GEORGIA STATE SOFTBALL COACH BOB HECK STEPS DOWN
ATLANTA-Georgia State's long-time softball coach Bob
Heck has stepped down as head coach, effectively immediately. Third-year
assistant coach Roger Kincaid will take over as the interim head coach for the
remainder of the 2011 season.
Heck, 85, was in his 24th season as head coach since
elevating the softball program to fast-pitch status in 1985. He earned career
win No. 700 Sunday, and his coaching record stands at 700-584-2.
"Coach Heck built our softball program from scratch,
from the team to the facility, and we are forever grateful for everything that
he has done for Georgia State University," said Director of Athletics Cheryl L.
Levick. "Coach Heck decided that this was the time to step down. His record is
remarkable, his generosity is unmatched, and we can't thank him enough."
Heck guided his Georgia State teams to six
conference championships, highlighted by an NCAA Regional berth in 1994. He was
named Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2006, when he led the
Panthers to the conference's regular-season title in their first season in the
CAA. He also earned Coach of the Year accolades in GSU's former home, the Trans
America Athletic Conference.
Since Georgia State moved to the CAA in 2005-06,
Heck's Panthers have posted five straight winning seasons and have finished
third or higher in the league standings each year, including the regular-season
title in 2006 and runner-up finishes the last three seasons. With a 70-32
record in conference play, GSU has won nearly 70 percent of its CAA games. The
Panthers have advanced to the CAA Championship game in three of their five
seasons in the league.
In the CAA era, Heck coached four CAA Rookie of the
Year winners, one CAA Player of the Year, one CAA Pitcher of the Year and one
CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, along with 36 all-conference and all-rookie
honorees.
During his tenure, more than 90 student-athletes
earned first or second-team all-conference honors.
Heck's student-athletes have also excelled in the
classroom. Last fall, the softball team posted a team grade point average of
3.40, with 10 individuals on the Dean's List or President's List.
Heck began his association with Georgia State
athletics in 1981 as a volunteer assistant coach with the Panther softball
team, then playing slow-pitch. In 1984, he served as the head coach of the
slow-pitch team, but the NCAA did not recognize this as a sport. In the spring
of 1985, Georgia State began playing NCAA fast-pitch softball with Heck as its
first head coach.
Recently inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club
Softball Hall of Fame, Heck is recognized as a pioneer of softball in the state
of Georgia as his Panthers were the first NCAA-sanctioned fast-pitch program in
the state.
He guided the fledging program from the New South
Women's Athletic Conference (NSWAC) through its growth into the Trans America
Athletic Conference (TAAC) and then the Atlantic Sun Conference before Georgia
State moved to the CAA.
That first season, 1985, was Heck's only losing
record in his first 10 years. By his fourth year, he produced his first 40-win
team with a 42-20 squad (.677) in 1988. A year later, he had a NSWAC
championship team. In 1990, he coached another conference championship team
with a school record-tying 42 wins.
By 1994, Heck had built a team that was ranked in
the Top 25 in the nation and earned an NCAA Tournament bid.
Following the 1998 season, Heck retired for three
years before returning to the dugout in the fall of 2001.
Born in Wheeling, W. Va., Heck is a World War II
veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. Following his military service, he earned
his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and later added graduate
degrees from Emory and Georgia State.
His career in athletics began as a teacher, head
track coach and assistant football coach at Druid Hills High School in Atlanta.
He also worked as a high school football referee for 25 years.
In 1957, he began a career as a national bank
examiner with the Controller of the Currency office for 10 years. He moved on
to the Federal Reserve Bank and worked there until retiring in 1991.
Georgia State's softball complex at Panthersville is
named Bob Heck Field in recognition of his generosity in the construction of
the top-notch venue, which includes an indoor practice facility. Heck is one of
eight Founding Life Members of the Panther Athletic Club, the fund-raising arm
of Georgia State Athletics, and he was honored with Georgia State's Sparks
Award in 2005 for his service to the University.
Kincaid, who has served as the program's top
assistant and recruiting coordinator, takes over a team with a record of 5-5.
A national search for a permanent head coach will begin
following the 2011 season.