National Invitational Softball Championship to Return in 2022

The National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) postseason tournament will return to the college softball scene in 2022.

Back for its fourth edition in 2022, the tournament returns after not being held in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 concerns. The tournament will boast an 8-12 team field in a double-elimination formatted tournament; the NISC will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado from May 20-26.

Liberty won the inaugural NISC title in 2017, while Loyola Marymount won the tournament in 2018 and UT-Arlington are technically still the reigning champions after winning the crown in 2019.

The full NISC field will be announced on Selection Sunday after the NCAA tournament selection show.

Criteria for a team to be selected to play in the NISC includes finishing in the top 100 in the NCAA’s RPI mathematical rankings or having a record above .500 outside the top 100 in the RPI. Other criteria, according to an event press release, includes “the NCAA Softball Final RPI, win/loss record, last 10 games played, key injuries or additions, consideration of teams with 30 or more victories and other pertinent information gathered on all considered teams.”

The NISC is produced by Triple Crown Sports, with the 2022 tournament also being hosted at the TC Colorado Field in Fort Collins. “We’re back on the softball menu and remain very excited to bring top NCAA teams to Colorado for postseason play,” Dave King, NISC director and founder of Triple Crown Sports, said in a statement. “This is a needed opportunity to showcase the many great D-I programs that accomplish so much in the regular season and deserve to compete past their conference finals. On top of that, we have a venue designed especially for them.”