document_title: Nuclear power in Canada

question_text: when was the first nuclear power plant built in canada

text: Nuclear power in Canada

text: History[edit]

text: The nuclear industry (as distinct from the uranium industry) in Canada dates back to 1942 when a joint British-Canadian laboratory, the Montreal Laboratory, was set up in Montreal, Quebec, under the administration of the National Research Council of Canada, to develop a design for a heavy-water nuclear reactor. This reactor was called the National Research Experimental (NRX) reactor and would be the most powerful research reactor in the world when completed.

text: Experimental reactors[edit]

text: In 1944, approval was given to proceed with the construction of the smaller ZEEP (Zero Energy Experimental Pile) test reactor at Chalk River, Ontario and on September 5, 1945 at 3:45 p.m., the 10-watt ZEEP achieved the first self-sustained nuclear reaction outside the United States.[2]

text: In 1946, the Montreal Laboratory was closed, and the work continued at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. Building partly on the experimental data obtained from ZEEP, the National Research Experimental (NRX)—a natural uranium, heavy water moderated research reactor—started up on July 22, 1947. It operated for 43 years, producing radioisotopes, undertaking fuels and materials development work for CANDU reactors, and providing neutrons for physics experiments. It was eventually joined in 1957 by the larger 200 megawatt (MW) National Research Universal reactor (NRU).

text: From 1967 to 1970, Canada also developed an experimental miniature nuclear reactor named SLOWPOKE (acronym for Safe LOW-POwer Kritical Experiment). The first prototype was assembled at Chalk River and many SLOWPOKEs were built, mainly for research. Many SLOWPOKEs are still in use in Canada; one has been running at École Polytechnique de Montréal since 1976, for instance.

text: Nuclear power plants[edit]

text: In 1952, the Canadian government formed Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Crown corporation with the mandate to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy. A partnership was formed between AECL, Ontario Hydro and Canadian General Electric to build Canada's first nuclear power plant, Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD). The 20 MWe NPD started operation in June 1962 and demonstrated the unique concepts of on-power refueling using natural uranium fuel, and heavy water moderator and coolant. These features formed the basis of a fleet of CANDU power reactors (CANDU is an acronym for CANada Deuterium Uranium) built and operated in Canada and elsewhere. Starting in 1961, AECL led the construction of 24 commercial CANDU reactors in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.

text: The first full-scale CANDU reactor entered service on September 26, 1968, at Douglas Point on the shore of Lake Huron in Ontario. Two years later a reactor of comparable power but of a different design became operational along the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. Gentilly-1 was a prototype CANDU-BWR reactor with features intended to reduce its cost and complexity. After the equivalent of only 180 on-power days over nearly seven years (a 5.7% lifetime capacity factor), Gentilly-1 was closed in June 1977.[3] Douglas Point, also suffering from unreliability with a lifetime capacity factor of 55.6%, was deemed a financial failure and shut down in May 1984.[4]

text: In August 1964, Ontario Hydro decided to build the first large scale nuclear power plant in Canada at Pickering on Lake Ontario, only 30 kilometres from downtown Toronto to save on transmission costs. To reduce cost the reactors share safety systems including containment and the emergency core cooling system. Pickering A station started operations in 1971 at a cost of $716 million (1965). It was followed by the Bruce A station, built in 1977 at a cost of $1.8 billion on the same site as the Douglas Point reactor. Beginning in 1983 four B reactors were added to the existing Pickering units, with all of them sharing the same common infrastructure as the A reactors. The final cost for these four new reactors was $3.84 billion (1986). Likewise for $6 billion, four new reactors were added to the Bruce site starting in 1984, but in a separate building with their own set of shared infrastructure for the new reactors. After a loss of coolant accident occurred at Pickering reactor A2 in August 1983, four of the reactors had their pressure tubes replaced between 1983 and 1993 at a cost of $1 billion (1983).[5]

text: As most of the development of nuclear energy was taking place in Ontario, Quebec nationalists were eager to benefit from a promising technology. Hydro-Quebec initially planned to build as many as 40 reactors in the province, but the government chose to pursue hydroelectric mega-projects instead (see the James Bay Project). At the end of the 1970s, public opinion about nuclear energy shifted, and only one new reactor at Gentilly was operational by 1983. The same year, another reactor began operation at Point Lepreau, New Brunswick, a province longing to diversify its energy sources since the oil crisis of 1973.[6]

