The 1972 Women's College World Series (WCWS) was contested among 16 college softball teams on May 18–21 in Omaha, Nebraska. This fourth WCWS was notable for the only appearance of a team from outside the United States, as the team from Tokyo–Nihon University of Japan proved to be a hit with both spectators and the other teams in the tournament. Three-time defending champion John F. Kennedy College was excluded from the tournament by an organizational rule change the previous month. The new rule prohibited a team from appearing in the WCWS if it gave scholarships to any women athletes, not just softball players (JFK College openly awarded women's basketball scholarships). JFK never returned to the WCWS, and the school closed just three years later.
Teams
The double elimination tournament included these teams:
Arizona State
Central Missouri State College
Illinois State
Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia State) Keene State College (New Hampshire) Luther College (Iowa) Minot State College (North Dakota) Nebraska–Omaha Northern Colorado Purdue (Indiana) South Carolina South Dakota State Southwest Missouri State Tokyo–Nihon University (Japan) Wayne State College (Nebraska) Western Illinois
The Arizona State Sun Devilettes defeated Tokyo–Nihon narrowly in the winners' bracket semi-final, 2–1, and split the tournament final, 0–1 and 8–5, with the if-necessary game requiring 11 innings.
Bracket
Source: