| Mid-American Conference softball tournament | |
| Optional Subheader: | Conference softball championship |
| Sport: | Softball |
| Conference: | Mid-American Conference |
| Number Of Teams: | 4 |
| Format: | Double-elimination |
| Current Stadium: | Firestone Stadium |
| Current Location: | Akron, Ohio |
| Years: | 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present |
| Most Recent: | 2023 |
| Current Champion: | Miami (6) |
| Most Championships: | Central Michigan (10) |
| All Stadiums: | Campus sites (1982–1986; 1996–2001; 2022–2023) Firestone Stadium (2002–2005; 2008–2019; 2024–present) Currie Stadium (2006–2007) |
The Mid-American Conference softball tournament is the conference softball championship of the Mid-American Conference, a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The top four finishers participate in the double-elimination tournament, which is held at the home field of the regular-season champion. The winner of the tournament receives 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] This was later reversed in May 2021, when the conference announced all previously canceled tournaments would be returning for the 2021–22 season. The softball tournament resumed in 2022 with a new format, reducing the number of participating teams to the top four from the regular season, with the tournament hosted by the top seed.[2] Beginning in 2024, the tournament will return to being hosted at a neutral location. Central Michigan have won the most tournament titles with 10, followed by Miami with 6.
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.[3]
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. When the tournament resumed in 2022, it was again held at the site of the regular-season champion for 2022 and 2023 before returning to Firestone Stadium in 2024.[3]
The following is a list of tournament champions and sites listed by year.[3]
| Year | Team champion | Site | Most Valuable Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
| Central Michigan | — | |||
| Ebert Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | — | |||
| Central Michigan | — | |||
| Central Michigan | Scott Park Softball Complex • Toledo, Ohio | — | ||
| No tournament held, 1987–1995 | ||||
| No champion | — | |||
| Central Michigan | Amy Daugherty (Western Michigan) | |||
| Buchtel Field • Akron, Ohio | Heather Hinkle (Ball State) | |||
| Central Michigan | Tina Kinney (Central Michigan) | |||
| Central Michigan | Bell Field • DeKalb, Illinois | Hope Robertson (Central Michigan) | ||
| Central Michigan | Margo Jonker Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan | Hope Robertson (Central Michigan) | ||
| Central Michigan | Firestone Stadium • Akron, Ohio | Amber Puchalski (Central Michigan) Karly McCormack (Central Michigan) | ||
| Western Michigan | Jackie Poggendorf (Miami) | |||
| Jody Johnson (Bowling Green) | ||||
| Jackie Poggendorf (Miami) | ||||
| Brittany Robinson (Kent State) | ||||
| Lindsay Schmid (Eastern Michigan) | ||||
| Kent State | Firestone Stadium • Akron, Ohio | Jamie Fitzpatrick (Kent State) | ||
| Miami | Jessica Simpson (Miami) | |||
| Ball State | Elizabeth Milian (Ball State) | |||
| Western Michigan | Meredith Whitney (Western Michigan) | |||
| Miami | Jessica Simpson (Miami) | |||
| Central Michigan | Kara Dornbos (Central Michigan) | |||
| Savannah Jo Dorsey (Ohio) | ||||
| Ball State | Hanne Stuedemann (Ball State) | |||
| Miami | Amber Logemann (Miami) | |||
| Kent State | Ronnie Ladines (Kent State) | |||
| Ohio | Danielle Stiene (Ohio) | |||
| Toledo | Erin Hunt (Toledo) | |||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | |||
| Tournament not held | ||||
| 2022[4] | Miami | Miami Softball Stadium • Oxford, Ohio | Brianna Pratt (Miami) | |
| 2023[5] | Miami | Miami Softball Stadium • Oxford, Ohio | Karli Spaid (Miami) | |
| Firestone Stadium • Akron, Ohio | ||||
The following is a list of tournament champions listed by school and the years each team was eligible to play in the tournament.[3]
| Program | Tenure | Titles | Title years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 10 | 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2013[6] | ||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 6 | 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2022, 2023 | ||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 3 | 1998, 2010, 2015 | ||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 3 | 2006, 2008, 2017[7] | ||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 3 | 1984, 2003, 2011 | ||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 2 | 2014, 2018 | ||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 1 | |||
| 1982–1986 1996–2020 2022–present | 1 | |||
| 1996–2020 2022–present | 0 | |||
| 1982–1986 1998–2020 2022–present | 0 | |||
| 2001–2020 2022–present | 0 | |||
| 1982–1986 1996–2018[8] | 1 | 2007[9] | ||
| 1996–2005 | 0 |