The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other words, a team is eliminated when it has lost two games. After six teams have been eliminated, the remaining two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS National Champion.
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships. It evolved out of the "Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women" (CIAW), founded in 1967. The association was one of the biggest advancements for women's athletics on the collegiate level. Throughout the 1970s, the AIAW grew rapidly in membership and influence, in parallel with the national growth of women's sports following the enactment of Title IX.
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics and to administer national championships. During its existence, the AIAW and its predecessor, the Division for Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS), recognized via these championships the teams and individuals who excelled at the highest level of women's collegiate competition.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.
The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the Minutemen nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as Minutewomen. The Minutemen and Minutewomen compete in NCAA Division I sports competition primarily as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. UMass is one of only 16 universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The nickname is also applied to club teams that do not participate within the NCAA structure.
The Air Force Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, located in El Paso County, Colorado north of Colorado Springs. The athletic department has 17 men's and 10 women's NCAA-sanctioned teams. The current athletic director is Nathan Pine. The majority of Falcon teams compete as members of the Mountain West Conference.
The North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I field hockey.
The NCAA Division I field hockey tournament is an American intercollegiate field hockey tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I national champion. The tournament has been held annually since 1981.
The NCAA Division II field hockey tournament is an annual single-elimination tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion of women's Division II collegiate field hockey in the United States. The tournament was held from 1981 and 1983, discontinued from 1984 and 1991, was re-instated in 1992, and has been held every year since.
The NCAA Division III field hockey tournament is an annual single-elimination tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion of women's Division III collegiate field hockey in the United States. The tournament has been held every year since 1981.
The 1981 NCAA Division I field hockey tournament was the first annual single-elimination tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among its Division I members in the United States, the culmination of the 1981 NCAA Division I field hockey season.
The 1982 NCAA Division I field hockey tournament was the second annual single-elimination tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among its Division I members in the United States, the culmination of the 1982 NCAA Division I field hockey season.
The Penn State Nittany Lions field hockey team is the intercollegiate field hockey program representing Pennsylvania State University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), although it was also previously a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The Penn State field hockey team plays its home games at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on the university campus in State College, Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions captured the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship twice, in 1980 and 1981, and have won 10 regular-season conference titles as well as eight conference tournament championships. While Penn State has qualified for the NCAA tournament 30 times, and has made seven appearances in the semifinals and two in the championship game, it has never won the NCAA national championship. The team is currently coached by Charlene Morett.
The AIAW field hockey tournament was an annual tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women between 1975 and 1981 to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among its members programs in the United States. Between 1979 and 1981, separate tournaments were held for the teams falling into the AIAW's three divisions.
The 1975 AIAW-USFHA field hockey tournament was the first annual single-elimination tournament joint hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the United States Field Hockey Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among their members in the United States, the culmination of the 1975 AIAW field hockey season.
The 1976 AIAW-USFHA field hockey tournament was the second annual single-elimination tournament joint hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the United States Field Hockey Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among their members in the United States, the culmination of the 1976 AIAW field hockey season.
The 1977 AIAW-USFHA field hockey tournament was the third annual single-elimination tournament joint hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the United States Field Hockey Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among their members in the United States, the culmination of the 1977 AIAW field hockey season.
The 1979 Division I AIAW-USFHA field hockey tournament was the fifth annual single-elimination tournament joint hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the United States Field Hockey Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among their Division I members in the United States, the culmination of the 1979 AIAW Division I field hockey season.
The 1980 Division I AIAW-USFHA field hockey tournament was the sixth annual single-elimination tournament joint hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the United States Field Hockey Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among their Division I members in the United States, the culmination of the 1980 AIAW Division I field hockey season.
The 1981 Division I AIAW-USFHA field hockey tournament was the seventh annual and final single-elimination tournament joint hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the United States Field Hockey Association to determine the national champion of women's collegiate field hockey among their Division I members in the United States, the culmination of the 1981 AIAW Division I field hockey season.
United States 
Ellensburg, Washington