OK, Sun Devils, the topic is out there. Is Dallas Escobedo's freshman season the best in Sun Devil history in any sport?

Last night's Sun Devil NCAA title win over Florida puts Coach Myers in some great company. He becomes just the fifth Sun Devil head coach to win multiple NCAA titles in Tempe, joining the likes of Linda Vollstedt, Bobby Winkles, Jim Brock and Greg Kraft. 

SUN DEVIL HEAD COACHES WITH MULTIPLE NCAA TITLES 

Linda Vollstedt/Women's Golf (1980-2001) - (6) 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998

Greg Kraft/Track and Field (1996-present) - (4) 2008 (indoor women and indoor men), 2007 (indoor and outdoor women)

Bobby Winkles/Baseball (1958-1971) - (3) 1965, 1967, 1969

Clint Myers/Softball (2006-present) - (2) 2008, 2011

Jim Brock/Baseball (1972-1994) - (2) 1977, 1981

How good has Oklahoma City been to the Sun Devil softball team in its past 12 games? Below is a breakdown of the 38-run difference (60-22) in the past 12 games at the Women's College World Series heading towards tonight's second game with Florida. 

2011 (ASU 27 RUNS, OPPONENTS 10)
ASU 14, Florida 4 (June 6, 2011 at College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 4, Baylor 0 (June 5, 2011 at College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 6, Florida 5 (June 3, 2011 at College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 3, Oklahoma 1 (June 2, 2011 at College World Series at Oklahoma City)

2009 (ASU 9 RUNS, OPPONENTS 10)

Alabama 6, ASU 2 (May 30, 2009 College World Series at Oklahoma City)
Washington 1, ASU 0 (May 29, 2009 College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 7, Missouri 3 (May 28, 2007 College World Series at Oklahoma City)

2008 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (ASU 24 RUNS, OPPONENTS 2)

ASU 11, Texas A&M 0 (June 3, 2008 College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 3, Texas A&M 0 (June 2, 2008 College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 3, Alabama 1 (June 1, 2008 College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 4, UCLA 0 (May 30, 2008 College World Series at Oklahoma City)
ASU 3, Alabama 1 (May 29, 2008 College World Series at Oklahoma City)

It is a landmark year for the Pac-10 as it celebrates 25 years of women's athletics in 2010-2011. Since expanding to add 1- women's sports in 1986-87, the Conference has been the leader of excellence in women's athletics.

Arizona State University joins in that recognition by partnering with former Sun Devil softball coach Mary Littlewood (1966-1989), who will write a regular blog on her experiences while working at ASU.

From the beginning of my memories to the present, I have had an interest in sports. As a child, I was always searching for an opportunity to throw a ball or shoot a basket. When girls my age were usually indoors playing with their dolls or having an imaginary tea party, I could usually be found out by the basketball hoop attached to our garage or in the backyard swinging a bat with all of the boys in the neighborhood. I don't know why I was blessed with the kind of coordination that is necessary to be successful in sports, but I was. As a high school student, I begged for there to be some activity, just anything, that would test my sports skills. The few sportsdays and playdays that we did have were absolutely no challenge to me. When it became time for me to start to think about "what I wanted to study in college", the apparent answer was to teach physical education. What else could a girl with a keen interest in sports do for a living?

So I went to college - Miami University in Oxford, Ohio - and majored in physical education. After much pleading, a few of us convinced a faculty member in the physical education department to sponsor our basketball team. We played maybe 4 or 5 games during the season and loved every minute of it. And that was when women's basketball was played with three stationary forwards and three stationary guards and players were allowed two dribbles! It wasn't until 1961 that players were allowed to have a roving forward and a roving guard who covered the entire length of the court and the length of the dribble was increased from two to three. The feeling still existed that women couldn't physically handle running the entire length of a basketball court for an entire game and using an unlimited dribble. Totally idiotic! Women were playing field hockey on a field that was 100 yards long with few timeouts, but they couldn't run the length of a basketball court?!

When I graduated from college (1956) I was resigned to the fact that what I had experienced in college in terms of athletic competition was all that I would ever see in my lifetime. Women playing professional basketball - college softball games being televised nationally - national championships in a multitude of women's collegiate sports!! That was all a dream - one that I missed out on as a player because I was born too early. But little did I know then that it was a dream that I would eventually experience as a coach!

As we head down the home stretch of the 2009-10 athletic year at Arizona
State University we still have five teams competing for national
championships (baseball, softball, men's and women's track and field and
men's golf).  I thought this note might be some of interest to you.

During the modern era of NCAA-recognized National Championships, ASU has won
22 national titles in eight sports.  They are:

Baseball -- 5
Men's Gymnastics -- 1
Women's Track & Field -- 3
Men's Track & Field -- 2
Wrestling -- 1
Men's Golf -- 2
Women's Golf -- 7
Softball -- 1

This is the fifth-most total in the Pacific-10 Conference:  UCLA (105);
Stanford (99); USC (90); Cal (28); ASU (22); Arizona (17); Oregon (16);
Washington (6); Oregon State (3) and Washington State (2).

During Lisa Love's tenure as Vice President for Athletics at ASU, the Sun
Devils have won six NCAA National Championships (three in women's track &
field and one each in men's track & field, women's golf and softball).  So
27.2 percent (six of 22) of ASU's NCAA-recognized National Championships
have come under the leadership of Lisa as VP for Athletics.

This list does not include the AIAW national titles that many of ASU's
sports teams won in the 1960's and 1970's, nor does it include the badminton
and archery titles that the NCAA never did recognize.

Arizona State University junior football student-athlete Samson Szakacsy and
sophomore softball student-athlete Hillary Bach are among 14 ASU students
who have been named Tillman Scholars for 2010, it was announced Saturday.

Administered by the Pat Tillman Foundation and the ASU W.P. Carey School of
Business, the Tillman Scholars - Leadership Through Action program is a
multi-year experience that teaches students how to use effective leadership
skills in a dynamic world, address the tough challenges faced by our
communities and mobilize resources in order to face these challenges.

A fundamental purpose of the LTA program is to prepare the scholars to
develop and apply life long leadership values and skills in service of
others. The curriculum involves experiential class work, a mentorship
component, community action events and a collaborative community project
formulated and managed by the scholars.

While they will not formally join the program until next Fall, both Szakacsy
and Bach began their acclimation to the program by participating in Pat's
Run, held earlier today in Tempe.

A redshirt junior quarterback, Szakacsy got his first playing experience in
an ASU uniform last season as he participated in five games with a pair of
starting assignments. He completed 32 passes for 362 yards and four
touchdowns in those games.

The ace of ASU's pitching staff, Bach has played in big role in helping the
Sun Devils to their current No. 6 national ranking. As a freshman in 2009,
Bach won 31 games, the third-highest single-season win total in school
history.

Szakacsy and Bach are continuing the tradition of Sun Devil student-athletes
who have had the distinction of being named Tillman Scholars. Recent
participants in the LTA program have included former Sun Devil women's
basketball player Danielle Orsillo, former Sun Devil baseball player Joe
Persichina and former football players Grayling Love and Chad Christensen.

Inspired by the distinguished life and legacy of Pat Tillman - professional
athlete, military hero and a man of strong character and kindness - the Pat
Tillman Foundation is building a community of scholars dedicated to
improving their own lives, the lives of their families and their country by
creating a spirit of service.