The Ivy League softball tournament is the conference softball championship of the NCAA Division I Ivy League. The top four finishers from the round-robin regular season participate in a double elimination tournament held at the site of the regular season champion, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament.
won the inaugural Ivy League tournament in 2023.
From 2007 until 2017, the top team in the North and South Division would play in a best-of-three series at the end of the regular season, which was known as the Ivy League Championship Series. For 2018, 2019, and 2022, the league's top two teams would play in a best-of-three series at the end of the regular season. The Series was not held in 2020 and 2021 when the series was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic In 2023, a baseball tournament was finally held. Brown is the most recent champion, having won their first championship in 2025.
History In 1980, the Ivy League instituted a regular season champion for softball play. Yale won the first Ivy title that year.
From 2007 to 2017, the teams were split into two divisions; the Mid-Atlantic members are in the Lou Gehrig Division, and the New England members are in the Red Rolfe Division. The winners of each division would meet in a best-of-three championship series to determine the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament. The 2012 Series required a one-game playoff between Cornell and Penn, who each went 15-5. Penn won 4-0 on May 5, with Alexis Borden throwing a perfect game. Harvard then won the championship series (held on May 11 and May 12) in a two-game sweep.
Starting in 2023, the Ivy League would replace the series format with a four-team double elimination tournament held at the site of the regular season champion. The winner of the tournament would receive an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia were the four seeds of the first tournament in 2023. Harvard won the first softball tournament over Princeton. Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth were the field for 2024, and Princeton won the tournament. Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, and Brown were the field for 2025, and Brown became the first 4 seed to win the Ivy tournament.
Champions
By year The following is a list of conference champions and sites by year.
Championship Series Year Champion Runner-up Games Venue 2007 Harvard Penn 2 Soldiers Field • Cambridge, MA 2008 Princeton Harvard 2 Class of 1895 Field • Princeton, NJ 2009 Cornell Dartmouth 3 Niemand Robison Field • Ithaca, NY 2010 Cornell Dartmouth 3 Niemand Robison Field • Ithaca, NY 2011 Harvard Cornell2 Soldiers Field • Cambridge, MA 2012 Harvard Penn 2 Soldiers Field • Cambridge, MA 2013 Penn Dartmouth 3 Penn Park • Philadelphia, PA 2014 Dartmouth Penn 3 Dartmouth Softball Park • Hanover, NH 2015 Dartmouth Penn 3 Dartmouth Softball Park • Hanover, NH 2016 Princeton Harvard 3 Soldiers Field • Cambridge, MA 2017 Princeton Harvard 2 Class of 1895 Field • Princeton, N.J. 2018 Harvard Dartmouth 2 Dartmouth Softball Park • Hanover, NH 2019 Harvard Columbia 2 Soldiers Field • Cambridge, MA 2020 Canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2021 Canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2022 Princeton Harvard 3 Strubing Field • Princeton, NJ
Tournament Year Champion Runner-up Venue 2023 Harvard Princeton Strubing Field • Princeton, NJ 2024 Princeton Harvard Strubing Field • Princeton, NJ 2025 Brown Princeton Cynthia Lynn Paul '94 Field • Princeton, NJ 2026 Princeton Columbia Cynthia Lynn Paul '94 Field • Princeton, NJ
Championships by school The following is a list of conference champions listed by school. Program Winning years Princeton 8 6 2008, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2024, 2026 Columbia 3 0 Harvard 13 6 2007, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2024 Yale 2 0 Dartmouth 7 2 2014, 2015 Penn 5 1 2013 Brown 2 1 2025 Cornell 3 2 2009, 2010
Notes
References
External links Softball