Who is Ralph Weekly? Former Tennessee softball coach married to Lady Vols' Karen Weekly

Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee softball hardly knows anything other than the Weeklys.

Outside of their first six seasons as a program under Jim Beitia, the Lady Vols have been coached by husband-wife duo Ralph Weekly and Karen Weekly since 2002.

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Karen, Tennessee's current coach, served as the Lady Vols' co-head coach alongside Ralph for 20 seasons before Ralph announced his retirement prior to the 2022 season, with Karen serving as the program's sole coach ever since.

While Ralph is no longer a co-head coach at Tennessee, he will likely be around the program as Karen and the Lady Vols look to reach another Women's College World Series in 2024.

Here's everything to know about Ralph, who was once half of one of the most unique coaching arraignments in college sports:

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Who is Ralph Weekly?

Ralph Weekly is the husband to current Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly. The duo served as co-head coaches for the Lady Vols from 2002-21, before Ralph retired and Karen became the sole leader of the program.

Karen is still Tennessee's coach, while Ralph typically watches from the sidelines.

Ralph started his career as the head coach at NAIA Pacific Lutheran, where he won two national championships and coached Karen, his future wife. Ralph then took the job at Chattanooga, where he coached from 1996-98 and 2001, taking a two-year break in between to be the director of national teams for USA Softball from 1999-2000.

When Ralph returned to Chattanooga, he was then the co-head coach alongside Karen, who took over head coaching duties in the two years he was gone.

Then, Ralph and Karen were offered co-head coaching positions at Tennessee, where they spent 20 seasons together before Ralph retired ahead of the 2022 season.

Altogether, Ralph finished his coaching career with a 1,450-481-2 record, with a 949-300-2 record with the Lady Vols. He helped lead Tennessee to seven WCWS appearances and two national championship runner-up finishes, along with leaving the game with the fourth-most wins ever in college softball history.

Ralph is still a special adviser to the program, according to his Tennessee bio, and appears at numerous Lady Vols games as a supporter.

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Are Ralph Weekly and Karen Weekly married?

Yes, Ralph Weekly and current Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly are married.

The two served as co-head coaches at Tennessee from 2002-21 before Ralph retired and Karen became the lone head coach of the program.

Ralph Weekly coaching record

Here's Ralph Weekly's all-time coaching record, including his record at each school:

  • All-time record: 1,450-481-2

  • Pacific Lutheran (NAIA): 310-93

  • Chattanooga: 191-88

  • Tennessee: 949-300-2

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Who is Ralph Weekly? Tennessee coach married to Lady Vols' Karen Weekly

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