The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to their student athletes. For the 2023-24 season, it had 241 member institutions, of which two are in British Columbia, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the rest in the continental United States, with over 83,000 student-athletes participating. The NAIA, whose headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsors 28 national championships. CBS Sports Network, formerly called CSTV, serves as the national media outlet for the NAIA. In 2014, ESPNU began carrying the NAIA Football National Championship.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball national championship has been held annually since 1981. The NAIA Women's Tournament was established one year before the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. It was created to crown a women's national title for smaller colleges and universities. From 1992 to 2020, the NAIA sponsored a women's division II championship tournament. The entire tournament is played in Sioux City, Iowa. Prior to the merger of D-I and D-II, a separate Division I tournament was held in Billings, Montana, while the Division II tournament was in Sioux City. Contracts for host cities for both divisions initially expired in 2017. Following renewals, the 2018 and 2019 tournaments were held in the same cities, but in 2020, the tournaments were called off due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament is an annual tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II women's college basketball national champion. Basketball was one of 12 women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA and Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) sought for sole governance of women's collegiate athletics. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championships; however, after a year of dual women's championships at the national level, the AIAW disbanded.
The 1982 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was the first Women's Basketball Tournament held under the auspices of the NCAA. From 1972 to 1982, there were national tournaments for Division I schools held under the auspices of the AIAW. The inaugural NCAA Tournament included 32 teams. Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Cheyney, and Maryland met in the Final Four, held at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia and hosted by Old Dominion University, with Louisiana Tech defeating Cheyney for the title, 76-62. Louisiana Tech's Janice Lawrence was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Her teammate Kim Mulkey went on to become the first woman to win NCAA Division I basketball titles as a player and coach, winning the 2005, 2012, 2019 titles as head coach at Baylor and the 2023 title at LSU..
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 Cal State East Bay Pioneers are the athletic teams that represent California State University, East Bay, located in Hayward, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for most of their sports since the 2009–10 academic year; while its women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Pioneers previously competed in the California Pacific Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2008–09.
The NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament is an annual event that leads to the championship in women's volleyball from teams in Division I contested by the NCAA each winter since 1981. Texas won the most recent tournament, defeating Louisville 3–0 at CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Division II Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division II Softball Championship for college softball teams in Division II in the United States.
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 1982 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship was held on March 21–28, 1982. Sixteen teams participated, and Rutgers University was crowned champion of the tournament. The host site for the Final Four was Villanova University in Philadelphia.
The 1981 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship was held on March 18–29, 1981. Twenty-four teams were invited, with eight teams receiving first round byes. First round games were played at on-campus locations. Louisiana Tech University was crowned national champion at the conclusion of the tournament. Louisiana Tech finished undefeated (34–0), becoming the third undefeated national champion.
The 1982 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament was the inaugural tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the team national champion of women's collegiate basketball among its Division II membership in the United States. The 1982 AIAW Division II championship was a separate tournament.
The 1982 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament was the inaugural tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of NCAA Division III women's collegiate basketball in the United States. The 1982 AIAW Division III championship was a separate tournament.
The 1982 NAIA women's basketball tournament was the second annual tournament held by the NAIA to determine the national champion of women's college basketball among its members in the United States and Canada.
The 1980 AIAW National Division II Basketball Championship was the inaugural tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its Division II members in the United States.
The 1981 AIAW National Division II Basketball Championship was the second annual tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its Division II members in the United States.
The 1982 AIAW National Division II Basketball Championship was the third annual and final tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its Division II members in the United States.
The 1980 AIAW National Division III Basketball Championship was the inaugural tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its Division III members in the United States.
The 1981 AIAW National Division III Basketball Championship was the second annual tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its Division III members in the United States.
The 1982 AIAW National Division III Basketball Championship was the third annual and final tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to determine the national champion of collegiate basketball among its Division III members in the United States.
