Lloyd Hulit, a familiar name on the Bloomington-Normal softball scene, was named as the new head coach at Illinois Wesleyan University in May 2005.

Hulit, who has coached girls’ and women’s softball locally since 1981, takes over at IWU for Beth Williams, who left following the 2005 season.

“I have long admired Illinois Wesleyan and have great respect for its academics and softball program,” said Hulit. “I am looking forward to the challenge and moving the IWU softball program back into the national limelight.”

Hulit was the head softball coach at Normal West High School from 1996 to 2003 and his squads were 200-64 with three Big 12 conference championships, a sectional title and an appearance in the final eight of the 2000 state tournament.

Hulit was an assistant coach at Parkside Junior High School and at Normal Community High School from 1987 to 1993 and became the head coach at NCHS in 1993. His Ironmen teams were 34-11 and took the 1995 Big 12 conference title.

Most recently Hulit has spent two seasons as assistant at Bloomington High School and, since 2002, has coached the Lady Rage, one of the most dominant women’s major American Softball Association teams in the Midwest.

In 2004, the Rage played in the championship game of every tournament they entered and won the ASA regional and the NSA World Series. In 2002 the Rage handed the Stratford (Conn.) Brakettes their only loss in a 64-1 national championship season.

Hulit is a 1967 magna cum laude graduate of Ashland (Ohio) University with master’s and doctorate degrees from The Ohio State University. He was a member of the department of speech pathology and audiology at Illinois State University from 1972 until his retirement as a full professor in 2003.