The Nebraska–Kearney Lopers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska at Kearney , located in Kearney , Nebraska , in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year; while its women's swimming and diving team competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Lopers previously competed in the D-II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) from 1994–95 to 2011–12 (which they were a member on a previous stint as a provisional member during the 1989–90 school year); and in the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976–77 to 1988–89.
16-450: UNK competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and wrestling; basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. The Lopers softball team appeared in the first three Women's College World Series in 1969, 1970 and 1971. The Women's swim and dive team
32-486: Is an Australian softball player, who has competed for Australia at four consecutive Summer Olympics , starting in 1996. Three times she claimed a bronze medal (1996, 2000, 2008), and once a silver medal (2004). The Queenslander was ranked in the top five pitchers in the world for over a decade. In 1995, Harding enrolled at UCLA for one quarter. She played on the squad that won the NCAA women's softball championships, and
48-656: Is an affiliate member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The mascot at University of Nebraska at Kearney is Louie, who has been at the college since the beginning. He is always at every UNK Athletic event cheering on the Lopers with the cheerleaders. Women%27s College World Series The Women's College World Series ( WCWS ) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in
64-545: The 1995 season. After UCLA captured the NCAA National Championship, Harding, the MVP of the tournament, returned to her homeland without taking final exams or earning a single college credit. Despite not violating any formal rules in recruiting Harding, the incident generated heated criticism that some foreign athletes were little more than hired guns. *** Beginning in 2005, a best-of-three series determines
80-500: The AIAW and the NCAA were called "Women's College World Series". However, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA won out over the AIAW. * Nebraska's runner-up finish in 1985 was vacated by the NCAA. ** The 1995 title by UCLA and any related records have been vacated by the NCAA due to scholarship violations. Criticism also centered on UCLA player Tanya Harding who was recruited from Queensland , Australia , midway through
96-881: The AIAW) recognized the WCWS, organized by the Amateur Softball Association , as the collegiate championship tournament. The AIAW assumed responsibilities from DGWS in 1973. UCLA's 1995 NCAA championship and Nebraska's 1985 runner-up finish were vacated by the NCAA and are not counted This listing excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1982 (both Division I tournaments in 1982—AIAW and NCAA—were called "Women's College World Series"). Updated through 2024 World Series Source: Tanya Harding Tanya Victoria Harding (born 23 January 1972 in Brisbane, Queensland )
112-664: The United States. The eight teams of the WCWS play a double-elimination tournament until just two teams remain. These two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS National Champion. Previous WCWS losses do not factor into the best-of-three championship series, and the first team to win two of three games is declared the National Champion. Like the Men's College World Series in baseball,
128-412: The WCWS initially divides the eight teams ranked one (the top seed) thru eight and are then divided into two brackets of four teams. The teams play their first-round match up as follows: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5. Unique to the WCWS is that the loser of the first-round game on one side of the bracket crosses over to the loser's bracket on the other side. Suffering a second loss eliminates said team from
144-472: The WCWS. Round number two will feature the four winners of round-one games against each other, with the highest remaining seed vs the lowest remaining undefeated seed. In the losers bracket, the four first round losers face each other, with the two winners advancing while the losers who suffer their second loss are eliminated from tourney play. Round three features the two losing teams from round two (winners bracket) vs round two-winners (from losers bracket) while
160-1071: The championship series. The WCWS takes place at Devon Park in Oklahoma City . From 1969 to 1981, the women's collegiate softball championship was also known as the Women's College World Series and was promoted as such. During 1969–1979, the series was played in Omaha , after which the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) held the series in 1980–1982 in Norman, Oklahoma . There were two competing World Series tournaments in 1982. The NCAA held its first six Division I tournaments in Omaha in 1982–1987, followed by Sunnyvale, California , in 1988–1989. The event has been held in Oklahoma City every year since then, except for 1996, when it
176-456: The national championship. From 1969 to 1972, the DGWS (forerunner organization of the AIAW) recognized the WCWS, organized by the Amateur Softball Association , as the collegiate championship tournament. The AIAW assumed responsibilities from DGWS in 1973. *UCLA also won the 1995 title, but it has since been vacated by the NCAA; see above. From 1969 to 1972, the DGWS (forerunner organization of
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#1732790846103192-436: The remaining two undefeated teams get a day of rest. Once round three is complete, there will now be four teams eliminated. The remaining four teams will then play each other in round four, with one team with one loss playing one team with no losses. If a team with a loss loses again, they are eliminated. If teams with no losses suffer a (first) loss, the remaining teams will then be realigned and forced to play one last time, with
208-491: The winners advancing to the best-of-three championship series. If by chance one or both unbeaten teams win in round four, then that team (or both teams) advances to the best-of-three championship series. From there games are cut to one game per day over the next three days (weather pending). This feature allows any two of the eight WCWS teams to potentially comprise the final two, unlike the MCWS, whose two halves remain separate until
224-476: Was believed that one of them was Harding. Runner-up Arizona was not declared the champion, as there was no way to determine if Arizona would have won had Harding not been involved. Officially, there is no champion for 1995. In 2022, she was inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame . This article about an Australian Olympic medalist is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This biographical article relating to an Australian softball figure
240-550: Was held at the softball venue for the '96 Olympic Games in Columbus, Georgia . Softball was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the AIAW for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same twelve (and other) sports. The 1982 softball championship tournaments of both
256-493: Was named MVP of the tournament. After UCLA captured the NCAA National Championship, Harding returned to her homeland without taking final exams or earning a single college credit. However, in 1997 UCLA was stripped of its 1995 title for scholarship violations. Three softball players had been granted soccer scholarships, putting the Bruins three over the limit for softball. Although the three players involved were not identified, it
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