Over a 39-year career, softball coach Melinda Fischer earned 1,159 victories, all but 41 of them with the Illinois State Redbirds. Her teams won 10 Missouri Valley Conference titles, five MVC tournament crowns and competed in multiple regional and national tournaments.
That was after her own career as a college athlete.
“To me, my career is not about those wins,” she said.
“Yes, they’re great, but it represents so many people that I’ve had the opportunity to be around, whether it’s people on staff, whether it’s administration, whether it’s the players, whether it’s the community. These are extraordinary people that have really made my journey so exciting and so valuable.”
Four years after her retirement, Fischer was recognized in April as a History Maker by the McLean County Museum of History. She'll be recognized at the History Makers Gala on June 17.
Name, Image, Likeness
When Fischer retired in 2022, she did so in part because of the changing dynamics in college athletics, including Name, Image, Likeness, or NIL, deals.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld NIL deals for college athletes the year before Fischer retired.
“It just wasn’t my core value at all,” she said.
Fischer recalled her first chance to play sports was not until college, and so whenever she got the chance to play, that was all that mattered to her.
“You just loved every opportunity you had to get to practice, every opportunity you had to play, and to see the games evolve throughout the course of the years, it was still about a love for the game … but it’s a different approach to loving the game.”
She said she still believes athletes play for the love of the game but also hopes the opportunity for money does not overtake that love.
“I hope they still enjoy being around their teammates,” Fischer said. “You learn so much by being a part of a team, and you learn so much about yourself. You learn so much about what you want to do in your future, and I think sports has so much to offer. I hope we don’t take away that part of what sports can bring to any youth that’s interested.”
Adjusting to retirement
Once her retirement was official, Fischer wondered what was going to occupy her time once she left. She said she is still in the middle of figuring it out, but an Arizona condo and traveling have helped to balance out all the cold Illinois winters.
“Being a softball coach, you get used to it because you’re inside all the time in January and February practicing before you actually get to start playing,” Fischer said. “But then when you don’t have to be in this environment, you really want to try to find something that’s a little bit more suited to being outside, because I love doing that, and [being] a little warmer.”
Fischer said before adjusting to her newfound free time, she felt a lot of anxiety. It took a while to break her habits, she said.
“I think your body is so used to doing what you’ve done for however long you’ve done it, and you get into routines, and so your routines are still the same in your mind,” she said. “And I would literally, my car would, just automatically go to Horton Field House, and then down to the softball field.”
Fischer said to get herself out of doing that, she chose a new routine that blended her love of athletics with her need to fill time.
“I really joined Anytime Fitness, and I think I really found a good community out there,” she said. “People are really welcoming … some of them have been through retirement, some of them haven’t, but it’s just fun to share some stories and experiences with them.”
From fan to coach and back to fan
When Fischer graduated high school in Pekin, she was told by two teachers that to teach and be competitive in sports, her only choice was Illinois State.
Four years later she left with a degree in physical education and was set on a path to Eastern Illinois University, before quickly returning to Normal.
All these years later, she’s back to being just a fan.
“Being a fan for sports other than softball has been fun. Being a fan for softball is very hard for me still,” she said. “I kind of still want to be out on that field, coaching, making decisions, helping to develop the game, but I can see myself getting further and further away from that as well.”
Fischer described herself as a fan of everything ISU and closely followed football and basketball this year.
“I think the quality of what you see at Illinois State now is really staring to elevate,” said Fischer. “It’s a whole different climate right now than when I left and basically based on NIL opportunities for players.”
Also, during her time as coach, Fischer continued to take part in a fight of equality for women’s sports. Title IX, which banned discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs, arrived the same year she graduated college.
“I’m not sure that I’ve led it. I definitely feel I was a small part of it,” said Fischer.
Fischer recalled faculty members like Phebe Scott, chair of the physical education department, Jill Hutchison, women's basketball coach, and Laurie Mabry, women’s athletic director, as leaders she looked up to.
“I felt that those people were so important to what I wanted to do and I wanted to be like that, and I really wanted to carry on the charge, and they were great role models. I couldn’t have asked for anybody better to follow to stand on their shoulders,” she said.
Fischer said she felt as though she did get to be a role model to some in her career. She said she did not realize it until she retired, when the cards and texts and emails of appreciation flooded in.
The feeling permeates at every single visit back to Marian Kneer Stadium and at the field, now named after her.
“I could pull a lot out of my memory bank, but to mention one or two probably wouldn’t do it justice. I think any time that I walk into that field, I just, I smile,” she said. “Any time I go sit in the stands, I just smile. I really just enjoy being around that environment.”
Fischer said she likes to walk and when her thoughts wander they usually go to softball. In that case, she smiles some more as she thinks about all the players and staff she made memories with.
Fischer, along with the other honorees, will be formally recognized at the museum’s June 17 gala as a McLean County History Maker.
