The Big Ten Conference has been playing softball since 1982 when the Big Ten Conference softball tournament was established to decide its champion. The Big Ten then began league play the following season in 1983 while eliminating the tournament until 1995. The tournament ran again from 1995 to 2008 and then again from 2013 to present day, which is used to determine the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship while the regular season determines the conference champion.
Champions
These are the official Big Ten champions based on standings. 1982 was the only year the conference tournament was used to determine the champion. After that, the regular season determined the champion while the tournament held from 1983 to 1994 and 2009-13 was used only to determine the automatic bid into the NCAA Division I softball tournament.
| Year | Regular Season Champion | Conference Tournament Champion | National Championship | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | – | Northwestern | Big Ten softball tournament only. Teams from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Ohio State participate. | |
| 1983 | Indiana | – | Tournament eliminated, first regular season of conference play. Indiana , Iowa , Michigan , Michigan State , Minnesota , Northwestern , and Ohio State compete. | |
| 1984 | Northwestern | – | ||
| 1985 | Northwestern | – | ||
| 1986 | Indiana Minnesota Northwestern |
– | ||
| 1987 | Northwestern | – | ||
| 1988 | Minnesota | – | ||
| 1989 | Iowa | – | ||
| 1990 | Iowa Ohio State |
– | ||
| 1991 | Minnesota | – | ||
| 1992 | Michigan | – | Penn State begins league play. | |
| 1993 | Michigan | – | ||
| 1994 | Indiana | – | ||
| 1995 | Michigan | Michigan | Conference tournament resumes in double-elimination format. Purdue begins league play. | |
| 1996 | Michigan | Michigan | Wisconsin begins league play. | |
| 1997 | Iowa | Michigan | ||
| 1998 | Michigan | Michigan | ||
| 1999 | Michigan | Minnesota | ||
| 2000 | Iowa | Michigan | ||
| 2001 | Michigan | Iowa | Illinois begins league play. | |
| 2002 | Michigan | Michigan | ||
| 2003 | Iowa | Iowa | ||
| 2004 | Michigan | Michigan State | ||
| 2005 | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan | First (and to-date only) Big Ten softball National Champion |
| 2006 | Northwestern | Michigan | Northwestern (runner-up) | |
| 2007 | Ohio State | Ohio State | ||
| 2008 | Michigan Northwestern |
Northwestern | ||
| 2009 | Michigan | – | Conference tournament eliminated again. | |
| 2010 | Michigan | – | ||
| 2011 | Michigan | – | ||
| 2012 | Michigan | – | Nebraska begins league play. | |
| 2013 | Michigan | Wisconsin | Conference tournament resumes in single-elimination format. | |
| 2014 | Michigan Nebraska |
Minnesota | ||
| 2015 | Michigan | Michigan | Maryland and Rutgers begin league play. | |
| 2016 | Michigan | Minnesota | ||
| 2017 | Minnesota | Minnesota | ||
| 2018 | Michigan | Minnesota | ||
| 2019 | Michigan | Michigan | ||
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | |||
| 2021 | Michigan | – | Conference tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. | |
| 2022 | Northwestern | Nebraska | ||
| 2023 | Northwestern | Northwestern | ||
| 2024 | Northwestern | Michigan | ||
| 2025 | Oregon , UCLA , and Washington will begin league play. | |||
Championships by school
| School | Big Ten Championships Reg. Season/Tournament |
Regular Season Championships |
Tournament Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 0/0 | ||
| Indiana | 3/0 | 1983, 1986*, 1994 | |
| Iowa | 5/2 | 1989, 1990*, 1997, 2000, 2003 | 2001, 2003 |
| Maryland | 0/0 | ||
| Michigan | 22/11 | 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008*, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014*, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 |
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2019, 2024 |
| Michigan State | 0/1 | 2004 | |
| Minnesota | 4/5 | 1986*, 1988, 1991, 2017 | 1999, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Nebraska | 1/1 | 2014 | 2022 |
| Northwestern | 8/3 | 1984, 1985, 1986*, 1987, 2006, 2008*, 2022, 2023 | 1982, 2008, 2023 |
| Ohio State | 2/1 | 1990*, 2007 | 2007 |
| Penn State | 0/0 | ||
| Purdue | 0/0 | ||
| Rutgers | 0/0 | ||
| Wisconsin | 0/1 | 2013 |
- An asterisk (*) indicates a shared (regular season) Big Ten championship.
See also
List of Big Ten Conference baseball champions
References
- "Big Ten Softball Regular Season Standings; Big Ten Conference. June 28, 2018" (PDF).
- "A Timeline of Significant Moments in Big Ten Women's Athletics; Big Ten Conference. June 28, 2018". Archived from the original on January 8, 2009.
- "An Ingenious Inception: Penn State Joins the Big Ten Conference". Archived from the original on 28 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- "Team History; PurdueSports.com. June 28, 2018".
- "Softball Record Book; UWBadgers.com. June 28, 2018" (PDF).
- 2001 "Illinois Softball Statistics Summary for Illinois; FightingIllini.com. June 28, 2018".
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - "2005 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 16". Ncaa.org. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
- "University of Nebraska Approved to Join Big Ten Conference by Council of Presidents/Chancellors". Big Ten Conference. 2010-06-11. Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- Barker, Jeff; Korman, Chris (November 19, 2012). "Maryland's application for Big Ten admission approved". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- "Rutgers University To Join The Big Ten Conference". Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "Big Ten adds Oregon, Washington as newest members in blow to Pac-12". ESPN=en. Retrieved December 2, 2023.