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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 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.
College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is normally played by men.
The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City.
The Texas Woman's Pioneers are the athletics teams that represent Texas Woman's University, located in Denton, Texas, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. Even though TWU accepts male students, only female sports are sponsored. The Pioneers compete as members of the Lone Star Conference in basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball, and as an independent in gymnastics. The gymnastics team competes in the Midwest Independent Conference which comprises NCAA Division I, II and III institutions. TWU also fields teams in artistic swimming, dance, stunt, and wrestling.
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 1983 NCAA Division I softball tournament were held in May at the end of the 1983 NCAA Division I softball season. Sixteen Division I college softball teams competed in the NCAA tournament's first round, which consisted of eight regionals with two teams each. The winner of each region, a total of eight teams, advanced to the 1983 Women's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The 1983 Women's College World Series was the second NCAA-sponsored championship in the sport of college softball at the Division I level. The event was held in Omaha, Nebraska from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1983 NCAA Division I softball season. Texas A&M, following up its 1982 AIAW WCWS title, won the championship by defeating Cal State Fullerton 2–1 in the final game.
The 1984 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the third annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball for the 1984 NCAA Division I softball season. Held during May 1984, sixteen Division I college softball teams contested the NCAA tournament's first round. Featuring eight regionals with two teams each, the winner of each region, a total of eight teams, advanced to the 1984 Women's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The 1984 Women's College World Series was the third NCAA-sponsored championship in the sport of college softball at the Division I level. The event was held in Omaha, Nebraska from May 23 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1984 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won the championship by defeating Texas A&M 1–0 in the final game.
The 1987 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held in May as the conclusion of the 1987 NCAA Division I softball season. Sixteen Division I college softball teams competed in the NCAA tournament's first round, which consisted of eight regionals with two teams each. The winner of each region, a total of eight teams, advanced to the 1987 Women's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The event, held from May 20 to 24, was the sixth NCAA-sponsored championship in the sport of college softball at the Division I level. Texas A&M won the championship by defeating UCLA 4–1 in the final game.
The 1988 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the seventh annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1988, twenty Division I college softball teams contested the championship, an expansion of four teams from the previous year. The tournament featured eight regionals of either two or three teams. The regions of two teams consisted of a simple best-of-three series whereas the regions of three teams consisted of a double elimination tournament of four or five games. The 1988 Women's College World Series was held in Sunnyvale, California from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1988 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won the championship by defeating Fresno State 3–0 in the final game.
The 1977 Women's College World Series (WCWS) was held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 25–29. Sixteen college softball teams met in the AIAW fastpitch softball tournament. This was the first WCWS in which regional tournaments were conducted for teams to qualify for the final tournament.
The 1978 AIAW Women's College World Series (WCWS) was held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 25–28. Sixteen fastpitch softball teams emerged from regional tournaments to meet in the national collegiate softball championship.
The 1979 AIAW Women's College World Series (WCWS) was held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 24–27. Sixteen fastpitch softball teams emerged from regional tournaments to meet in the national collegiate softball championship.
The 1980 Women's College World Series (WCWS) was held in Norman, Oklahoma on May 22–25, the first time it was played at a location other than Omaha, Nebraska, where it had been held for its first 11 years. Sixteen fastpitch softball teams emerged from regional tournaments to meet in the AIAW national collegiate softball championship.
The 1998 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the seventeenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1998, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1998 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 21 through May 25 and marked the conclusion of the 1998 NCAA Division I softball season. Fresno State won their first NCAA championship by defeating Arizona 1–0 in the final game. Fresno State pitcher Amanda Scott was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 1982 college softball season, play of college softball in the United States began in February 1982. Two organizations sponsored end of season tournaments crowning a national champion: the AIAW and the NCAA. Both ended in an event called the Women's College World Series. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the dueling tournaments in May 1982.
The 2002 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the twenty-first annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 2002, forty-eight Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of six teams, each in a double elimination format. The 2002 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the 2002 NCAA Division I softball season. California won their first NCAA championship by defeating Arizona 6–0 in the final game. California pitcher Jocelyn Forest was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
The 1983 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1983. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1983 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 1983 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in Omaha, Nebraska at Seymour Smith Park, ended on May 29, 1983.
The 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 21 through June 10, 2021 as the final part of the 2021 NCAA Division I softball season. 31 teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences after the Ivy League opted out of the 2021 softball season. The remaining 33 were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee on May 16, 2021. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2021 Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
References
- ↑ "NCAA Championship Archives, 1982 Softball Women's Division I". Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ Plummer III, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
- ↑ "Cowgirls Lose 2-1 to Bruins". May 28, 1982. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ↑ "1982 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 14". Ncaa.org. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2018.