Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament
The Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament was the conference softball championship of the Mid-American Conference, a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The top eight finishers participated in the double-elimination tournament, which was most recently played at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, from 2008 through 2019. The winner of the tournament received an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The tournament began in 1982, but was discontinued after 1986. It resumed in 1996 and was held annually through 2019. It was scheduled to be played in May 2020, but was cancelled in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of several changes announced in May 2020 related to the pandemic, the tournament was eliminated along with the post-season tournaments of seven other sports, for at least four seasons.[1] Central Michigan won the most tournament titles with 10, followed by Miami with four.
| Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference Softball Championship | |
| Sport | Softball |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Format | Double-elimination |
| Played | 1982–1986 1996–2020 |
| Last contest | 2019 |
| Current champion | Toledo (1) |
| Most championships | Central Michigan (10) |
| Official website | getsomemaction |
| Host stadiums | |
| Campus sites (1982–1986; 1996–2001) Firestone Stadium (2002–2005; 2008–2019) Currie Stadium (2006–2007) | |
History
The Mid-American Conference added softball as a varsity sport for the 1982 season, but regular-season conference play did not begin until 1983. The first tournament in 1982 featured all ten conference members, with two rounds of single-elimination play, followed by double-elimination rounds with the final four teams. The following year, 1983, it became a double-elimination tournament featuring the top six teams in conference play, then was reduced to the top four teams for the 1984, 1985, and 1986 tournaments. This format remained in place when the tournament was resumed in 1996 and again in 1997. From 1998 through 2004, the format was expanded to include the top six teams in conference play, and since 2005 it has included the top eight teams.[2]
From the 1983 tournament through 2001, all rounds were held at the home field of the regular-season overall conference champion, with the inaugural 1982 tournament being held at Ebert Field on the campus of Western Michigan University. Beginning in 2002, the tournament was held at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, where it was held through 2005. After two seasons at Currie Stadium in Midland, Michigan, the tournament returned to Firestone Stadium in 2008, where it remained until the tournament was eliminated.[2]
Champions
By year
The following is a list of tournament champions and sites listed by year.[2]
| Year | Team champion | Site | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Central Michigan | Ebert Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | — |
| 1983 | Central Michigan | Varsity Field • Ypsilanti, Michigan | — |
| 1984 | Western Michigan | Ebert Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | — |
| 1985 | Central Michigan | Scott Park Softball Complex • Toledo, Ohio | — |
| 1986 | Central Michigan | Scott Park Softball Complex • Toledo, Ohio | — |
| No tournament held, 1987–1995 | |||
| 1996 | No champion | Buchtel Field • Akron, Ohio | — |
| 1997 | Central Michigan | Margo Jonker Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan | Amy Daugherty (Western Michigan) |
| 1998 | Ball State | Buchtel Field • Akron, Ohio | Heather Hinkle (Ball State) |
| 1999 | Central Michigan | Bell Field • DeKalb, Illinois | Tina Kinney (Central Michigan) |
| 2000 | Central Michigan | Bell Field • DeKalb, Illinois | Hope Robertson (Central Michigan) |
| 2001 | Central Michigan | Margo Jonker Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan | Hope Robertson (Central Michigan) |
| 2002 | Central Michigan | Firestone Stadium • Akron, Ohio | Amber Puchalski (Central Michigan) Karly McCormack (Central Michigan) |
| 2003 | Western Michigan | Jackie Poggendorf (Miami) | |
| 2004 | Bowling Green | Jody Johnson (Bowling Green) | |
| 2005 | Miami | Jackie Poggendorf (Miami) | |
| 2006 | Kent State | Currie Stadium • Midland, Michigan | Brittany Robinson (Kent State) |
| 2007 | Eastern Michigan | Lindsay Schmid (Eastern Michigan) | |
| 2008 | Kent State | Firestone Stadium • Akron, Ohio | Jamie Fitzpatrick (Kent State) |
| 2009 | Miami | Jessica Simpson (Miami) | |
| 2010 | Ball State | Elizabeth Milian (Ball State) | |
| 2011 | Western Michigan | Meredith Whitney (Western Michigan) | |
| 2012 | Miami | Jessica Simpson (Miami) | |
| 2013 | Central Michigan | Kara Dornbos (Central Michigan) | |
| 2014 | Ohio | Savannah Jo Dorsey (Ohio) | |
| 2015 | Ball State | Hanne Stuedemann (Ball State) | |
| 2016 | Miami | Amber Logemann (Miami) | |
| 2017 | Kent State | Ronnie Ladines (Kent State) | |
| 2018 | Ohio | Danielle Stiene (Ohio) | |
| 2019 | Toledo | Erin Hunt (Toledo) | |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | ||
By school
The following is a list of tournament champions listed by school and the years each team was eligible to play in the tournament.[2]
| Program | Tenure | Titles | Title years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 10 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2013[3] |
| Miami | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 4 | 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016 |
| Ball State | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 3 | 1998, 2010, 2015 |
| Kent State | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 3 | 2006, 2008, 2017[4] |
| Western Michigan | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 3 | 1984, 2003, 2011 |
| Ohio | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 2 | 2014, 2018 |
| Bowling Green | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 1 | 2004 |
| Toledo | 1982–1986 1996–2020 | 1 | 2019 |
| Akron | 1996–2020 | 0 | |
| Northern Illinois | 1982–1986 1998–2020 | 0 | |
| Buffalo | 2001–2020 | 0 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 1982–1986 1996–2018[5] | 1 | 2007[6] |
| Marshall | 1996–2005 | 0 |
References
- Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". WTOL.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- 2017 Mid-American Conference Record Book (PDF). Mid-American Conference. March 24, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- Central Michigan Softball Record Book (PDF). Central Michigan University. 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- Kent State Softball Record Book (PDF). Kent State University. 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- Jesse, David (March 20, 2018). "Eastern Michigan University budget woes prompt cutting of 4 sports programs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- EMU Softball History (PDF). Eastern Michigan University. 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.