St. Cloud State University

The Paula U'Ren Story

Paula U'Ren completed her 11th season as head coach of the St. Cloud State University softball team in 2007-08. In U'Ren's tenure the Huskies have qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament six times and have won the North Central Conference playoff championship three times (including the 2003 and 2004 NCC titles).

Heading into the 2008 season, U'Ren's 391-176 career record at SCSU ranked 16th all-time among NCAA DII coaches for best winning percentage at .690. Her 391 career victories also ranked 37th among active Division II coaches.

On Sunday, Feb. 24, Coach U'Ren reached a milestone, garnering her 400th career coaching win against the University of Minnesota, Crookston, by a score of 9-1. Coach U'Ren's career mark now stands at 426-197, good for a .684 winning percentage.

In her first year with the program in 1998, U'Ren and the Huskies brought home SCSU's first North Central Conference championship. The Huskies also advanced to the championship round of the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament before ending their season with a then-record 42 wins (42-14 overall).

In 1999, SCSU posted a 44-14 overall record and also advanced to the championship round of the NCAA regionals. In 2000, the Huskies chalked up their third consecutive 40-win season with a 41-10 record that included another trip to the NCAA regional tournament. The following year in 2001, the Huskies did not receive an NCAA bid but they did post a solid 37-15 overall record and placed second in the always rugged NCC.

The Huskies returned to the dance in 2002, with their fourth NCAA bid under the leadership of U'Ren. SCSU placed second in the league once more and charted a 44-13 overall record. In 2003, SCSU claimed its second NCC title and went on to gain a runner-up spot at the 2003 NCAA Division II North Central Regional. U'Ren also gained personal recognition in 2003 after being awarded the 2003 Ole Odney Award, which is presented each year by Augustana College (S.D.) for outstanding achievement in coaching by an Augustana graduate.

History was made during the 2004 season, as U'Ren led SCSU to a first place finish at the NCAA Division II North Central Regional tournament. At the 2004 NCAA Division II National Championships in Altamonte Springs, Fla., U'Ren's troops marched to a third place finish - thus marking the highest finish at the national level in team history.

From 1998-2004, U'Ren ranked 41st among active NCAA DII coaches for career wins.  In fact, no other NCAA DII coach with eight or less years of coaching experience has had more wins than U'Ren.

In 2007, the Huskies went 28-30 overall record and 5-7 in the NCC. This past year, the 2008 Husky squad produced the best record since the 2004 season finishing 35-21 overall. In the final NCC Tournament, SCSU went 1-2 to finish in fifth place in the league. Some marquee wins from the 2008 season included an 8-5 victory on March 29th over 24th-ranked Lewis University, and a 4-3 win on April 9th against 7th-ranked Southwest Minnesota State University.

In her career, U'Ren owns an impressive 426-197 (.684) record as a collegiate coach. She is a 1995 graduate of Augustana College (S.D.), where she majored in Fitness/Exercise Physiology. U'Ren received her M.S. in exercise sports science from St. Cloud State University. As a graduate student at SCSU, U'Ren served as a graduate assistant coach under Dr. Sue Becker. As a collegiate player at Augustana, U'Ren was named a three-time All-Region, All-NCC and NCAA Division II All-American selection in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and finished among the top 10 players in NCAA Division II softball in batting average, home runs and RBIs. In her tenure at Augie, the Vikings posted a 207-45 record - including a 57-7 record her junior season. In the all-time NCAA Division II records, U'Ren ranks fourth for career RBIs with 192, sixth with 32 career homers and 15th with 41 career doubles.

She is a native of Mapleton, Minnesota.

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