After helping guide the University of Nebraska at Omaha to 12-consecutive NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances as an assistant coach, Michala Cimino was named the head softball coach at Bellevue University today. She will begin her duties with the Bruins on July 1.
Cimino replaces Bellevue athletic director and softball coach Ed Lehotak and becomes just the second head softball coach in school history. Lehotak stepped down after 13 seasons to concentrate his efforts solely as the school’s athletic director.
“We are very pleased to have someone with Coach Cimino’s track record coming to lead our women’s softball team,“ said Lehotak. “ I am confident that she will not only carry on the success of the program but will elevate it to new heights.”
In her 12 seasons as an assistant coach at UNO, the Mavericks won seven North Central Conference titles and compiled a record of 559-184. Nebraska-Omaha won at least 30 games every season during Cimino’s stay at UNO, highlighted by the Mavericks’ 2001 national championship.
“I am very excited about this new challenge in my life,” said Cimino. “I love UNO and it will always be a part of me. However, I really feel like this is the right time for me to elevate myself to a head coaching position after being an assistant for so many years. Bellevue has established a great softball tradition and I look forward to maintaining that level of success.”
Cimino also enjoyed a stellar athletic career at Nebraska-Omaha from 1993-94 and was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. She led the Mavericks to a third-place finish in the 1994 NCAA Division II National Tournament and, in the process, was named to the all-North Central Conference and all-Midwest Region teams. In addition, she was named to the all-tournament team at the 1994 NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament and the 1994 NCAA II National Finals. In only two seasons as a Maverick, Cimino set several school records, including most home runs in a career (18) and most home runs in a season (15).
A native of Omaha, Cimino earned her Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Nebraska-Omaha in 1998.
She was married in August, 2004, to Kurt Cimino of Omaha.
