ISU Co-Hosts Inaugural State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship

Sept. 18, 2008

The Illinois State softball team, in conjunction with the Bloomington-Normal Area Sports Commission, will co-host the inaugural State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship Saturday and Sunday at Champion Fields in Normal, Ill. The tournament will feature 11 of the 12 NCAA Division I softball teams in the State of Illinois and is being billed as a preseason state championship.

The State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship is the brainchild of Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer, who envisioned a tournament in which the state's top softball teams would all compete against each other.

"The Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship is a tremendous opportunity for softball in the State of Illinois," said Fisher. "To have 11 of the 12 NCAA Division I softball teams in the state all playing in the same tournament is huge. It takes us back to the old Illinois Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (IAIAW) days, where we did have a true state championship at the end of the season."

Participating teams for this inaugural event include: Bradley, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Heartland Community College, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Western Illinois.

The event is officially hosted by the Bloomington-Normal Area Sports Commission, Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department and Illinois State University Athletics, with State Farm Insurance serving as the official title sponsor.

"I'm very excited that the Bloomington-Normal Sports Commission wanted to sponsor this tournament," said Fischer. "I had the idea and vision for this tournament for some time, and we are looking forward to a very exciting weekend of collegiate softball from some of the best teams in the region."

"We are billing it as the `state championship' of college softball, as these teams have never competed in the same tournament before," said Matt Hawkins, sports marketing manager of the Bloomington-Normal Area Sports Commission. "It marks another great addition to our ever expanding sports market."

Tournament play begins at noon Saturday. There will be 24 games played over two days. Tickets for adults are $20 for the weekend, or $12 per day. Tickets for youth and seniors are $12 and $8, respectively.

Illinois State will begin action in the tournament with a noon game Saturday against Northern Illinois, followed by a 5 p.m. contest versus Illinois-Chicago. The tournament will conclude Sunday with bracket play that will be determined following the outcome of Saturday's games.

"From an observer's standpoint, you will see some great softball action," said Fischer. "Both Northwestern and DePaul have played in the Women's College World Series (WCWS) recently, and there are teams in the tournament that represent several competitive conferences."

2008 STATE FARM ILLINOIS COLLEGIATE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 20
Field 1
noon Northwestern vs. Heartland CC
2:30 p.m. Heartland CC vs. Eastern Illinois
5 p.m. Eastern Illinois vs. Northwestern

Field 2
noon Bradley vs. DePaul
2:30 p.m. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville vs. Bradley
5 p.m. DePaul vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Field 3
noon Illinois vs. Western Illinois
2:30 p.m. Western Illinois vs. Southern Illinois-Carbondale
5 p.m. Southern Illinois-Carbondale vs. Illinois

Field 4
noon Illinois State vs. Northern Illinois
2:30 p.m. Northern Illinois vs. Illinois-Chicago
5 p.m. Illinois-Chicago vs. Illinois State