History of the Women's Tournament
Before the NCAA instituted a women's basketball tournament to
determine the national champion, the Association for Intercollegiate
Athletics for Women (AIAW) governed women's college basketball
championships from 1973 through 1982. Rutgers was the last Division I
AIAW champion, defeating the Texas Longhorns, 83-77.
However, since the victory by Louisiana Tech over Cheyney State in
the very first NCAA Division I women's basketball championship in 1982,
the women's hoops tournament has exploded onto the sporting scene with
great force. Starting with a 32-team field from 1982 to 1985, the
bracket has doubled in size to its current number of 64, leading to its
own version of March Madness -- full of great teams and Cinderella
stories. In fact, the only case of a 16th seed knocking off a top seed
occurred in the women's tourney, when Harvard upset Stanford, 71-67, in
1998.
In the short history of the women's tournament, several schools have
come forward with outstanding programs. Five teams account for 17 of
the 25 championships awarded: Tennessee has garnered six national
titles, followed closely by UConn's five wins; while Louisiana Tech,
Stanford, and USC have each claimed two championships. Other
traditional powers are perennial contenders, such as North Carolina,
Duke, Purdue, Ohio State, and Kentucky.
NCAA Womens Basketball Teams
