University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Brad Rempel
2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge Announced
6/28/2022 11:00:00 AM | Softball
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Minnesota softball team will travel to North Carolina to take part in the 2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge it was announced by the two conferences Tuesday. The sixth annual event will take place Feb. 16-19, 2023.
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Four ACC schools will serve as host sites for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge — Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and NC State — with the other ACC participants being Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia. Defending Big Ten champion Northwestern leads a group of eight Big Ten Conference softball programs competing in the Challenge — the others are Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin.
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The Golden Gophers join fellow B1G member Maryland heading to Chapel Hill, N.C., where they will battle Virginia and the host Tar Heels. The Maroon and Gold are scheduled to play twice against both teams from the ACC over the course of the weekend and exact game dates/times, as well as television and online coverage, will be announced at a later date.
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Indiana, Michigan and defending Big Ten Tournament champion Nebraska will represent the Big Ten Conference at the 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., while Duke, Florida State and Virginia Tech will be the ACC contingent in the tournament. The head-to-head results between Big Ten and ACC schools at the event will count towards the final ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge standings.
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The ACC has won three times and the Big Ten has won twice during the first five years of the Challenge (2016-20). The Big Ten came away victorious in both 2016 and 2019, while the 2021 and 2022 events were not held due to modified scheduling processes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Big Ten and ACC offices collaborate to determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2023 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the conferences' Challenge agreements for men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball.
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Minnesota is coming off its ninth-straight appearance at an NCAA Regional in 2022 where it posted a 27-26-1 record for the season.
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Four ACC schools will serve as host sites for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge — Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and NC State — with the other ACC participants being Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia. Defending Big Ten champion Northwestern leads a group of eight Big Ten Conference softball programs competing in the Challenge — the others are Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin.
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The Golden Gophers join fellow B1G member Maryland heading to Chapel Hill, N.C., where they will battle Virginia and the host Tar Heels. The Maroon and Gold are scheduled to play twice against both teams from the ACC over the course of the weekend and exact game dates/times, as well as television and online coverage, will be announced at a later date.
Â
Indiana, Michigan and defending Big Ten Tournament champion Nebraska will represent the Big Ten Conference at the 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., while Duke, Florida State and Virginia Tech will be the ACC contingent in the tournament. The head-to-head results between Big Ten and ACC schools at the event will count towards the final ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge standings.
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The ACC has won three times and the Big Ten has won twice during the first five years of the Challenge (2016-20). The Big Ten came away victorious in both 2016 and 2019, while the 2021 and 2022 events were not held due to modified scheduling processes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Â
The Big Ten and ACC offices collaborate to determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2023 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the conferences' Challenge agreements for men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball.
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Minnesota is coming off its ninth-straight appearance at an NCAA Regional in 2022 where it posted a 27-26-1 record for the season.
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