The SEC Softball Event (also known as the SEC Tournament) is the Southeastern Conference's conference championship tournament in collegiate softball (SEC). Since 2006, it has been a single-elimination tournament, with seeding determined by regular season records. The winner of the event receives the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Softball Tournament.
The SEC Tournament was established in 1976. Before that time, the SEC champion was declared based on how many teams were invited to the conference tournament. In 1969, 1970, and 1971, there was no official SEC Champion selected; instead, each school named their own player or team the "Player of the Year". The first two players to receive this honor were Ann Strain and Pat McCoy. They were selected by the Vanderbilt Commodores. In 1971, the SEC began holding a conference tournament to determine its champion. So the Player of the Year award is now given out after the conclusion of the tournament.
In 1973, the SEC expanded from 12 to 14 members with the addition of Arkansas and Texas A&M. As a result, the league held its first ever double-elimination tournament to determine its champion. There was one change made to the format for the 1974 tournament: instead of having the top three finishers from each school advance to the next round, they were split into two groups of four teams with the winners advancing.
It's a double-elimination tournament with seeding determined by regular-season records. The conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament is awarded to the champion. The SEC Tournament winner is distinct from the conference champion. For example, if a team has a better record than its opponent in the SEC Tournament, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will win the title. The winner of the SEC Tournament gets an open spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The SEC Tournament is held each year after the conclusion of the regular season. All 10 teams participate, with two teams being eliminated from the tournament after each round. The site of the event is usually a neutral location selected by the conference prior to each year's tournament. This year's SEC Tournament will be held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama from March 9-12. The opening game of the tournament will feature LSU vs. Arkansas with the other first-round games to follow on Monday, March 9. The semifinals and championship game are scheduled for Tuesday, March 10. The final game of the day will begin at 3:00 p.m. EST while the first game of the evening session will start at 6:30 p.m. EST.
All games in the SEC Tournament are played over three days.
The SEC has six clubs. The SEC fielded six teams in the NCAA Tournament. March Madness has returned. Six teams have qualified for the NCAA tournament. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, and Mizzou are the SEC teams competing in the tournament.
The SEC has 11 bids to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Two more teams will be added when South Carolina and Texas A&M join next season. The SEC has had at least one team in the WNBA since its inception in 1996.
In baseball, the SEC has 12 teams. The SEC has won the most College World Series with 37 titles. Alabama is the most successful program with 10 championships. Florida has the second most with nine titles. The other clubs have two titles each.
In basketball, South Carolina is the latest addition to a growing list of schools that have joined the SEC. The Gamecocks will begin play in the 2017-18 season as part of the SEC's new "12 Club" model which guarantees at least one representative in both sports per school. Texas A&M will also join the SEC in football but will wait until 2018 to begin playing games against conference opponents. The Aggies will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs if they meet certain criteria including having a head coach who has been paid $150,000 or less during the previous five years.
Oklahoma is the 2021 DI softball national champion after defeating Florida State in the Women's College World Series. Here's all you need to know about the 2021 NCAA DI collegiate softball championship.
The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the 2012 Women's College World Series at Oklahoma City's ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Alabama won the national championship, defeating Oklahoma 2-1 in a best-of-three series to claim the program's first national title and the first softball title for any Southeastern Conference institution.
Alabama defeats Florida to win the SEC softball championship for the first time since 2012. On May 15, 2021, it was updated; on May 15, 2021, it was published. On Saturday, May 15, 2021, Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts lifts the SEC softball tournament title trophy after Alabama defeated Florida 4-0 in Tuscaloosa's Rhoads Stadium.
31. It is a single-elimination competition in which all league schools compete (currently 14). Its seeding is determined by regular-season records...
| SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Played | 1933–34, 1936–1952, 1979–present |
| Last contest | 2021 |
| Current champion | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| Most championships | Kentucky Wildcats (31) |
Each year in May and June, the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament features 64 collegiate softball teams from throughout the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is hosted in Oklahoma City. The number of teams in the tournament has increased over time; it started with 16 teams in 1982 and has reached a record high of 64 in 2013. Teams are seeded by conference affiliation, and the top seed from each conference advances to the best-of-three championship series.
The tournament consists of two rounds of play: the first round is a single elimination game format, while the second round features the eight remaining teams playing in a double elimination scenario. The winner of the championship series advances to the next year's tournament. If the same team wins both rounds of the tournament, then they will win the title "triple crown" and receive the Golden Spikes Award as the national champion.
There have been nine different champions so far during the history of the tournament, with Stanford having won the most titles with four. South Carolina and Florida have each won three times. Texas A&M, LSU, and Arizona State have each won twice. California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Georgia, Virginia, and Michigan have each won once.
Tournament play began as an individual event called the National College Softball Championship.
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