Few programs at Cornell, or anywhere in the country for that matter, are as identifiable with their head coach as Dick Blood is with Big Red softball. He concluded the program's 22nd season of competition in 2015 having filled out the lineup card for all but the first two, and was the winningest coach in a single sport at Cornell in more than 125 years of athletics at the institution.
In 20 years at the helm of the Cornell softball program, Blood set an unprecedented standard of excellence. The Big Red has won five Ivy League titles (1999, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2010) and captured four South Division crowns after the conference moved to a divisional format in 2007. Cornell finished first or second in the Ivy League in 13 of his final 18 seasons. Blood became the first Jan Rock Zubrow ‘77 Head Coach of Softball when the position was endowed in the summer of 2001 and accumulated an impressive 623-347-2 career record, including a 208-113 mark in Ivy play. He became the third Ivy League coach in any sport, joining Harvard men's tennis coach Dave Fish and former Penn baseball coach Bob Seddon.
Blood's charges were named to the All-Ivy first team 48 times and had four Ivy League Players of the Year, four Ivy League Rookies of the Year and three Ivy League Pitchers of the Year. Three players were named to the Capital One Academic All-American team, 13 were named Academic All-District and 20 earned NFCA All-Region accolades. Lauren May '05 became the school's first-ever NFCA All-America with a third team selection as a senior. Cornell had at least one first-team All-Ivy League selection in each of his final 19 years.
The Big Red went 18-26 in a 2014 season that saw a dozen games rained out, snapping a streak of 20-win seasons that spanned 17 years, a streak that had been more than twice as long as the next-longest mark in the Ivy League (Harvard’s eight straight 20-win seasons). In 13 of 14 seasons from 1997-2010, Cornell won at least 30 games with four 40-win campaigns. Despite the tough luck, including 10 one-run losses, the Big Red had a pair of sophomores named first-team All-Ivy in Michiko McGivney and Meg Parker.
A newly renovated Niemand*Robison Field saw as the 2013 Big Red offense hit .290 as a team and ranked second nationally in doubles per game. Senior first baseman Erin Belles earned first-team All-Ivy honors, while junior first baseman Christina Villalon was a second-team pick and freshman third baseman Emily Weinberg earned honorable mention accolades. Cornell finished tied for third in the South Division.
The 2012 squad won a share of the Ivy South Division title before falling to Penn in a one-game playoff, finishing 25-23 overall and 15-5 in Ivy competition. It was the 16th consecutive season with 25 or more wins for the Big Red softball team, far and away the longest such stretch in the Ancient Eight (Harvard is next with six straight). All-Ivy first team selections Kristen Towne and Lauren Bucolo led an offense that ranked in the top 40 nationally in both doubles and home runs per game. Cornell won its last five conference games, all on the road, to force the one-game playoff for the divisional spot in the Ivy League Championship Series, including winning 14- and 10-inning contests at traditional rival Princeton.
The 2011 Big Red won its third straight Ivy South Division title before dropping the championship series at Harvard, 2-0. Senior pitcher Elizabeth Dalrymple set a school record for career strikeouts (641), a mark that sits fourth in Ivy history.  Marissa Amiraian (first team) and Dalrymple (second team) were named to the Capital One Academic All-District teams. Cornell finished the season 27-22-1 for its 15th consecutive winning campaign.
Cornell won its second straight Ivy League title in 2010, capturing the South Division crown and winning a best-of-three series against North champion Harvard. Senior Alyson Intihar was named Ivy League Player of the Year for the second straight season, while Elizabeth Dalrymple was named Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year as well. They were joined on the All-Ivy first team by senior Elise Menaker, outfielder Shannon Crane and designated player Kristen Towne. Intihar became the conference's all-time leader in both hits and runs scored.  Four players were named to the Capital One Academic All-District teams, with Intihar, Menaker and Ali Tomlinson capturing first-team accolades. The Big Red finished the season 37-15 (17-3 Ivy) after losing in the NCAA regionals to No. 3 Arizona and No. 14 Oklahoma State.
Blood helped the 2009 team to regain the Ivy title after a five-year absence. The Big Red claimed the Ivy South Division title and played host to Dartmouth for a three-game Ivy championship series. Cornell earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after winning games one and three. The Big Red led the Ivy League with a .357 batting average and a 2.02 ERA. With a 42-13 record, the 2009 squad tied the school record for wins in a season that was set in 2004. The team also broke the record for Ivy wins in a season with a 17-3 mark. Blood’s players swept the league’s top honors with Alyson Intihar being named player of the year, while Elizabeth Dalrymple was pitcher of the year. The duo was joined by Ashley Garvey, Elise Menaker and Jessy Berkey on the All-Ivy first-team. Pitcher Ali Tomlinson and catcher Vanessa Leonhard were honorable mention All-Ivy.
In 2008, the Big Red finished the season leading the nation with a.351 batting average in the final NCAA rankings. Cornell ranked in the top 10 teams in five different categories, including batting average, scoring, win-loss percentage, slugging percentage and doubles per game. Blood coached four Cornell hitters to rank in the top 100 individually for their batting average. The Big Red finished the season with a 40-10 overall record, and its .80 winning percentage ranked 10th in the country. The team finished in second place in the Ivy South division with a 16-4 mark. Senior outfielder Jenna Campagnolo earned one of Cornell athletics’ top honors, being named the female recipient of the Outstanding Senior Athlete award. Campagnolo also earned her fourth first-team All-Ivy honor, and she was joined by Elise Menaker, Samantha Hare and Alyson Intihar on the All-Ivy teams.
