Digit Murphy weaves female leadership into daily skills and drills

Throughout her lengthy career in collegiate women’s hockey, Margaret “Digit” Murphy has time and again blended together an intense determination to succeed and blaze new trails with a passion for hockey and for those placed in her care. She is the head women’s hockey coach at Brown University.

One of the winningest coaches in National Collegiate Athletic Association history (a career record of 313-200-49), and the first female to reach 300 wins, Murphy has never allowed herself to be defined by merely wins and losses. Rather, she has made it a point to set a positive example for all of the young women in her care, from the 25 collegiate varsity athletes that she takes under her wing each season to the hundreds of teens that she works with at her annual summer camps.

“While it may be easy to dismiss athletics as part of a larger social change, Murphy has illustrated the terrific benefits that sports can provide, helping to instill a new generation of young women with the same confidence, enthusiasm, and determination that has marked Murphy’s life,” Isaac Goodling, Brown University sports information coordinator says.

Murphy cites one of the most significant moments in attempting to empower women came this summer when she applied for the vacant head coaching position of the Brown’s men’s hockey team.

“Although I was not ultimately chosen for the position, I still maintain hope that just by applying and going through the process that I will inspire other women to do the same, and that we will see female coaches on men’s teams in the near future,” she says.