SAN FRANCISCO – The Conference announced today that Arizona’s Hillenbrand Stadium will serve as the host site for the inaugural Pac-12 Softball Championship, which is set to take place from May 10-13, 2023.
Home of one of the sport’s most storied programs, Hillenbrand Stadium was built in 1993 and underwent an $8 million renovation prior to the 2019 season. More than 1,000,000 patrons have walked through its gates since its opening and the iconic venue has attracted more than 74,000 fans in 2022, the second-best total in the nation.
Teams will play once per day at the 2023 Pac-12 Softball Championship. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Championship will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The nation’s most successful softball conference, Pac-12 programs have combined to win 24 of the 40 NCAA softball championships all-time, 18 more than the next closest league, and all nine Pac-12 teams have made appearances in the Women’s College World Series. Of the 13 different programs to have won an NCAA softball championship, five are from the Pac-12: UCLA (12), Arizona (8), Arizona State (2), California (1), Washington (1).
The Conference is coming off of a season in which each of its nine programs finished with a record of .500 or better, seven earned NCAA Tournament berths, and three advanced to the Women’s College World Series. Additional details about the 2023 Pac-12 Softball Championship schedule and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
