In 1978, the Bruins won their first national softball championship with a 31-3 record. After women's softball became an NCAA sport in 1982, Backus's teams won six of the first nine NCAA softball tournaments. In all, Backus led UCLA to eight NCAA tournament championships (in addition to the 1978 pre-NCAA championship) in 1982 (33-7-2), 1984 (45-6-1), 1985 (41-9), 1988 (53-8), 1989 (48-4), 1990 (62-7), 1992 (54-2), and 1995 (50-6). From 1988 to 1990, the Bruins won three consecutive NCAA championships and compiled a record of 163-19. Backus's success led the Los Angeles Times in 1990 to compare Backus to UCLA's legendary basketball coach John Wooden:"When you talk about UCLA dynasties, you start with John Wooden, who coached the men's basketball team to 10 NCAA titles. But Backus has built a dynasty of her own. ... In total, the Bruins have won seven national titles, finished second twice and third twice in Backus' 15 seasons." Commenting on the pressure and anxiety fostered by success, Backus noted, "John Wooden once said that he wished one national championship to his best friends, but four to his enemies." In December 1995, the UCLA women's softball program was placed on probation after an investigation revealed that UCLA had awarded more scholarships than were permitted under UCLA rules. The Fresno Bee wrote that the penalties "bring shame to college softball and added, "The image of UCLA's softball program won't ever be the same. The Bruins got caught. ... For two seasons, they went over the scholarship limit, the equivalent of cheating on taxes. Now they must pay." Amid an NCAA probe prompted by a Los Angeles Times investigation into UCLA pitcher Tanya Harding, Backus announced her retirement in January 1997 after 21 years as the team's head coach. Backus compiled a record of 847 wins, 167 losses and 3 ties at UCLA. At the time of her retirement, she was "the winningest college softball coach" in the history of the sport. Backus told the press when she retired, "I've had a great career at UCLA, but it's time for a change. My primary reason for stepping down has to do with the illness and death of my mother in early October. That, plus the ongoing NCAA probe of the softball program have created a level of stress that I feel is best to put behind me at this time." Backus coached 29 All-Americans and numerous top