Quinnipiac Bobcats softball
| Quinnipiac Bobcats softball | |
|---|---|
![]() | |
| University | Quinnipiac University |
| Head coach | Hillary Smith (6th season) |
| Conference | MAAC |
| Location | Hamden, CT |
| Home stadium | Quinnipiac Softball Field |
| Nickname | Bobcats |
| Colors | Navy and gold |
| Regular-season conference championships | |
| 1996* *at Division II level | |
The Quinnipiac Bobcats softball team represents Quinnipiac University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), having joined in 2014. From 1988 until 1998, Quinnipiac was a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) at the Division II level.[1] The program transitioned to Division I in 1999, joining the Northeast Conference (NEC) where they were a member until 2013. The Bobcats are currently led by head coach Hillary Smith. The team plays its home games at Quinnipiac Softball Field, which is located on the college's campus.[2]
History
The Bobcats had some success as an NCAA Division II program, winning the Northeast-10 Conference regular season title in 1996. The team won two individual awards in the NE-10, with coach Frank Kafka winning NE-10 Coach of the Year in 1994 and Alicia Longobardi winning Freshman of the Year in 1996.[1] After the 1998 season, the athletic program transitioned to NCAA Division I.[3][4]
Since transitioning to Division I in 1999, Quinnipiac has failed to win either a conference regular season title or a conference tournament championship. In doing so, the Bobcats have also failed to reach the NCAA Division I softball tournament. Quinnipiac has finished as high as second in the Northeast Conference standings twice, doing so under coach Germaine Fairchild in the 2004 and 2012 seasons.[5]
Fairchild was replaced by Jill Karwoski on August 26, 2013.[6][7] Fairchild's firing became the subject of a lawsuit carried out by the former coach against the university, citing a violation of Title IX.[8] A previous lawsuit had been filed in 2009 against the university after the school had announced the elimination of several sports, notably women's volleyball, and the addition of a Division I cheerleading team.[9] Fairchild's lawsuit claimed that she was fired after testifying at the preliminary injunction hearing related to the 2009 lawsuit, which she was subpoenaed to testify as a witness. The hearing took place three weeks before Fairchild was fired on July 11, 2013.[10] A federal judge ruled against Quinnipiac's motion to dismiss Fairchild's claim on June 13, 2014.[11]
After spending the first 15 years of their time in Division I in the NEC, it was announced in 2012 that the Bobcats would be leaving to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference starting in the 2013–14 academic year.[12][13]
Coaching history
| Years | Coach | Record | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–1998 | Frank Kafka | 258–197–3 | .567[1] |
| 1999–2000 | Maribeth Clifford | 40–42 | .488[14] |
| 2001–2013 | Germaine Fairchild | 276–322–1 | .462 |
| 2013–2018 | Jill Karwoski | 117–188 | .384[15] |
| 2019–present | Hillary Smith | 56–124 | .361 |
Roster
| 2024 Quinnipiac Bobcats roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Utility
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| Reference:[16] | ||||||||
Season by season results
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac Bobcats (Northeast-10 Conference) (1988–1998) | |||||||||
| 1988 | Frank Kafka | 23–23 | 10–6 | 4th | |||||
| 1989 | Frank Kafka | 17–21 | 8–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 1990 | Frank Kafka | 25–18 | 10–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1991 | Frank Kafka | 19–22 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1992 | Frank Kafka | 18–16 | 9–9 | 5th | |||||
| 1993 | Frank Kafka | 18–19 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 1994 | Frank Kafka | 30–20 | 11–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1995 | Frank Kafka | 33–11–1 | 15–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1996 | Frank Kafka | 30–15 | 13–3 | 1st | |||||
| 1997 | Frank Kafka | 24–13 | 12–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 1998 | Frank Kafka | 21–19–2 | 13–6–1 | 4th | |||||
| Quinnipiac Bobcats (Northeast Conference) (1999–2013) | |||||||||
| 1999 | Maribeth Clifford | 23–21 | 9–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2000 | Maribeth Clifford | 17–21 | 10–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 2001 | Germaine Fairchild | 17–26 | 10–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2002 | Germaine Fairchild | 16–22 | 9–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2003 | Germaine Fairchild | 34–19 | 13–8 | 3rd | |||||
| 2004 | Germaine Fairchild | 23–28 | 16–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 2005 | Germaine Fairchild | 19–29–1 | 12–8 | 4th | |||||
| 2006 | Germaine Fairchild | 19–37 | 11–8 | 5th | |||||
| 2007 | Germaine Fairchild | 18–27 | 12–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2008 | Germaine Fairchild | 20–36 | 5–13 | 8th | |||||
| 2009 | Germaine Fairchild | 18–30 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2010 | Germaine Fairchild | 28–24 | 15–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Germaine Fairchild | 32–26 | 13–7 | 4th | |||||
| 2012 | Germaine Fairchild | 32–18 | 13–7 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2013 | Jill Karwoski | 16–34 | 9–11 | 8th | |||||
| Quinnipiac Bobcats (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Jill Karwoski | 11–36 | 6–14 | 9th | |||||
| 2015 | Jill Karwoski | 17–33 | 8–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2016 | Jill Karwoski | 28–29 | 11–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2017 | Jill Karwoski | 23–27 | 9–11 | 9th | |||||
| 2018 | Jill Karwoski | 22–29 | 9–11 | T–6th | |||||
| 2019 | Hillary Smith | 17–33 | 8–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2020 | Hillary Smith | 2–9 | 0–0 | N/A |
Season cut short due to COVID-19 Pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | Hillary Smith | 8–28 | 8–28 | 10th | |||||
| 2022 | Hillary Smith | 12–29 | 5–15 | 11th | |||||
| 2023 | Hillary Smith | 17–25 | 5–15 | 10th | |||||
| 2024 | Hillary Smith | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Total: | 747–873–1 (.461) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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See also
References
- ^ a b c "Northeast 10 Athletics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- ^ "Facilities". Quinnipiac University Athletics.
- ^ Fornabaio, Michael. "How Quinnipiac hockey went from Division II to a national title". Ct Insider.
- ^ "PLUS: COLLEGES -- QUINNIPIAC COLLEGE; School Enters Division I Ranks". The New York Times. 3 September 1998.
- ^ "2012 Quinnipiac Softball Schedule - Northeast Conference". northeastconference.org.
- ^ "New softball coach announced; Fairchild out". August 28, 2013.
- ^ "Quinnipiac Softball's Jill Karwoski Promoted to Head Coach". gobobcats.com.
- ^ "Fairchild v. Quinnipiac University". Connecticut Law Tribune.
- ^ "BIEDIGER V. QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse". clearinghouse.net.
- ^ "Quinnipiac Comes up Empty Again in Title IX Litigation | Sports Litigation Alert".
- ^ "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT". ecf.ctd.uscourts.gov.
- ^ "Quinnipiac moves to MAAC". December 14, 2012.
- ^ Chip Malafronte (December 14, 2012). "Quinnipiac accepts invitation to join MAAC". New Haven Register.
- ^ "Quinnipiac Softball's Jill Karwoski Promoted to Head Coach". Quinnipiac University Athletics.
- ^ "Jill Karwoski - Softball Coach". Providence College Athletics. Archived from the original on 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ "2024 Softball Roster". Quinnipiac University Athletics.
- ^ "NEC Softball Standings (1998-2022)". northeastconference.org.
- ^ "Softball Standings 1986-2022". maacsports.com.
