Lady Vols softball coach Ralph Weekly makes Hall of Fame

Tennessee Lady Vols softball co-head coach Ralph Weekly will be inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011, according to a UT press release.

Weekly, who along with his wife, Karen, has established UT as a national powerhouse since arriving in Knoxville prior to the 2002 season, will be inducted at the annual NFCA convention in Las Vegas next year with Ithaca head coach Deb Pallozzi.

"This is a very prestigious honor, especially since the selection comes from my peers,'' Ralph Weekly said in the release. "This would never have been possible without my wife and co-head coach, Karen Weekly, assistant coach Marty McDaniel, and the many outstanding coaches and players I have worked with throughout both the collegiate and Olympic ranks.''

Weekly's 23-year coaching career has spanned three decades and included 966 victories, starting with his time at NAIA Pacific Lutheran where he won a a pair of national championships (1988, 1992) during a nine-year stint in Tacoma, Wash.

Weekly then helped build Chattanooga into a Southern Conference force alongside Karen Weekly from 1995-2001, winning four regular-season and SoCon tournament titles.

At Tennessee, the Lady Vols have won 465 games under Weekly's direction while registering four top-three finishes at the Women's College World Series during the last six years (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010).

Weekly also has been involved with the USA Softball program, including serving as a hitting coach, third-base coach and team leader with the gold medal-winning 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic softball squads.

He also served as the USA Softball National Teams Director (1999-2001) and is currently serving on the five-member selection committee for the USA Softball Women's National Team.