College softball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is most often played by women at the intercollegiate level, while college baseball is played by men.

As with other intercollegiate sports, most college softball in the United States is played under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The NCAA writes the rules of play, while each sanctioning body supervises season-ending tournaments. The final rounds of the NCAA tournaments are known as the Women's College World Series; one is held on each of the three levels of competition sanctioned by the NCAA. The 2006 Women's College World Series take place in Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma near the site of the National Softball Hall of Fame in June, after the regular season is over.

In 2006, the winners of the Women's College World Series were:[1]

Division I – University of Arizona
Division II – Lock Haven University
Division III – Rutgers University-Camden

The first NCAA Women's College World Series was held in 1982. The tournament starts with 32 teams from 8 different regions that compete in a double elimination round to start off the championship. Eight winners then enter a double elimination tournament to determine which team is the national champion. From 1982 until 1987, the Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska, where the Men’s College World Series originated. Then, for two years, it was held in Sunnyvale, California. The finals have been played at the Amateur Softball Association’s Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma since 1990.

Over 600 NCAA member colleges are sponsors of women’s softball programs. The women’s softball championships are held in divisions I-III. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, fast-pitch softball was first played as a medal sport. However, the International Olympic Committee has voted to discontinue both softball and baseball as Olympics sports after the 2008 Games in Beijing.[2]