Bill Edwards is entering his 24th season as the Hofstra University Head Softball Coach in 2013. He has been the architect of a program that has grown to national prominence. As a result of his success with the Pride, he was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame in December of 2009.

Edwards has guided Hofstra to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including six straight from 2003-08. 

He has led Hofstra to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament in the 2004, 2005, 2008 2010 and 2012 seasons. He helped the Pride capture a remarkable 11 straight conference tournament titles from 1998-2008, which is an NCAA Division I record for softball (breaking the previous record of nine straight set by Massachusetts from 1995-2003). 

His career record stands at 848-391-3 in 23 seasons, ranking him in the top-25 in NCAA history in career winning percentage and making him one of only 19 active coaches with 800 career wins. In each of the last 21 seasons under Edwards, the Pride has won either a regular season or a postseason conference title.

Edwards, who has been a part of 23 straight winning seasons at Hofstra, coached the Pride to a #21 ranking in the final 2004 NCAA Division I Softball Poll, and a #20 ranking in the final 1994 poll. He has also led the Pride to #1 rankings in the Northeast Region Poll in 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2000.

Edwards has been named the Regional Coach of the Year 11 times in his career (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012). His players have also earned All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association six times, including twice by Crystal Boyd (1993, 1994) and once apiece from Alicia Smith (2000), Lisa Ciavardini (2000), Amanda Hallaway (2003) and Olivia Galati (2012). 

This past season, Edwards led Hofstra to its first-ever NCAA Regional championship to advance to the first Super Regional in program history. After going 42-15 overall and finishing one win away from the Women's College World Series, the Pride was picked 16th in the final USA Today/NFCA Division I poll.

Edwards' team captured their ninth Colonial Athletic Association championship in 11 seasons after going 22-0 against the league for the first undefeated conference performance in school history. For his efforts, Edwards was named the CAA's Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive time

Hofstra defeated No. 12 overall seed UCLA on the Bruins' home field and knocked off San Diego State twice in the Los Angeles Regional to set up a best-of-three Tampa Super Regional against the University of South Florida. The Pride won Game 1 before dropping a pair of one-run games to a Bulls squad that finished ranked eighth in the country.

The 2012 season also saw a first for Edwards as pitcher/designated player Olivia Galati earned the program's first-ever first-team All-America selection by the NFCA. Galati also set history when she was the first Hofstra player to be named the NFCA's National Division I Player of the Week on April 10.

In 2011, Edwards guided Hofstra to a 40-13 record. One year prior, Edwards led Hofstra to a school record-tying 45 wins in 2010, as the team won the CAA regular season title, swept through the CAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regional finals with two wins over No. 14 Oklahoma State. The Pride took third-ranked (and eventual runner-up) Arizona to 12 innings in the regional finals before falling 10-6.  

The Pride also earned 45 wins in 2008, including two at the NCAA Regionals in Hempstead as it advanced to the regional finals for the third time. The Pride finished with a 45-13 record, while winning the Colonial Athletic Association regular season and postseason championships, earning Edwards the CAA Coach of the Year award. 

Prior to its 45 wins in 2008, the previous school record of 43 was set in 2005, when Hofstra reached the NCAA Regional finals at Alabama with a 2-1 win over Arizona State. The year before, he led the Pride to the 2004 NCAA Regional finals at Stanford University, where the Pride won four games and fell just one win shy of reaching the Women's College World Series.  Hofstra has won 18 NCAA Tournament games since 2003, including victories over Penn State, Nebraska, Auburn, Stanford, Oklahoma State and Arizona State and UCLA, while defeating five pitchers who earned All-America honors during their careers.

During the 2000 season, Edwards and the Pride set a then-school record with 42 wins, marking the third time that they had reached the 40-win plateau. Hofstra also won their third consecutive America East Championship and earned their second straight automatic bid to NCAA Regionals, where they defeated Louisiana-Lafayette before being eliminated 2-1 by seventh-ranked LSU.

In 1995, Hofstra's first season in the North Atlantic Conference, Edwards led the squad to a school-record 41-21 mark, the North Atlantic Conference Championship and a berth in Hofstra's second NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, Edwards was selected as the North Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year and Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. Edwards was also named the East Coast Conference Coach of the Year (1994) earlier in his career. He was named an Honorary Alumnus by Hofstra in 2008. 

Edwards came to Hofstra from Commack High School where he coached softball for nine years. During his tenure at Commack, his teams compiled a 118-61 record and reached the Suffolk County Class A playoffs in seven of those nine years. His 1988 squad captured the Suffolk County championship and the Long Island championship, and finished third in the New York State Tournament.

Since 1986 Edwards has also served as head softball coach for the P.S.I. Couriers, an Amateur Softball Association (ASA) summer team. His 1987 team captured the Mid-Atlantic region championship and finished fifth in the national tournament, which marked the first time a Long Island team had competed in the national tournament. The P.S.I. Couriers also finished second in the region in 1986 and third in 1988 and 1989. He is also a past president of the Suffolk County Softball Coaches Association.

Edwards, a teacher in the Commack School District from 1967 through 1999, worked and coached at John F. Kennedy Junior High School, Wood Park Elementary School and Commack High School. He served two stints as freshman football coach at Kennedy Junior High School from 1972 through 1976, and 1979 and 1980, and was also the freshman baseball coach from 1975 through 1980. When he moved on to Commack High School, Edwards served as offensive coordinator from 1981 through 1983. During those three years, Commack won three league titles, two conference championships and one Suffolk County championship. In 1993 he served as head football coach at Commack.

In addition, Edwards also served as head ice hockey coach at Iona College from 1968 through 1979. At Iona, his teams posted a 174-58-14 record and captured four Metropolitan Collegiate championships. In 1988 Edwards was inducted into the Iona College Sports Hall of Fame.

Edwards and his wife, Janie, have two grown daughters, Shari, who played NCAA Division I softball at Northern Illinois University and coached at Hofstra, and Karen, a licensed practical nurse who is now a director at an assisted-living facility. Edwards received a bachelor's in physical education from Northern Michigan University in 1967 and a master's from the University at Stony Brook in 1975. The Edwards family resides in Nesconset, New York.

 

Edwards' College Coaching Record
1990 Hofstra University 19-17-1
1991 Hofstra University 24-13
1992 Hofstra University 35-7-1
1993 Hofstra University 37-12 (NCAA's)
1994 Hofstra University 39-16 (#20 in Nation)
1995 Hofstra University 41-21 (NAC Champions, NCAA's)
1996 Hofstra University 33-18 (NAC Regular Season Champions)
1997 Hofstra University 38-16 (America East Regular Season Champions)
1998 Hofstra University 39-17 (America East Champions)
1999 Hofstra University 40-19 (America East Champions, NCAA's)
2000 Hofstra University 42-21 (America East Champions, NCAA's)
2001 Hofstra University 37-26 (America East Champions, NCAA's)
2002 Hofstra University 28-25 (CAA Champions)
2003 Hofstra University 39-17 (CAA Champions, NCAA's)
2004 Hofstra University 38-21 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Finalists, #21 in nation)
2005 Hofstra University 43-16-1 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Finalists)
2006 Hofstra University 37-20 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Hosts)
2007 Hofstra University 41-15 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Hosts)
2008 Hofstra University 45-13 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Finalists)
2009 Hofstra University 26-21 (CAA Regular Season Champions)

2010 Hofstra University 45-12 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Finalists)

2011 Hofstra University 40-13 (CAA Regular Season Champions)
2012 Hofstra University 42-15 (CAA Champions, NCAA Regional Champions, #16 in the nation)

Total 848-391-3