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. The eight teams of the WCWS play a double-elimination tournament until just two teams remain. These two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS National Champion. Previous WCWS losses do not factor into the best-of-three championship series, and the first team to win two of three games is declared the 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.
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 Women's Volleyball Championship refers to one of three championships in women's indoor volleyball contested by the NCAA since 1981:
The NCAA Division I women's tennis championships are contested at an annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champions of women's team, singles, and doubles collegiate tennis among its Division I members in the United States. It is has been organized by the NCAA every year since 1982, except for 2020.
The NCAA Division II women's tennis championship is contested at the annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team national champions of women's collegiate tennis among its Division II members institutions in the United States and Canada. It has been held annually since 1982.
The NCAA Division III women's tennis championships are contested at the annual tournaments hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the nationals champions of women's team, singles, and doubles collegiate tennis among its Division III member programs in the United States. The championships have been held every year since 1982, except 2020.
The NCAA Division I women's cross country championships are contested at an annual meet hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the individual and team national champions of women's collegiate cross country running among its Division I members in the United States. The championships have been every year since 1981, except for 2020.
The annual NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament has determined the top women's lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I since 1982. The Maryland Terrapins are the most successful team with fourteen titles. The most recent championship was won by Boston College.
The NCAA Division III women's lacrosse tournament is a yearly single-elimination tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion women's collegiate lacrosse team among its Division III members in the United States, held annually since 1985.
The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national champion.
The NCAA Division III women's swimming and diving championships are contested at an annual swim meet hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the individual and team champions of women's collegiate swimming and diving among its Division III members in the United States.
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. Penn State won the most recent tournament, defeating Louisville 3–1 at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
The NCAA Division II women's volleyball tournament is the annual event that decides the championship contested by the NCAA. It determines the national champion of Division II women's collegiate volleyball. It has been held annually since 1981, typically played in December after the fall regular season.
The NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament is the annual event that decides the championships in women's volleyball from teams in Division III contested by the NCAA each winter since 1981 except in 2020, when all D-III championship events were canceled due to COVID-19.
The NCAA fencing championships are contested at an annual competition organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team and individual champions of co-educational collegiate fencing among its member programs in the United States. It has been held every year since 1941, except 2020.
The NCAA women's gymnastics tournament is an annual competition sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team and individual national champions of women's collegiate gymnastics among its member programs in the United States. Unlike most other NCAA-sponsored sports, the women's gymnastics championship is not separated into divisions and uses a single National Collegiate tournament instead.
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 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."
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