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 Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athletic program is made up of seven men's sports and 10 women's sports. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The AIAW women's basketball tournament was a national tournament for women's collegiate basketball teams in the United States, held annually from 1972 to 1982. The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national champions for those years.
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 NCAA Division II Softball Championship is the annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of women's college softball among Division II members in the United States and Canada. The final rounds of the tournament are also referred to as the NCAA Division II Women's College World Series. The tournament has been held annually since 1982.
The NCAA Division III softball tournament is the annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of women's college softball among its Division III programs in the United States. The final portion of the tournament is also called the Division III Women's College World Series.
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 1982 AIAW Women's College World Series was held from May 20 through May 25 in Norman, Oklahoma. The final two games were postponed by rain for two days. Twelve Division I college softball teams met in what was to become the last AIAW softball tournament of that organization's history. After playing their way through the regular season and regional tournaments, the 12 advancing teams met for the AIAW Division I college softball championship. Days later, Oklahoma State went on to participate also in the NCAA WCWS tournament in Omaha. In 1982, the Division I softball tournaments of both the AIAW and the NCAA were called "Women's College World Series." That moniker has been used for the annual topmost-level collegiate women's softball tournaments since the first one in 1969. Historian Bill Plummer III wrote, "With their 77-8 season record, Texas A&M could have been a contender in Omaha − maybe even the top seed − against perennial softball powers like UCLA and Fresno State. The Aggies had been invited to the NCAA's first national tournament, but chose not to go. A&M coach Bob Brock had high respect for the eleven-year-old AIAW, even as the NCAA began to overshadow it. Out of a sense of loyalty to the AIAW, Brock said, his school chose the 1982 Norman championship over the NCAA's first in Omaha."
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 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 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 
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