoff appearances, including five top 4 finishes - a fourth, three-thirds and a second place in 1978. During her tenure, she coached nine All-Americans and was East Coast Conference Coach of the Year four times. She stepped down following the 1988 season to devote more time to her duties in athletics administration.
Hitchens served on the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Executive Council from 1983-86, received the ECAC Josten's Distinguished Service Award in 1992 and the ECAC Katherine Ley Award in 2000 "to honor a women's athletics administrator who is a strong proponent of opportunities for women's athletics, a strong leader and a role model for women coaches and administrators". She served two terms as president of the North Atlantic Conference, since renamed America East (1992-93 and 1993-94), becoming the first woman to hold that post, in addition to serving the conference as vice-president, field hockey sports committee member and chair of the Gender Equity Committee. In 1994, she helped coordinate the 25th Anniversary celebration of women's athletics at the University of Delaware, received UD's E. Arthur Trabant Award for Women's Equity and the National Association of Girls and Women's Sports (NAGWS) Pathfinder Award for the state of Delaware. A member of UD's Commission on the Status of Women for several years, she served as chair in 1984-85 and 1985-86. She also was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Field Hockey Committee from 1985 to 1989, serving as chair in the final two years.
She was inducted into the state of Delaware’s Sports Museum Hall of Fame in 1997, the University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999, the UD Alumni Wall of Fame in 2007 and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Hall of Fame, class of 2015. In addition, the Mary Ann Hitchens Award has been presented each year since 2007 to an outstanding UD senior female student-athlete "who has exhibited the qualities of hard work, dedication, leadership, fairness and striving for excellence that were the hallmarks of Hitchens' career".
A native of Milford, DE, Hitchens came to UD as a student in 1963, when intercollegiate athletics opportunities for women did not exist there. She received undergraduate (1967) and graduate degrees (1971) from UD and went on to enjoy outstanding success as head coach of basketball and field hockey. Involved in athletics administration from the beginning, she served as Chair of the Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics Council, Coordinator of Women’s Athletics, Assistant Director of Athletics, Associate Director of Athletics and for the final eight years as Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation Services. She served as the designated NCAA Senior Woman Administrator for UD from 1977 until her retirement in 2006.
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