Professor Receives Signed Championship Softball for his Support of Student-Athletes
When Dominican University softball players take the field, they can count on Physics Professor Dr. Gerald Gulley to help boost the momentum.
Gulley makes it a point to cheer on the Stars during each home game, a show of faculty support for the team, which typically includes a few of his students or teaching assistants each year.
As a sign of gratitude and for his close relationship with the players, Gulley was presented with a softball from last season’s NACC Division III conference championship, signed by all members of the 2026 team. It’s his second softball souvenir; a 2024 conference championship ball is also displayed in his office.
He met with past players at the Homecoming weekend alumnae game at the Stadium in Rosemont on Sept. 26.
“I do what I can to support the players,” Gulley said. “I was very excited that they think so much of me based on the support I give them by going to the games as often as I can.”
He also catches the Stars’ away games when they are streamed online, he said.
Gulley’s love of softball goes back to his youth, when his older sister, Teresa, played for Knightstown High School in Knightstown, Indiana, and helped her team bring back their own championship trophy. So, when several of his physics students at DU began inviting him to their softball games, Gulley happily accepted—and has been going ever since.
He has shown his support in other ways, too. In 2025, Gulley nominated powerhouse Stars pitcher Emma Woodhouse, one of his undergraduate teaching assistants, for Dominican’s Dorothy Reiner Mulroy Award for outstanding academic ability and leadership.
The commitment that Dominican University student-athletes show to the game, to their studies and to each other deserves community support, which is important for students’ success, Gulley believes.
“The members of our sports teams are ambassadors to the university,” he added. “They chose to come here not only to study, but to continue playing a sport they love—and it shows. There’s a passion there when they make that kind of commitment.
“Supporting these teams also supports a diversity of students coming to DU, and I think that kind of recruitment is important,” Gulley added.
Other softballs signed by the 2026 team were also presented to university leaders for their own support of the program. Recipients were Dr. Glena Temple, president; Dr. Genaro Balcazar, senior vice president and chief operating officer; Dr. Mia Hardy, provost; and Dr. John Planek, director of athletics.