Sheilah Gulas

b. 1961
Category
Coaching
Year Inducted
2018
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article by Cody Crandall originally appeared in The Post-Journal on February 3, 2017.
Sheilah (Lingenfelter) Gulas, a 1979 graduate of Southwestern Central School and the current softball coach at Ashland University, will be inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2017.
Gulas will go into the NFCA Hall of Fame on December 8 at the NFCA Convention in Las Vegas.
According to an official release on the NFCA website, Gulas, who is also Ashland's assistant athletic director and senior woman administrator, is heading into her 21st season as the Eagles' head coach and 31st overall as a collegiate head coach. She needs just one victory to reach 900 for her career and has won nearly 66 percent of her games (899-464-1). Gulas needs only seven wins to reach 700 at Ashland (693-342-1).
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Ashland's athletics website mentions that her coaching career began at Division III Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Gulas coached the Gators from 1987-90, and was 123-38. Allegheny was the national runner-up in 1988 and fifth in the country in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Gulas was named the NCAA Division III national coach of the year in 1988 and 1989, and was the regional coach of the year from 1987-89.
Gulas left Allegheny to coach at Wittenberg, another Division III institution. She stayed there from 1991-96. Her 1994 team set a school single-season record for wins (18), and her teams were ranked among the nation's top 10 academic teams every season. Gulas also coached women's soccer at Wittenberg.
In addition to her NFCA Hall-of-Fame induction last December, Gulas was also the recipient of several other honors in 2017, including the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Co-Coach of the Year; and the ASHPY'S Lifetime Achievement Award. The speaker at the Ashland Umpires Association scholarship banquet, Gulas retired after the 2017 season with a 929-487-1 (.656 winning percentage), including a 723-365-1 (.664) mark at Ashland. Fittingly, Gulas' coached two more all-region, one academic All-American and six all-conference players in her final campaign as coach.
Gulas' impact was more beyond the numbers, though. All one has to do to confirm that is watch a video produced by former players and coaches as a tribute to her on the eve of her NFCA Hall-of Fame induction.
Said one former player: "I don't think you'll understand the infinite amount of time you've put in to each and every single one of us here in this program. And as we graduate and as we move on to our professional lives, how that helps mold us into the people we are and helps our decision making as adults."
more about Sheilah Gulas
Audios
- "Sheilah Gulas accepts her 2024 induction into the Ashland University Athletics Hall of Fame." October 5, 2024. MP3 audio, 7:15.
Memorabilia
Photographs
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Publications
transcribed publications
- Kindberg, Scott. "Adamczak Sr., Lingenfelter Gulas, Woodfield Enshrined." Post-Journal (Jamestown), October 18, 2021.
scanned publications
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Videos
Sheilah Gulas NFCA Hall of Fame Induction Video
Sheilah Gulas NFCA Hall of Fame Induction Speech
Sheila Gulas (2018) CSHOF inductee
Sheilah Gulas 2024 induction into the Ashland University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Websites
- Sievers, Chez."2017 NFCA Hall Of Fame Inducts Gary Haning; Class Of 2018 Announced." FloSoftball. December 12, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2019. https://www.flosoftball.com/articles/6057171-2017-nfca-hall-of-fame-inducts-gary-haning-class-of-2018-announced.
- "AU Athletics Announces Stellar 2024 Hall Of Fame Class." Ashland University Athletics. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://goashlandeagles.com/news/2024/5/2/general-au-athletics-announces-stellar-2024-hall-of-fame-class.aspx.
- "Distinguished Awards honor Clarion alumni, friends" Pennsylvania Western University. Accessed February 9, 2025. https://www.pennwest.edu/about/news/2025/clarion-da-2025.php.
- "Longtime AU softball coach Sheilah Gulas retiring at end of season." Richland Source. February 5, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2019. https://www.richlandsource.com/sports/ashland_university/longtime-au-softball-coach-sheilah-gulas-retiring-at-end-of/article_192084c4-eaf5-11e6-9b6b-b78d3b8c0588.html.
- "NFCA Hall of Fame." National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Accessed April 6, 2019. https://nfca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7547&Itemid=267.
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