College softball

{{short description|Softball played on the intercollegiate level}} {{Infobox sport overview | title = College softball | image = Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets Softball - 51999676764.jpg | caption = A NCAA Division III softball game in 2022 | union = {{collapsible list| * NCAA * NAIA * NCCAA * NJCAA * USCAA * CCCAA * ACCA }} | country = | sport = Softball | noncountry = | nickname = | first = 1930s | registered = | clubs =

| national_list = | club_list = {{plainlist| * NCAA Div III * NAIA Championship }} | intl_list =  | Name =  | match = | league =  | fan_org = }}

'''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). Over 600 NCAA member colleges are sponsors of women's softball programs. The women's softball championships are held in Division I, Division II, and Division III. The NCAA publishes 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 (WCWS); one is held on each of the three levels of competition sanctioned by the NCAA. The Division I Women's College World Series is held annually in June at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City near the site of the National Softball Hall of Fame.

==History== thumb|Franklin High School junior team of Seattle, in 1914 Many early intercollegiate women’s softball games were part of play days or informal tournaments. The Midwest, particularly Wisconsin, played a pivotal role in the early development of women’s intercollegiate softball during the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=17 October 2025| url=https://cms.library.wisc.edu/archives/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2015/06/athletics.pdf|title= "Health and Fun Shall Walk Hand in Hand": The First 100 Years of Women's Athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison|first=Chris|last=Hartman}}</ref> The first WCWS was held in 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska, sponsored by the Amateur Softball Association and the Division for Girls' and Women's Sports.<ref>{{cite book | title=Women's Fastpitch Softball - The Path to the Gold, An Historical Look at Women's Fastpitch in the United States | author = Mary L. Littlewood | publisher = National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Columbia, Missouri | edition = first | pages = 145, 208 |year = 1998 | ISBN= 0-9664310-0-6}}</ref><ref name="Plummer">{{cite book|title=A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series|first1=William|last1=Plummer|first2=Larry C.|last2=Floyd|year=2013|publisher= Turnkey Communications Inc.|location= Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States|isbn=978-0-9893007-0-4}}</ref> The first under NCAA auspices was held in 1982.<ref>[https://www.ncaa.com/history/softball/d1 Softball - DI Championship History] on NCAA.com</ref>

In 2004 the International Softball Federation (ISF) held the first World University Softball Championship just two months after the 2004 Olympic competition.<ref name="isf_timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.internationalsoftball.com/english/the_isf/isf_timeline.asp |title=International Softball Federation - ISF Timeline |access-date=2009-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110045320/http://www.internationalsoftball.com/english/the_isf/isf_timeline.asp |archive-date=2010-01-10 }}</ref> It was an eight country championship, with Team USA defeating Chinese Taipei for the gold medal.<ref name="fisu">{{cite web|url=http://www.fisu.net/en/Softball-2006-463.html|title=Softball 2006|access-date=2009-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618010407/http://www.fisu.net/en/Softball-2006-463.html|archive-date=2009-06-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2006 the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) held the second World University Softball Championship in Taiwan,<ref name="fisu"/> and in 2007 softball was added to the World University Games of FISU.<ref name="isf_timeline"/><ref name="bangkok2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.fisu.net/en/News-010607-MA-News-Chinese-Taipei-Announces-Softball-Team-for-2007-SU-1810.html|title=MA News: The Chinese Taipei Softball Team Sets Its Sight on the 2007 Bangkok Universiade|date=June 1, 2007|access-date=2009-10-10}}</ref>

==Junior college softball== The National Junior College Athletic Association was founded on May 14, 1938.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://njcaa.org/about/history/index|title=History of the NJCAA|work=NJCAA|access-date=2018-05-06|language=en}}</ref>

==See also== * {{annotated link|Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women}} * {{annotated link|Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships}} * {{annotated link|College sports}} * {{annotated link|National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum}} * {{annotated link|List of NCAA Division I softball programs}} * {{annotated link|NCAA Division I softball tournament}} * {{annotated link|Softball at the 1996 Summer Olympics}} * {{annotated link|Softball at the 2000 Summer Olympics}} * {{annotated link|Softball at the 2004 Summer Olympics}} * {{annotated link|Softball Australia}} * {{annotated link|University and college rivalry#United States}} * {{annotated link|USA Softball}} * {{annotated link|World University Softball Championship}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== Softball at the: * [https://www.naia.org/sports/sball/index National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics] * [https://thenccaa.org/sports/softball National Christian College Athletic Association] * [https://www.ncaa.com/sports/softball/d1 National Collegiate Athletic Association] * [https://www.njcaa.org/sports/sball/index National Junior College Athletic Association] * [https://theuscaa.com/sports/sball/index United States Collegiate Athletic Association]

Category:college softball in the United States Category:1969 establishments in the United States