During Women's History Month, we are diving into the history books and celebrating the inaugural women'schampions of the NCAA.
On Jan. 13, 1981, governance approved a plan to include women's athletics programs and services within the NCAA structure. This opened the door to increased athletic and academic opportunities for female athletes.
Today, the NCAA sponsors 45 women's championships and three coed championships in 21 sports, providing more than 225,000 women with an opportunity to compete for national titles each year.
Over two years, 13 women's sports held their first official NCAA championship events, starting with field hockey and cross country in November 1981 and continuing each season until Division I added indoor track and field in March 1983, 40 years ago this weekend.
Let's look back to see where it all started:
Women's Field Hockey Championships
Division I, Nov. 22, 1981: UConn 4, Massachusetts 1.
Division II, Nov. 21, 1981: Pfeiffer 5, Bentley 3.
Division III, Nov. 21, 1981: The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) 2, Franklin & Marshall 0.
Fun Fact: The College of New Jersey's title was its first of a Division III-leading 11 field hockey championships.
Women's Cross Country Championships
Division I, Nov. 23, 1981: Virginia (team); Betty Springs, NC State (individual).
Division II, Nov. 21, 1981: South Dakota State (team); Eileen Kraemer, Cal Poly (individual).
Division III, Nov. 21, 1981: Central (Iowa) (team); Cynthia Sturm, Westfield State (individual).
Fun Facts: The Division I championship at Wichita State's Echo Hills Golf Course was the first time in NCAA history women's and men's national championships were held alongside each other.
Cal Poly finished as runner-up in Division II's inaugural championship, hosted by Southeast Missouri State, before rattling off 10 consecutive national titles from 1982-1991.
Women's Volleyball Championships
Division I, Dec. 20, 1981: Southern California 3, UCLA 2.
Division II, Dec. 19, 1981: Sacramento State 3, Lewis 0.
Division III, Dec. 19, 1981: UC San Diego 3, Juniata 2.
Fun Facts: After winning AIAW volleyball championships in 1976, 1977 and 1980, Southern California won the first of its three NCAA volleyball championships in 1981. The Trojans' two other titles were in 2002 and 2003.
In the first 10 years of Division III's volleyball championship, the UC San Diego dynasty won six national titles and finished as runner-up in two other seasons.
The 1982 Florida team took home the first Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships trophy. (Photo courtesy of Florida)
Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Division I, March 18-20, 1982: Florida.
Division II, March 11-13, 1982: California State University, Northridge.
Division III, March 11-13, 1982: Williams.
Fun Fact: As a team Florida won 13 events, led by freshman Tracy Caulkins, who took home five individual titles.
Women's Basketball Championships
Division I, March 28, 1982: Louisiana Tech 76, Cheyney 62.
Division II, March 20, 1982: Cal Poly Pomona 93, Tuskegee 74.
Division III, March 20, 1982: Elizabethtown 67, UNC Greensboro 66, OT.
Fun Facts: Louisiana Tech's Kim Mulkey is the first and only woman to win a Division I women's basketball title as a player and coach. Mulkey coached Baylor to championships in 2005, 2012 and 2019.
Elizabethtown and UNC Greensboro's overtime game is the only Division III championship game to be decided in extra time. Division I has had two overtime championship games, and Division II has had four.
Women's Gymnastics Championships
The 1982 Tulsa women's golf team won the National Collegiate title. (Photo courtesy of Tulsa)
Division I, March 26-27, 1982: Utah (team); Sue Stednitz, Utah (individual all-around winner).
Division II, March 25-27, 1982 (championship was discontinued after 1986): California State University, Northridge (team); Lynn Barrie, California State University, Northridge (individual all-around winner).
Fun Fact: Utah won five straight women's gymnastics championships from 1982-1988 and has had 30 individual champions, the third most of any school in the sport's history.
National Collegiate Women's Golf Championship, May 26-29, 1982
Tulsa (team); Kathy Baker, Tulsa (individual winner).
Fun Fact: Tulsa won by 36 strokes over TCU, a record for largest margin of victory that still stands.
National Collegiate Women's Lacrosse Championship, May 16, 1982
Massachusetts 9, The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) 6.
Fun Facts: There was no bracket or tournament in 1982, just a single title game. Division III founded its championship in 1985, and Division II added its own in 2001.
The 1982 Massachusetts women's lacrosse team prevailed over The College of New Jersey to win the National Collegiate championship and cap an undefeated season. (Photo courtesy of Massachusetts)
Women's Tennis Championships
Division I, May 16-23, 1982: Stanford (team); Alycia Moulton, Stanford (singles); Heather Ludloff and Lynn Lewis, UCLA (doubles).
Division II, May 17-22, 1982: California State University, Northridge (team); Iwona Kuczynska, California State University, Bakersfield (singles); Wendy Luhmann and Cindy Woodhouse, California State University, Northridge (doubles).
Division III, May 17-22, 1982: Occidental (team); Beckie Donecker, Elizabethtown (singles); Kathleen McFadden and Jean Marie Sanders, Occidental (doubles).
Fun Fact: Stanford would win eight of the first 10 Division I women's tennis championships and has a record 20 team titles.
Softball Championships
Division I, May 31, 1982: UCLA 2, Fresno State 0.
Division II, May 30, 1982: Sam Houston 3, California State University, Northridge 2.
Division III, May 30, 1982: Eastern Connecticut State 2, The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) 0.
Fun Fact: UCLA won the first of its record 12 championships in 1982. As a conference, the Pac-12 has won 65% of the softball championships, with Arizona, Arizona State, California and Washington also earning titles.
Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Division I, May 31-June 5, 1982: UCLA.
Division II, May 24-29, 1982: Cal Poly.
Division III, May 24-29, 1982: Central (Iowa).
Fun Fact: In the first 10 years of Division II's championship, Cal Poly would win six national championships and finish as runner-up three times.
National Collegiate Women's Soccer Championship, Nov. 21, 1982
North Carolina 2, University of Central Florida 0.
Fun fact: All three divisions were eligible for the initial NCAA championship, with Division II's Missouri-St. Louis and Division III's SUNY Cortland and Rochester (New York) earning three of the 12 invitations. SUNY Cortland beat Boston College 3-0 in the first round, and Missouri-St. Louis lost to UConn 2-1 in the third-place game.
Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field, March 11-12, 1983
Nebraska.
Fun Fact: The Huskers narrowly won the overall team event 47-44 over Tennessee, with only one Nebraska woman winning an individual event, Janet Burke in the 60-yard dash.
