WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark University softball head coach Linda Wage has announced that she will be retiring after 39 years of working at the University and 36 as head softball coach.

Coach Wage was a jack of all trades while at Clark, being the head coach for both field hockey and softball as well as an assistant women's basketball coach. Wage coached a combined 79 seasons, including 36 as head softball coach, 31 as head field hockey coach, and 12 seasons as assistant women's basketball coach.

Wage is one of the winningest coaches in the region with 491 career wins as head softball coach at Clark. In her career, Wage had a stretch of 20 plus wins in six of seven seasons, including a career-best 31 wins in both the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Wage earned NEWMAC Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1999, while leading 17 winning seasons along the way.

Clark reached their first NCAA Tournament in program history under Wage in the 1999 season and 2000, the team reached the ECAC Tournament Finals. Over her illustrious career, Wage has coached 10 All-Americans, three academic All-Americans, four NEWMAC Rookie of the Years, and 20 All-Conference honorees. All of the program leaders in career hits, batting average, at-bats, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI's, total bases, stolen bases, pitching wins, shutouts, complete games, and innings pitched all played for Wage.

Wage also led the field hockey program to over 300 wins while at the helm, tallying 303 victories. The program recorded 18 winning seasons, including the only undefeated season in the 1989 season when they posted a 14-0-3 record. In 1991, Wage was selected as Northeast Regional Coach of the Year and in 2002, was named NFHCA New England East Region Coach of the Year.

The Cougars reached the postseason 14 times, including 11 appearances in the ECAC Tournament and two MAIAW state titles, while also taking the program to the NCAA Tournament in the 1991 season. There was a seven-year stretch from 1987-1993 where Wage guided the team to at least 10 wins.

As an assistant basketball coach for 12 seasons, Wage helped guide the program to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight appearance during the 1988-89 season, and three ECAC New England championships. During that period, Clark recorded 239 victories, including seven 20-wins seasons.

A four-year letter winner in three different sports at Providence College, Wage is the Friars' all-time leading scorer in field hockey with New England records of 95 career goals and 213 career points. Nationally, she ranks 11th in career goals and 12th in career points.

Wage was also a four-year member of the Providence basketball team, which won the AIAW Regional crown. In addition, she captained the softball team, was a four-year starter, and was a three-time Rhode Island State All-Star.

In 1980, Wage was honored as Providence's Female Athlete of the Year and inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in 2003.

Before her standout collegiate career, Wage was a three-sport star at Holy Name High School in Worcester, Mass., and was inducted into that school's Hall of Fame in 2006.