Full Championship Bracket
Michigan was named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship today when the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced the 64-team field. The Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, are 55-4 and will open play in Friday, May 20, against Canisius in front of a home crowd in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Twenty-eight conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 36 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this weekend.
Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition, when possible.
The Pacific 10 and Big 12 led all conferences with eight teams in the championship, while the Southeastern Conference placed six teams. Fresno State remains the only team to be selected to all 24 championships. Eight teams are making their initial appearances in the tournament: Albany (New York), Central Florida, College of Charleston, Loyola Marymount, Miami (Ohio), Robert Morris, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Only seven schools have been crowned champion, all of which are in this year’s bracket, including two-time defending champion UCLA.
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS:
* Indicates host institution
Regional No. 1 - May 20-22 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
*No. 1 Michigan (55-4) vs. Canisius (22-17)
North Carolina (36-27) vs. Seton Hall (33-13)
Regional No. 2 - May 19-21 at Fresno, California
*Fresno State (41-10) vs. Long Beach State (39-14)
Brigham Young (44-12) vs. No. 2 California (46-11)
Regional No. 3 - May 20-22 at Tucson, Arizona
*No. 3 Arizona (39-10) vs. Lehigh (41-8)
Princeton (35-18) vs. Oklahoma State (33-22)
Regional No. 4 - May 20-22 at Austin, Texas
Mississippi State (33-29) vs. Texas A & M-Corpus Christi (41-9)
Massachusetts (37-14-1) vs. *No. 4 Texas (42-11)
Regional No. 5 - May 20-22 at College Station, Texas
*No. 5 Texas A & M (44-8) vs. McNeese State (33-33)
Centenary (Louisiana) (31-26) vs. Penn State (34-21)
Regional No. 6 - May 20-22 at Columbia, Missouri
*Missouri (42-13) vs. Southern Illinois (46-12)
Robert Morris (29-20-1) vs. No. 6 Stanford (40-14)
Regional No. 7 - May 20-22 at Los Angeles
*No. 7 UCLA (30-16) vs. Loyola Marymount (34-18)
Cal State Fullerton (28-19) vs. UNLV (43-17)
Regional No. 8 - May 20-22 at Madison, Wisconsin
DePaul (39-18) vs. *Wisconsin (31-22)
Wisconsin-Green Bay (26-16) vs. No. 8 Oregon State (40-14)
Regional No. 9 - May 20-22 at South Bend, Indiana
No. 9 Northwestern (38-15) vs. Albany (New York) (35-12)
Louisville (42-18) vs. *Notre Dame (44-13)
Regional No. 10 - May 20-22 at Athens, Georgia
Kansas (30-22) vs. Virginia Tech (43-23)
Tennessee Tech (35-26) vs. *No. 10 Georgia (51-13)
Regional No. 11 - May 20-22 at Knoxville, Tennessee
*No. 11 Tennessee (59-13) vs. Miami (Ohio) (33-24)
College of Charleston (51-16) vs. Georgia Tech (49-12)
Regional No. 12 - May 20-22 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Arizona State (29-24) vs. Hofstra (40-8-1)
Mississippi Valley (34-29) vs. *No. 12 Alabama (57-13)
Regional No. 13 - May 20-22 at Gainesville, Florida
*No. 13 Florida (41-21) vs. Bethune-Cookman (47-17)
South Florida (40-25) vs. Central Florida (41-26-1)
Regional No. 14 - May 20-22 at Norman, Oklahoma
Oregon (34-23) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (50-8)
Wichita State (45-15) vs. *No. 14 Oklahoma (47-15)
Regional No. 15 - May 20-22 at Auburn, Alabama
No. 15 Baylor (47-12) vs. Florida A & M (37-31)
Florida State (33-26) vs. *Auburn (49-16)
Regional No 16 - May 20-22 at Lincoln, Nebraska
Iowa (48-12) vs. *Nebraska (35-21)
Creighton (44-11) vs. No. 16 Washington (31-20)
CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE: The Division I championship provides for a field of 64 teams. The championship will be extended to three weekends of competition for the first time this year. Four teams will participate at each of 16 regional sites in a double-elimination tournament. Sixteen teams were seeded and placed at one of the regional sites.
The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series May 27-28 (Memorial Day Weekend) at eight campus sites.
The remaining eight teams will advance to the WCWS, an eight-team, double-elimination tournament. The championship final will best-of-three-series for the first time this year. The WCWS will be conducted June 2-8 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
SELECTION PROCESS: The NCAA Division I Softball Committee selected teams from the following eight regions to participate in the championship: Central, East, Northeast, South, Mideast, Midwest, West and Pacific. Twenty-eight conferences have been granted automatic qualification for the 2005 championship.
SEEDING, SITES: Teams were selected to the field of 64 teams. The top 16 teams were seeded in order, and the remaining teams were placed in regional brackets to create balanced competition and avoid conference match-ups, when possible.
CONFERENCES RECEIVING AUTOMATIC QUALIFICATION:
America East Conference – Albany (New York)
Atlantic Sun Conference – Central Florida
Atlantic 10 Conference – Massachusetts
Big East Conference – Seton Hall
Big South Conference – Texas A & M-Corpus Christi
Big Ten Conference – Michigan
Big Twelve Conference – Texas
Big West Conference – Long Beach State
Conference USA – DePaul
Colonial Athletic Conference–Hofstra
Horizon League – Wisconsin-Green Bay
Ivy Group – Princeton
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Canisius
Mid-American Athletic Conference – Miami (Ohio)
Mid-Continent Conference – Centenary (Louisiana)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A & M
Missouri Valley Conference – Creighton
Mountain West Conference– Brigham Young
Northeast Conference– Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Conference– Tennessee Tech
Pacific Coast Softball Conference– Loyola Marymount
Pacific-10 Conference – Oregon State
Patriot League– Lehigh
Southeastern Conference – Alabama
Southern Conference – College of Charleston
Southland Conference – McNeese State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Mississippi Valley
Western Athletic Conference – Fresno State
WCWS TV COVERAGE:
Day-Date-Game-Time (ET)*-Network*
Thursday-6/2-1-1 p.m.-ESPN2
Thursday-6/2-2-3 p.m.-ESPN2
Thursday-6/2-3-7:30 p.m.-ESPN2
Thursday-6/2-4-9:30 p.m.-ESPN2
Friday-6/3-5-8 p.m.-ESPN2
Friday-6/3-6-10 p.m.-ESPN2
Saturday-6/4-7-Noon-ESPN
Saturday-6/4-8-2 p.m.-ESPN
Saturday-6/4-9-7 p.m.-ESPN
Saturday-6/4-10-9 p.m.-ESPN
Sunday-6/5-11-1 p.m.-ESPN
Sunday-6/5-12-3 p.m.-ESPN
Sunday-6/5-13 (if needed)-7 p.m.-ESPN2
Sunday-6/5-14 (if needed)-9 p.m.-ESPN2
Monday-6/6-Championship Final Game 1-7:30 p.m.-ESPN
Tuesday-6/7-Championship Final Game 2-7:30 p.m.-ESPN
Wednesday-6/8-Championship Final Game 3 (if necessary)-7:30 p.m.-ESPN
