# Quinnipiac Bobcats softball

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. 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.

## 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. After the 1998 season, the athletic program transitioned to NCAA Division I.
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.
Fairchild was replaced by Jill Karwoski on August 26, 2013. Fairchild's firing became the subject of a lawsuit carried out by the former coach against the university, citing a violation of Title IX. 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. 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. A federal judge ruled against Quinnipiac's motion to dismiss Fairchild's claim on June 13, 2014.
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.

### Coaching history

| Years | Coach | Record | % |
| 1988–1998 | Frank Kafka | 258–197–3 | .567 |
| 1999–2000 | Maribeth Clifford | 40–42 | .488 |
| 2001–2013 | Germaine Fairchild | 276–322–1 | .462 |
| 2013–2018 | Jill Karwoski | 117–188 | .384 |
| 2019–present | Hillary Smith | 56–124 | .361 |

## Season by season results

Statistics overview :
| 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: | Total: | 747–873–1 (.461) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||