text: In 1977, a new plant close to Toronto, Darlington, was approved for completion in 1988 at an estimated cost of $3.9 billion (1978). After much controversy the last unit came into service five years late. By then the cost had ballooned to $14.4 billion (1993).[7] In the wake of this cost, a Darlington B plant was cancelled. At this point, the operating Canadian reactors fleet consisted of eight units at the Pickering site, eight units at the Bruce site, four units at the Darlington site, one unit at Gentilly in Quebec, and one unit at Point Lepreau in New Brunswick for a 14.7 GWe net total operational installed capacity.

text: Refurbishment or closure[edit]

text: By 1995 the Pickering and Bruce A units needed refurbishment as after 25 years effective full power years of operation, the embrittled fuel channels face an increased risk of rupture and must be replaced. The first reactor to close was Bruce A unit 2 in November 1995 because of a maintenance accident.[8] After criticism of Ontario Hydro plants management and a series of incidents,[9] on December 31, 1997, the four A reactors at Pickering and unit 1 at Bruce A were abruptly shut down. They were followed by the remaining two Bruce A units three months later. Over 5 GW of Ontario's electric capacity was abruptly shut down, but at this point, the reactors were supposed to restart at six-month intervals starting in June 2000.[5]

text: In 1999, indebted Ontario Hydro was replaced by Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The next year, OPG leased its Bruce A and B nuclear stations to Bruce Power, a consortium led by British Energy. Pickering's A4 and A1 reactors were refurbished from 1999 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2005, respectively. To prevent a power shortage while phasing out Ontario's coal-burning plants, Bruce A units 3 and 4 were returned to service in January 2004 and October 2003 respectively, and then units 1 and 2 were completely refurbished for $4.8 billion (2010).[10] Of the eight units laid down, four were refurbished, two were restarted without refurbishment, and two (Pickering A2 and A3) were definitively shut down.

text: In April 2008, refurbishment began at Point Lepreau and had been estimated to be completed in September 2009 at a cost of $1.4 billion. Plagued by delays, the work was finalized three years late and largely over budget.[11] Hydro-Quebec had decided in August 2008 to similarly refurbish Gentilly-2 starting in 2011. Because of delays with the Point Lepreau rebuild, and for economic reasons in a province with hydroelectricity surpluses, the plant was permanently shut down in December 2012.[8] It should remain dormant 40 more years before being dismantled.[12]

text: Following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) ordered all reactor operators to revisit their safety plans and report on potential improvements by the end of April 2011.[13] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later conducted a review of the CNSC's response to the events at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and concluded that it was "prompt, robust and comprehensive, and is a good practice that should be used by other regulatory bodies".[14]

text: Planned massive refurbishment[edit]

text: In 2012, OPG decided not to refurbish the six poorly performing[15] Pickering reactors and to permanently turn them off by 2020.[16] Instead the more recent Darlington reactors will gradually undergo a $12.8 billion  complete refurbishment scheduled to take place between October 2016 and 2026. Bruce Power will follow the same plan for its six not yet refurbished Bruce units 3 to 8. This even more massive undertaking should start in 2020 and cost $13 billion.[17] The ten revamped reactors should then be operating until at least 2050. To compensate for the programmed shut down of numerous reactors, the Government of Ontario decided in January 2016 to push the retirement date of the Pickering plant to 2024.[18]

text: New reactor proposals[edit]

text: Rising fossil fuel prices, an ageing reactors fleet, and new concerns about reducing greenhouse gas combined to promote the building of new reactors throughout Canada during the early 2000s. However, what was seen as a nuclear renaissance petered, and no new construction has started.

