Not many coaches in college athletics can say they’ve been with a program since its very beginning. But that’s the case with Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy.
When Alabama received the funds to sponsor a softball program beginning with the 1997 season, Murphy joined as an assistant coach. Kalum Haack led the program for the first two seasons, but he resigned, and Murphy was hired.
Since then, he has helped transform the team into a consistent powerhouse.
In 26 seasons since Murphy’s hiring, the Crimson Tide has won 1,281 games, made the NCAA softball tournament every season, gone to the College World Series 15 times and won 12 SEC championships.
“To be at the same program for all these years, it just does not happen in college athletics anymore in any sport,” Murphy said. “And to be here from Day 1 is amazing.”
He led Alabama to the national championship in 2012, winning in three games over Oklahoma. The victory was the Crimson Tide’s first in program history and the first softball national championship for any team in SEC history.
Murphy’s on-the-field success is just one part of how he has built up the Crimson Tide softball program, as he’s helped lead the team to high popularity among fans as well. The entire 2008 season was sold out, as fans packed Rhoads Stadium up to its max capacity each and every game.
In 2010, Alabama broke the NCAA’s single-season record for home fans, with 63,271 supporters coming to watch the Crimson Tide. The program has led the NCAA in single-season attendance for 12 of the past 13 seasons, with 2020 and 2021 not recorded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s terrific, especially for female athletes who have gotten the short end of the stick in the past,” Murphy said. “I think it’s awesome for these kids to be able to experience this.”
But there was a point where Murphy almost left Tuscaloosa, when in June 2011 he agreed to become the new head coach at LSU. Just three days later, however, he rescinded the agreement and returned back to Alabama.
“I realized once I got there that I had made a mistake that had nothing to do with LSU. I realized that I belong at Alabama,” Murphy said. “Alabama is where my heart is, and I cannot in good conscience try to do a job in which I am not totally committed beyond any doubt.”
Maintaining a top contender in college sports is hard. Doing it at the same school for 26 years is even harder. But Murphy isn’t an ordinary coach.
In 2013 While reading the book “Help the Helper,” Murphy discovered a term that helped define with a single word what he’d been instilling during his entire coaching career: Mudita.
Mudita, a Sanskrit and Pali word, refers to a concept of joy that comes from delighting in other people’s well-being. It essentially translates to “sympathetic” or “appreciative joy” and preaches rejoicing in the joys of others.
“I used to say if you could be as happy for teammates’ success as if you did it yourself, the sky’s the limit for the team,” Murphy said. “I would say that over and over and over for the first 12 years of coaching at Alabama.”
Nowadays in the Crimson Tide’s softball clubhouse, there is a mural that features the word Mudita, and around it are photos of the team celebrating home runs and shared success.
It’s a large part of what shapes Murphy’s identity as a head coach, and a large part of why he has succeeded for so long and players want to play for him. He is able to instill joy and team bonding as well as give lessons that his players can relate to.
“He has such great life lessons. He finds a way to make softball relate to life, and he gives us important lessons on attitude and gratitude,” infielder Mari Hubbard said. “I know he’s setting me on a path where, even after my four years here, I’m still gonna be blessed because I learned so much.”
His coaching philosophy doesn’t just help his own teams as well. In Jan. 2024, head Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats asked Murphy to come speak with the team and preach the term Mudita. Just a few months later, the Crimson Tide made the Final Four for the first time in school history.
“Ever since we first heard of it when conference play started, it really stuck with us. We heard the word and that changed our season around,” guard Mark Sears said. “You could see it on our faces, cheering for others when they’re succeeding even if we’re not succeeding. It changed us around and it really helped us.”
Now entering his 27th season as Alabama head coach, Murphy will look to keep the Crimson Tide softball program as a powerhouse, both on and off the field.
