List of Big Ten Conference softball champions

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The Big Ten Conference has been playing softball since 1982 when the Big Ten Conference softball tournament was established to decide its champion. The Big Ten then began league play the following season in 1983 while eliminating the tournament until 1995. The tournament ran again from 1995 to 2008 and then again from 2013 to present day, which is used to determine the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship while the regular season determines the conference champion.

Contents

Champions

These are the official Big Ten champions based on standings. [1] 1982 was the only year the conference tournament was used to determine the champion. After that, the regular season determined the champion while the tournament held from 1983 to 1994 and 2009-13 was used only to determine the automatic bid into the NCAA Division I softball tournament.

YearRegular Season ChampionConference Tournament ChampionNational ChampionshipNotes
1982 NorthwesternBig Ten softball tournament only. Teams from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Ohio State participate. [2]
1983 IndianaTournament eliminated, first regular season of conference play.
 Indiana ,  Iowa ,  Michigan ,  Michigan State ,
 Minnesota ,  Northwestern , and  Ohio State  compete.
1984 Northwestern
1985 Northwestern
1986 Indiana
Minnesota
Northwestern
1987 Northwestern
1988 Minnesota
1989 Iowa
1990 Iowa
Ohio State
1991 Minnesota
1992 Michigan Penn State  begins league play. [3]
1993 Michigan
1994 Indiana
1995 MichiganMichiganConference tournament resumes in double-elimination format.
 Purdue  begins league play. [4]
1996 MichiganMichigan Wisconsin  begins league play. [5]
1997 IowaMichigan
1998 MichiganMichigan
1999 MichiganMinnesota
2000 IowaMichigan
2001 MichiganIowa Illinois  begins league play. [6]
2002 MichiganMichigan
2003 IowaIowa
2004 MichiganMichigan State
2005 MichiganMichiganMichiganFirst (and to-date only) Big Ten softball National Champion [7]
2006 NorthwesternMichigan
2007 Ohio StateOhio State
2008 Michigan
Northwestern
Northwestern
2009 MichiganConference tournament eliminated again.
2010 Michigan
2011 Michigan
2012 Michigan Nebraska  begins league play. [8]
2013 MichiganWisconsinConference tournament resumes in single-elimination format.
2014 Michigan
Nebraska
Minnesota
2015 MichiganMichigan Maryland  and  Rutgers  begin league play. [9] [10]
2016 MichiganMinnesota
2017 MinnesotaMinnesota
2018 MichiganMinnesota
2019 MichiganMichigan
2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 MichiganConference tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
2022 NorthwesternNebraska
2023 NorthwesternNorthwestern
2024 NorthwesternMichigan
2025 OregonMichigan Oregon ,  UCLA , and  Washington  begin league play. [11]

Championships by school

SchoolBig Ten
Championships
Reg. Season/Tournament
Regular Season
Championships
Tournament
Championships
Illinois 0/0
Indiana 3/01983, 1986*, 1994
Iowa 5/21989, 1990*, 1997, 2000, 20032001, 2003
Maryland 0/0
Michigan 22/121992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008*, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014*, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 20211995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2019, 2024, 2025
Michigan State 0/12004
Minnesota 4/51986*, 1988, 1991, 20171999, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Nebraska 1/120142022
Northwestern 8/31984, 1985, 1986*, 1987, 2006, 2008*, 2022, 20231982, 2008, 2023
Ohio State 2/11990*, 20072007
Oregon 1/02025
Penn State 0/0
Purdue 0/0
Rutgers 0/0
UCLA 0/0
Washington 0/0
Wisconsin 0/12013

See also

List of Big Ten Conference baseball champions

References

  1. "Big Ten Softball Regular Season Standings; Big Ten Conference. June 28, 2018" (PDF).
  2. "A Timeline of Significant Moments in Big Ten Women's Athletics; Big Ten Conference. June 28, 2018". Archived from the original on January 8, 2009.
  3. "An Ingenious Inception: Penn State Joins the Big Ten Conference". Archived from the original on 28 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
  4. "Team History; PurdueSports.com. June 28, 2018".
  5. "Softball Record Book; UWBadgers.com. June 28, 2018" (PDF).
  6. 2001 "Illinois Softball Statistics Summary for Illinois; FightingIllini.com. June 28, 2018".{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. "2005 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 16". Ncaa.org. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  8. "University of Nebraska Approved to Join Big Ten Conference by Council of Presidents/Chancellors". Big Ten Conference. 2010-06-11. Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  9. Barker, Jeff; Korman, Chris (November 19, 2012). "Maryland's application for Big Ten admission approved". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  10. "Rutgers University To Join The Big Ten Conference". Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  11. "Big Ten adds Oregon, Washington as newest members in blow to Pac-12". ESPN=en. Retrieved December 2, 2023.