text: Ontario[edit]

text: Bruce site[edit]

text: In August 2006, Bruce Power applied for a licence to prepare its Bruce site for the construction of up to four new nuclear power units. In July 2009, the plan was shelved as a declining demand for electricity did not justify expanding production capacity. Bruce Power prioritized refurbishing its A and B plants instead.[19]

text: Darlington site[edit]

text: In September 2006, OPG applied for a licence to prepare its Darlington site for the construction of up to four new nuclear power units. The reactor designs being first considered for this project were AECL's ACR-1000, Westinghouse's AP1000 and Areva's EPR. In 2011 the Enhanced CANDU 6 entered the competition and soon became OPG's favorite.[19][20] On August 17, 2012, after environmental assessments, OPG received a Licence to Prepare Site from the CNSC.[21] In 2013 the project was put on hold as OPG decided to concentrate on refurbishing the existing Darlington units.[22]

text: Alberta[edit]

text: Energy Alberta Corporation announced 27 August 2007 that they had applied for a licence to build a new nuclear plant in Northern Alberta at Lac Cardinal (30 km west of the town of Peace River), for two ACR-1000 reactors going online in 2017 as steam and electricity sources for the energy-intensive oil sands extraction process, which uses natural gas.[23] However, a parliamentary review suggested placing the development efforts on hold as it would be inadequate for oil sands extraction.[24]

text: Three months after the announcement, the company was purchased by Bruce Power[25] who proposed expanding the plant to four units for a total 4 GWe.[26] These plans were upset and Bruce withdrew its application for the Lac Cardinal in January 2009, proposing instead a new site 30 km north of Peace River.[27] Finally, in December 2011, the controversial project was abandoned.[28]

text: Saskatchewan[edit]

text: The Government of Saskatchewan was in talks with Hitachi Limited's Power Systems about building a small nuclear plant in the province involving a five-year study beginning in 2011.[29]

text: A study in 2014 showed public support for nuclear power and highlighted a reliable supply of uranium ore in the province,[30] but the province has not been eager moving forward and no site has been identified since 2011.[29]

text: New Brunswick[edit]

text: In August 2007, a consortium named Team CANDU began a feasibility study regarding the installation of an Advanced CANDU Reactor at Point Lepreau, to supply power to the eastern seaboard. July 2010, the Government of New Brunswick and NB Power signed an agreement with Areva to study the feasibility of a new light water nuclear unit at Point Lepreau but a newly elected government two months later shelved the plan.[31]

text: Other technologies[edit]

text: A number of Canadian startups are developing new commercial nuclear reactor designs.[32] In March 2016, the Oakville, Ontario-based company Terrestrial Energy was awarded a $5.7 million grant by the Government of Canada to pursue development of its small IMSR Molten Salt Reactor.[33] Thorium Power Canada Inc., from Toronto, is seeking regulatory approvals for a Thorium fuelled compact demonstration reactor to be built in Chile that could be used to power a 20 million-litre/day desalination plant. Since 2002, General Fusion, from Burnaby, British Columbia, has raised $100 million from public and private investors to build a fusion reactor prototype based on magnetized target fusion starting in 2017.[34]

text: Generation[edit]

text:
Nuclear electricity production, nationally and by province, per year[35]

1980

1985

1990

1995[36]

2000[37]

2005

2010

2015[38]

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

TWh

%Total

 Canada

35.8

9.8%

57.1

12.8%

68.8

14.8%

92.3

17.2%

68.6

11.8%

86.8

14.5%

85.5

14.5%

95.6

16.6%

 Ontario[1]

35.8

32.6%

48.5

40%

59.3

45.9%

86.2

58.5%

59.8

39%

77.9

49.2%

82.9

55%

92.3

60%

 Quebec[39]

0

0%

3.21

2.3%

4.14

3.1%

4.51

2.6%

4.88

2.7%

4.48

2.5%

3.76

2%

0

0%

 New Brunswick

0

0%

5.43

47.5%

5.33

32%

1.57

12.5%

3.96

21.1%

4.37

21.6%

0

0%

3.3

text: Power reactors[edit]

text: Beginning in 1958, Canada built 25 nuclear power reactors over the course of 35 years, with only three of them located outside of Ontario. This made the southern part of the province one of the most nuclearized areas in the world with 12 to 20 operating reactors at any given time since 1987 inside a 120-kilometre radius.

text: All of the Canadian reactors are concentrated in only seven different sites, with two of them (Pickering and Bruce) being the largest nuclear generating stations in the world by total reactor count. The Bruce site, with eight active reactors and one shut down (Douglas Point) has been the largest operating nuclear power station in the world by total reactor count, the number of currently operational reactors, and total output since 2012.

