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.

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 2007 Women's College World Series took 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 was over.

The first NCAA Women's College World Series was held in 1982. The tournament starts with 64 teams from 16 different regions that compete in a double elimination round to start off the championship. The sixteen winners then enter a 'super regional', usually held at the higher seed's home ground, for a best-of-3 series. The eight winners then enter a modified double elimination tournament to determine which team is the national champion. Instead of being a 'true' double-elimination tournament, the tournament is split up so there are two brackets, though the losers switch brackets. The winners of each of the brackets move onto a best-of-3 championship. The tournament is largely dominated by Pacific-10 Conference teams, who have combined to win 21 of the 27 championships, including 10 wins from UCLA (1995 championship vacated) and 8 from University of Arizona.

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 through 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.^[1]

In 2004 the International Softball Federation (ISF) held the first World University Softball Championship just two months after the 2004 Olympic competition.^[2] It was an eight country championship, with Team USA beating out Chinese Taipei for the gold medal.^[3] In 2006 the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) held the second World University Softball Championship in Taiwan,^[3] and in 2007 softball was added to the World University Games of FISU.^[2][4]

[edit] See also

• Australian Softball Federation
• Intramural Softball
• National Softball Hall of Fame (U.S)
• Softball at the 1996 Summer Olympics
• Softball at the 2000 Summer Olympics
• Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• College athletics
• College rivalries

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Amateur Softball Association
• NCAA Women's Softball