# 1982 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship

The 1982 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship was held on March 21–28, 1982. Sixteen teams participated, and Rutgers University was crowned champion of the tournament. The host site for the Final Four was The Palestra on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia.
This was the first season the NCAA sponsored a women's basketball tournament, and the two tournaments were held at the same time. Many schools, including defending champion Louisiana Tech, chose to participate in the NCAA tournament rather than in the AIAW tournament. Only three top 20 teams appeared in the AIAW tournament: Texas, Rutgers and Villanova. Sports Illustrated wrote at the time: "With the NCAA staging women's championships this year for the first time, the AIAW, the 11-year-old organization that put women's college sports on the map, finds itself barely clinging to life. So many of its members have fled to the NCAA that the AIAW's only realistic hope for survival is its pending antitrust suit against the NCAA in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C." This proved to be the final AIAW basketball tournament.

## Opening rounds
### East Regional

| First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 |
| 1 | Rutgers | 89 | | | |
| 4 | Georgia Southern | 79 | | | |
| 4 | Georgia Southern | 79 | Rutgers | Rutgers | 83 |
| | | | Minnesota | Minnesota | 75 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 68 | Minnesota | Minnesota | 75 |
| 2 | St. John's (NY) | 56 | | | |

### Mideast Regional

| First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 |
| 1 | Villanova | 69 | | | |
| 4 | Miami (OH) | 61 | | | |
| 4 | Miami (OH) | 61 | Villanova | Villanova | 87 |
| | | | Delta State | Delta State | 72 |
| 3 | Delta State | 90 | Delta State | Delta State | 72 |
| 2 | Vanderbilt | 79 | | | |

### Midwest Regional

| First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 |
| 1 | Texas | 67 | | | |
| 4 | Central Missouri State | 54 | | | |
| 4 | Central Missouri State | 54 | Texas | Texas | 73 |
| | | | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | 61 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 60 | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | 61 |
| 2 | Colorado | 59 | | | |

### West Regional

| First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | First Round March 21, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 | Quarterfinals March 23, 1982 |
| 1 | California | 66 | | | |
| 4 | Arkansas | 62 | | | |
| 4 | Arkansas | 62 | California | California | 70 |
| | | | Wayland Baptist | Wayland Baptist | 85 |
| 3 | Wayland Baptist | 57 | Wayland Baptist | Wayland Baptist | 85 |
| 2 | Montana | 52 | | | |

## Final Four – Philadelphia, PA

| Semifinals March 26, 1982 | Semifinals March 26, 1982 | Semifinals March 26, 1982 | Championship March 28, 1982 | Championship March 28, 1982 | Championship March 28, 1982 |
| 1 | Rutgers | 83 | | | |
| 4 | Villanova | 75 | | | |
| 4 | Villanova | 75 | Rutgers | Rutgers | 83 |
| | | | Texas | Texas | 77 |
| 3 | Texas | 82 | Texas | Texas | 77 |
| 2 | Wayland Baptist | 63 | | | |