text: All of the reactors are of the PHWR type. Because CANDU reactors can be refueled while operating, Pickering unit 3 achieved the then highest capacity factor in the world in 1977 and Pickering unit 7 held the world record for continuous operation without a shutdown (894 days) from 1994 to 2016.[40][41] Overall, PHWR reactors had the best lifetime average load factor of all western generation II reactors until being superseded by the PWR in the early 2000s.[37]

text: Canada's nuclear power reactors Timeline[42]

text: Active[edit]

text:
Table of active nuclear reactors in Canada[38]

StationName

UnitName

No.[a]

Type

Model

Capacity

Operator

Builder

Constructionstartdate

Gridconnectiondate

Commercialoperationdate

Thermal (MWth)

Electric (MWe)

Gross

Net

Bruce

A1

8

PHWR

CANDU 791

2620

830

760

Bruce Power

OH/AECL

June 1971

Jan 1977

Sept 1977

A2

9

2620

830

760

Dec 1970

Sept 1976

Sept 1977

A3

10

CANDU 750A

2550

830

750

July 1972

Dec 1977

Feb 1978

A4

11

2550

830

750

Sept 1972

Dec 1978

Jan 1979

B5

18

CANDU 750B

2832

872

817

June 1978

Dec 1984

Mar 1985

B6

19

2690

891

817

Jan 1978

June 1984

Sept 1984

B7

20

2832

872

817

May 1979

Feb 1986

April 1986

B8

21

2690

872

817

Aug 1979

March 1987

May 1987

Darlington

1

22

CANDU 850

2776

934

878

OPG

April 1982

Dec 1990

Nov 1992

2

23

2776

934

878

Sept 1981

Jan 1990

Oct 1990

3

24

2776

934

878

Sept 1984

Dec 1992

Feb 1993

4

25

2776

934

878

July 1985

April 1993

June 1993

Pickering

A1

4

CANDU 500A

1744

542

515

OPG

June 1966

April 1971

July 1971

A4

7

1744

542

515

May 1968

May 1973

June 1973

B5

13

CANDU 500B

1744

540

516

Nov 1974

Dec 1982

May 1983

B6

14

1744

540

516

Oct 1975

Nov 1983

Feb 1984

B7

15

1744

540

516

Mar 1976

Nov 1984

Jan 1985

B8

16

1744

540

516

Sept 1976

Jan 1986

Feb 1986

Point Lepreau

1

17

CANDU 6

2180

705

660

NB Power

AECL

May 1975

Sept 1982

Feb 1983

text: Jump up ^ Overall, among all reactors ever built in Canada

text: Permanently shut down[edit]

text:
Table of permanently shut down nuclear reactors in Canada[38]

StationName

UnitName

No.[a]

Type

Model

Capacity

Operator

Builder

Constructionstartdate

Gridconnectiondate

Commercialoperationdate

Shutdowndate

Thermal (MWth)

Electric (MWe)

Gross

Net

Gentilly

1

3

SGHWR

CANDU BLW-250

792

266

250

HQ

HQ/AECL

Sept 1966

Apr 1971

May 1972

June 1977

2

12

PHWR

CANDU 6

2156

675

635

April 1974

Dec 1982

Oct 1983

Dec 2012

Pickering

A2

5

CANDU 500A

1744

542

515

OH

OH/AECL

Sept 1966

Oct 1971

Dec 1971

May 2007

A3

6

1744

542

515

Dec 1967

May 1972

June 1972

Oct 2008

Douglas Point

1

2

CANDU 200

704

218

206

OH

Feb 1960

Jan 1967

Sept 1968

May 1984

Nuclear Power Demonstration

NPD

1

CANDU prototype

92

25

22

OH

CGE

Jan 1958

June 1962

Oct 1962

Aug 1987

text: Research reactors[edit]

text:
Table of research reactors in Canada[43]

Place

Reactor Name

Reactor Type

Thermal Power (kWt)

Const. start

First critical

Status

Notes

Chalk River Laboratories - Chalk River, Ontario

ZEEP

Heavy Water

0.001

1945

1945-09-05

Decommissioned
1973

First nuclear reactor in Canada, and first outside the United States.

