Jonker spent four decades at CMU and stands 9th all-time on the Division I coaching wins list, with nearly 1,300 career victories. She boasts a career record of 1,268-808-7, and has led the Chippewas to the NCAA tournament thirteen times.
The Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year on ten different occasions, Jonker led Central Michigan to ten MAC tournament championships, as well as an additional ten conference regular-season titles. Both the tournament and regular season titles are conference records. Under Jonker’s guidance, the Chippewas reached the Women’s College World Series in 1987.
A university release announcing Jonker’s departure from Central Michigan included a quote from athletic director Michael Alford saying, in part, “Simply said, Margo Jonker is a legend in the sport of softball, in the Mid-American Conference and at Central Michigan University.”
In 2003, Jonker was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the Hall of Fame at Grand Valley State University, as well as the Michigan Amateur Softball, West Ottawa High School, and Metro Detroit Amateur Softball Association Halls of Fame.
Jonker served as an assistant coach on the US Olympic team in 2000 that won the gold medal in the Sydney Games, and has coached the Chippewas during the entirety of their time spent competing in the Mid-American Conference, taking the reins of the team in 1980 and guiding the program through the conference’s first sponsoring of softball, which began in 1982.
Central Michigan finished the 2019 season with a 22-28-1 overall record, including an 11-9-1 mark in conference play.
