GREENSBORO, N.C. – Georgia Tech softball has been selected as one of four campus host sites for the 2023 ACC/B1G Softball Challenge Feb. 17-19 at Mewborn Field, the Atlantic Coast and Big Ten Conferences announced on Tuesday.
Tech will be joined by fellow ACC opponent Louisville along with Big Ten foes Wisconsin and Illinois for eight total games on The Flats over the weekend. Within the challenge, each squad will battle both opponents from the opposite conference twice, amounting to four total games for each team. The head-to-head results between ACC and Big Ten schools at the event will count towards the final ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge standings.
Competition will begin with two games on Feb. 17 as Illinois and Louisville open the Challenge. On the heels of splitting a pair of contests at the 2022 Gainesville Regional, Georgia Tech and Wisconsin square off to follow, wrapping up the day.
Four games will be played on Feb. 18 as the Cardinals start things off by taking on the Badgers and Fighting Illini. The Yellow Jackets will close out day two by facing both Big Ten challengers in the same order.
To conclude the challenge on Feb. 19 in Atlanta, Louisville will face Wisconsin once more at 10 a.m., while Georgia Tech will line up against Illinois a final time at 12:30 p.m.
The 2023 ACC/B1G Softball Challenge will mark the sixth softball challenge of its kind between the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten Conference in the history of the two conferences. The ACC owns a 3-2 lead over the Big Ten during the first five years of the Challenge. The ACC won the Challenge in 2017, 2018 and 2020, with the Big Ten claiming the title in 2016 and 2019.
The ACC and Big Ten offices collaborate to determine the schedule each season, as the event returns for the first time since the 2020 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.
Further exact game dates and times, as well as television and online coverage, will be announced at a later date. The 2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge participants and site assignments can be found below.
2023 ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge
(all games to be played Feb. 16-19, 2023)
Clearwater, Fla. (TaxAct Clearwater Invitational)
(results between ACC and Big Ten schools will count towards Challenge standings)
ACC – Duke, Florida State, Virginia Tech
Big Ten – Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska
Atlanta, Ga. (host – Georgia Tech)
ACC – Georgia Tech, Louisville
Big Ten – Illinois, Wisconsin
Chapel Hill, N.C. (host – North Carolina)
ACC – North Carolina, Virginia
Big Ten – Maryland, Minnesota
Clemson, S.C. (host – Clemson)
ACC – Clemson, Notre Dame
Big Ten – Northwestern, Ohio State
Raleigh, N.C. (host – NC State)
ACC – NC State, Syracuse
Big Ten – Iowa, Purdue
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Instagram (@GaTechSoftball), Twitter (@GaTechSoftball), Facebook (Georgia Tech Softball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
