The
AIAW
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Inte ...
women's basketball tournament was a national tournament for women's collegiate
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
teams in the United States, held annually from 1972 to 1982.
The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national champions for those years.
History
The AIAW tournament was discontinued after the
NCAA began sponsoring a
women's collegiate basketball tournament in
1982
Events January
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. (In 1982, both the AIAW and NCAA sponsored competing tournaments.) The AIAW tournament was preceded by a tournament sponsored by the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW), which was held from 1969 to 1971.
[
Sixteen teams were invited to the tournament following qualifying rounds played on college campuses (except 24 teams were invited for the 1980 and 1981 tournaments). Ten of the sixteen teams were the winners of regional tournaments. The country had nine regions, but the Eastern regional was subdivided in a Region 1A and a Region 1B. The winners of those regional championships automatically proceeded to the National tournament, then a selection committee chose additional teams based upon considerations for individual team performance and geographical balance.] Beginning in 1975, the AIAW divided its teams into divisions, and held separate tournaments for Division II and Division III teams.
Pre-NCAA statistics, based on AIAW Archives, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
Division I/Large College
CIAW
*1969 West Chester (Pennsylvania) def. Western Carolina 65-39 ''(CIAW invitational tournament, six player format)''
*1970 Cal State-Fullerton def. West Chester 50-46 ''(CIAW invitational tournament, six player format)''
*1971 Mississippi State College for Women def. West Chester 57-55 ''(CIAW qualification tournament)''
AIAW
Team appearances
The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:
* National Champion
* National Runner-up
* , , Semifinals (3rd-4th place)
* , , , Quarterfinals (5th-8th place)
* , Round of 12 or 16 (9th-16th place)
* Play-in Round (''Starting 2013'') Round of 24 (17th-24th place)
Division II/Small College
Results
Appearances
Division III
Results
Appearances
Junior/Community College
*1973 Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College
*1974 Anderson College (South Carolina)
*1975 Anderson College
*1976 Anderson College
*1977 Anderson College
See also
* National Women's Invitational Tournament
The National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) was a post-season tournament for women's intercollegiate basketball programs that was contested from 1969 to 1996. The original sponsorship information appears to have been lost over the ensuin ...
* NAIA Women's Basketball Championships
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Basketball national championship has been held annually since 1981. The NAIA Women's Tournament was established one year before the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. It was created t ...
– began 1981
* NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament – began 1982
* NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is an annual tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II women's college basketball nati ...
– began 1982
* NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division III women's basketball championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of women's NCAA Division III collegiate basketball in the United States. It was held annually from 1982, when the NCAA began to spo ...
– began 1982
* Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
* Major women's sport leagues in North America
The prominent women's sports leagues in the United States and Canada represent the elite level of women's sports competition for women athletes in North America. The majority of professional women's leagues are found in the United States. Top wo ...
References
Sources
*
{{Major women's sport leagues in North America
1982 disestablishments in the United States
College women's basketball competitions in the United States
Postseason college basketball competitions in the United States
Recurring sporting events established in 1972
1972 establishments in the United States
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1982