Little League and College Programs Continue to Build on Softball Days Initiative

By Communications Division
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.
March 27, 2012

Little League Softball and many prominent collegiate softball programs across the country have again teamed up to provide an opportunity for a complete softball experience by hosting Little League Softball Days. The program was established in 2006 to highlight the benefits of participating in Little League Softball, while also showcasing the collegiate softball experience.

These events, coordinated by local league volunteers and Little League Softball, in conjunction with the college athletic departments, will provide a chance for the youth players in attendance to interact with the collegiate players through special activities and promotions conducted throughout the game by the host institutions. This gives the youth players an “inside look” at what potentially their participation in Little League Softball could lead to while providing a generous amount of exposure for the collegiate program hosting the event and the university.

The Little League Softball Day program has been so successful since its inception that some collegiate programs, Cal-Berkeley, University of Tennessee and the University of Central Florida, have expanded their invitation to Little Leaguers from one day to an entire weekend.

As part of each event, Little Leaguers, their parents and local league volunteers may attend a Little League Softball Day at a reduced charge, or in some instances, at no cost.

These events also provide an opportunity to create an on-going relationship between the collegiate program and the surrounding local Little Leagues while the youth players get a chance to experience the game of softball at one of its highest levels. The initiative has grown each year to the point that as many as 10 collegiate programs scheduled to host an event are ranked in the top 25.

The location and dates for the initiative in 2012 include:

2012 Softball Days

• University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.) - March 11
• University of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.) - Every Saturday and Sunday Home Game
• Oregon State University (Corvallis, Ore.) - March 24 and 25
• University of South Carolina (Columbia, S.C.) - March 25; April 29
• UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.) - March 30; April 10
• University of California – Berkeley (Berkeley, Calif.) - April 1, 15, 29; May 12
• California State University, Chico (Chico, Calif.) - April 7
• DePaul University (Chicago, Ill.) - April 15
• University of Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.) - April 15
• Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.) - April 15
• University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) - April 27, 28 and 29
• Baylor University (Waco, Texas) - May 5 and 6

2012 Baseball Days

• University of California – Berkeley (Berkeley, Calif.) - Every home game
• University of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.) - Every Saturday and Sunday Home Game
• UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Every Sunday Home Game
• California State University, Chico (Chico, Calif.) - April 28
• University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) - April 29
• University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) - April 1, 15; May 6, 19
• University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.) - May 12, 27

For additional information regarding the events listed above, contact Sara Thompson, at: sthompson@LittleLeague.org. Additional dates are expected to be added in the coming weeks. Please check the Little League website for the latest list of events.

More information on how local Little Leagues can organize a Little League Softball Day is available, at: www.littleleague.org/media/softball/softballdays.htm.

There are more than 343,000 Little League Softball players worldwide. Each summer, Little League International conducts four World Series Tournaments for softball, in which world champions in the divisions of Little League (ages 11-12), Junior League (ages 13-14), Senior League (ages 13-16) and Big League (ages 14-18) is crowned. In 2011, each of the four tournament championship games was televised live on one of the ESPN family of networks.