[3] Judith Holland, UCLA senior associate athletic director, hired Sharon Backus as a part-time coach upon the program's founding in 1975.

In the formative years of the program, the Bruins played at city parks, where they were "often bumped from fields by recreational softball leagues.

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.

"[5]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.

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.

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.

Following Backus's retirement, Enquist became the sole head coach at UCLA in 1997, a position she held for ten years from 1997 to 2006.

[16] During her years as a player and coach at UCLA, the Bruins softball team won 11 national championships in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2004.

She came back the following year and got 2nd team All-PAC-10 honor and won the national championship with a 54-2 record on the season.

She accomplished her 600th win of her career when she beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the national championship game in 2019.