In 2007, Blood led the Big Red to its best start in program history opening with 12 wins. Cornell went on to notch a 35-14 record, while going 13-7 in the Ivy League. The Big Red placed second in the Ancient Eight’s South Division. Intihar and Campagnolo were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic All-Region teams. Intihar received first-team honors in the utility position, while Campagnolo was named second-team as an outfielder. Intihar was also one of only three Ivy League players to be named to the 2007 ECAC Division I softball all-star team.
Blood collected his 300th career win May 20, 2004, in a dramatic upset of Long Beach State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Blood coached Lauren May ‘05 to consecutive Ivy Player of the Year honors (2004-05) and the ECAC Softball Player of the Year award in 2005. May closed out her career under Coach Blood in 2005 as Cornell’s all-time leader in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs and RBI. Blood’s 2005 team also landed Erin Murtha and Jenna Campagnolo on the All-Ivy first team and Erin Kizer on the second team. Last season, Campagnolo earned her third-consecutive first team honors and was joined by freshman Alyson Intihar as a utility player.
Blood led the Big Red to a team-record 42 wins in 2004 as it captured a piece of its third Ivy title. The long ball was key to the team’s success en route to the NCAA tournament, hitting a team-record 57 home runs.
The Big Red used powerful hitting (54 home runs) and solid pitching (1.88 ERA) to earn a share of the league championship in 2001. During a play-in series, the Big Red swept Harvard to clinch a trip to the NCAA tournament. The team’s 54 home runs ranked second in the country behind NCAA champion Arizona.
Blood also led the Big Red to its first Ivy League championship in 1999, compiling a 41-11 slate in the process. Blood’s squad went 11-1 in the Ivy League, improving on its second-place finish from the previous year, while earning a berth to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Although Cornell didn’t repeat as champions in 2000, the Big Red won 30 games for the fourth-consecutive season thanks to a final-day sweep of upstart Dartmouth. The Big Red defeated the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year to earn the mark.
Blood’s pitching staff had the 19th-best earned run average in the country in the 1999 season, allowing opponents a mere 1.43 earned runs per game. His squad was 18th in runs scored (5.23 per game) and ranked 20th in slugging percentage (.428). The Big Red was 14th in doubles (1.54 per game), was tied for 33rd with Northern Iowa and Canisius in home runs (0.50 per game) and was tied for 33rd with Coastal Carolina and Cal State Northridge in NCAA Division I batting average, hitting at a .293 clip. Cornell’s 4-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman on March 27, 1999, gave Blood his 100th coaching victory on the East Hill.
The Big Red finished the 1998 season with a 37-9 mark, earning its second-straight berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament, only to have the championships canceled due to rain. Blood’s squad finished in a tie for second place in the Ivy League with an 8-4 conference slate.
In 1998, Cornell ranked fourth in the nation in home runs (0.87 per game), fifth in slugging percentage (.512), sixth in winning percentage (.804), eighth in doubles (1.57 per game), 10th in batting (.328), 12th in scoring (6.15 runs per game) and 13th in triples (0.43 per game).
In just his second year at the helm of Cornell softball, Blood’s 1997 team compiled a 35-15 record and won its first-ever ECAC championship. The team also finished seventh in the nation in home runs (0.64 per game) and 18th in slugging percentage (.428).
Prior to Cornell, he spent just a year as an assistant coach at Dartmouth, but was the girls’ varsity softball coach at Hopkinton (N.H.) High School from 1980-94. During his time there, he posted an impressive 264-43 record, while also working as an English teacher at Hopkinton High from 1975-1983. Blood guided Hopkinton to eight state championships, including five straight from 1985-89, and was named the New Hampshire High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1987.
Blood was named National Federation Interscholastic Coaches Association New Hampshire Coach of the Year in 1995 for his many contributions to statewide clinics and was instrumental in the development of softball in the entire state of New Hampshire. He worked to establish an Amateur Softball Association for the state. In 1986, the Cornell mentor began coaching Dolls ‘n Granite and New Hampshire Granite Junior Olympic teams and his squad won the regional championships and placed 13th at the national tournament in 1993. The following year, his team won the state championship and was a regional contender.
A 1975 graduate of Plymouth State College, Blood earned a bachelor’s of science degree in secondary education with a specialization in English. He played both basketball and baseball for the Panthers, captained the baseball squad in 1974 and 1975 and was the most valuable player in 1973 and 1974.
Upon graduation, Blood coached boys’ basketball at Hopkinton High School from 1975-1981, while also coaching the junior varsity baseball team from 1975-79. He then became the men’s assistant basketball coach for two years at New England College in Henniker, N.H. From 1989-92, he was the assistant softball coach and pitching coach at New Hampshire College in Manchester, N.H., while also coaching softball at Hopkinton HS.
In 1979, Blood graduated from the Bill Kinnamon Professional Umpiring School in San Bernardino, Calif., and umpired for two years in the Class A New York-Penn League.
Blood and his wife, Judy, resided in Ithaca.Â
*Updated May 15, 2015
