This past week, FAU Athletics honored the late softball coaching legend by renaming their stadium to Joan Joyce Field.

Joyce helped build the softball program at FAU after signing on as their first head coach in 1995. Up until her passing in 2022, she led the Owls to 1,002 career wins,  eight straight American Sun Championships from 1997 to 2004, and  NCAA Tournament appearances in each of those eight years. She was a six-time Coach of the Year (5 in the American Sun conference and one in the Sun Belt Conference).

Joyce passed away in March 2022 at the age of 82. The sports world remembered her for more than just her accomplishments at Florida Atlantic. She was a member of the Raybestos Brakettes, a women’s fastpitch softball team based in Connecticut. She had a 753-42 record as a pitcher, throwing 150 no-hitters and 33 perfect games, according to The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. She also held notable professional softball and golf careers, playing for the U.S.  Women’s National Basketball Team and on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour.

“Joan was a legendary figure in the sporting world as well as at Florida Atlantic University,” said Brian White, FAU’s vice president and director of athletics. “Her legacy and impact will forever be felt, and maybe nowhere more so than at the university where she was the inaugural head softball coach and served for more than 25 years.”

Before Sunday’s game against North Texas in the final game of the series, FAU Athletics and the softball team celebrated the field being renamed to Joan Joyce Field, with her brother and sister Joey & Janis Joyce, as well as current softball head coach Jordan Clark.