Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Title IX, wmubroncos.com takes a look at 40 key moments/females in the history of women's athletics at Western Michigan University. Though the selection process, an effort was made to highlight a moment and player/coach from each of our current women's sports programs, as well pay respect to our women's legacy sports. A different feature will be released each of the 40 days, July 24 through Sept. 1.

Kim Worden
Softball & Basketball: 1979-82
Head Softball Coach: 1988-2000
WMU Athletic Hall of Fame: 1994

Kim Worden excelled in both softball and basketball as a student-athlete and went on to coach the Bronco softball program for 13 years.

During her playing days on the diamond, Worden was a first baseman and pitcher for three different squads that competed in the Women's College World Series. She compiled a career pitching mark of 46-19-1 with a 0.76 ERA, which stands as third best in WMU history. At the end of her career, she held program marks for innings pitched (505.2) and games played (175), also setting the bar for complete games, hurling 20 in 1980.

As a basketball player, Worden became the fourth women's hooper to score 1,000 career points, racking up 1,025, and earned three All-State AIAW nods.

"My decision to play at Western was the best thing that ever happened to me," Worden said in a 1991 interview with the Lansing State Journal. "It's a great school with a lot of athletic tradition."

Worden didn't stray far from the softball program, grabbing the head coaching job in 1988 and leading the Broncos until 2000. Worden is the all-time winningest coach in school history with a 321-354 career record. She also holds the record for most wins at home (142) and had four of her teams post 30-win seasons.

A tribute to her career, Worden became the university's first recipient of the Alumni W Club "Women of the Year" award in 1990. She was inducted into the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame four years later.