NRX

Heavy Water

42 000

1944

1947-07-22

Shut down
1993-03-30

One of the highest flux reactors in the world. Research and medical isotope production.

NRU

Heavy Water

135 000

1952

1957-11-03

Shut down
2018-03-30

Research and medical isotope production.

PTR

Pool

0.1

1956-05-01

1957-11-29

Shut down
1990-10-05

Pool Test Reactor. Research.

ZED-2

Tank

0.2

1958-12-01

1960-09-07

Operational

Zero-power research reactor.

SLOWPOKE

5

1970

Moved 1971

Prototype. Moved to University of Toronto.

MAPLE I

Tank in pool

10 000

1997-12-01

2000

Cancelled 2008

Medical isotope production reactors.
Program terminated before operations.

MAPLE II

2003

McMaster University - Hamilton, Ontario

MNR

MTR

5 000

1957-09-01

1959-04-04

Operational

Operating at 3 MWt.

Whiteshell Laboratories - Pinawa, Manitoba

WR-1

CANDU

60 000

1962-11-01

1965-11-01

Shut down
1985-05-17

Organic cooled prototype. Plant had coolant leak of 2,739 litres in November 1978.[44]

SDR

SLOWPOKE-3

2 000

1985

1987-07-15

Shut down 1989

Slowpoke Demonstration Reactor for district heating.

Tunney's Pasture - 20 Goldenrod Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario

SLOWPOKE

20

1970

1971-05-14

Shut down 1984

Prototype.

University of Toronto Haultin Building - Toronto, Ontario

SLOWPOKE

5

1971

1971-06-05

Dismantled 1976

Power increased to 20kWt in 1973.

SLOWPOKE-2

20

1976

1976

Shut down 2001

École Polytechnique de Montréal - Montreal, Quebec

SLOWPOKE-2

20

1975

1976-05-01

Operational

Converted to Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel.

Dalhousie University Trace Analysis Research Centre - Halifax, Nova Scotia

SLOWPOKE-2

20

1976-04-15

1976-07-08

Dismantled 2011

University of Alberta - Edmonton

SLOWPOKE-2

20

1976

1977-04-22

Operational

Saskatchewan Research Council - Saskatoon

SLOWPOKE-2

16

1980

1981-03-01

Operational

Kanata - original AECL and later MDS Nordion

SLOWPOKE-2

20

1984-05-14

1984-06-06

Shut down 1989

Royal Military College - Kingston, Ontario

SLOWPOKE-2

20

1985-08-20

1985-09-06

Operational

First Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) fueled.

text: Notable accidents[edit]

text: Chalk River[edit]

text:
On December 12, 1952, the world's first major nuclear reactor accident (INES level 5) happened at Chalk River Laboratories, 180 kilometres north-west of Ottawa. A power excursion and partial loss of coolant led to severe damages to the NRX reactor core resulting in fission products being released through the reactor stack and 4.5 tonnes of contaminated water collecting in the basement of the building. The future US president Jimmy Carter, at the time a U.S. Navy lieutenant, was among the 1,202 people involved in the two-year-long cleanup;[45][46]
24 May 1958, a fuel rod caught fire and ruptured as it was being removed from the NRU reactor leading to the complete contamination of the building. As in 1952, the military was called in to aid and approximately 679 people were employed in the clean-up.[47]

text: Pinawa[edit]

text: In November 1978 a loss of coolant accident affected the experimental WR-1 reactor at Whitshell Laboratories in Pinawa, Manitoba. 2,739 litres of coolant oil (terphenyl isomer) leaked, most of it into the Winnipeg River, and three fuel elements broke with some fission products being released. The repair took several weeks for workers to complete.[48]

text: Pickering[edit]

text:
On August 1, 1983, pressure tubes — which hold fuel rods — ruptured due to hydriding at the Pickering reactor 2. Some coolant escaped, but was recovered before it left the plant, and there was no release of radioactive material from the containment building. All four reactors were re-tubed with new materials (Zr-2.5%Nb) over ten years;[47]
On August 2, 1992, a heavy water leak at Pickering reactor 1 heat exchanger released 2.3 petabecquerel (PBq) of radioactive tritium into Lake Ontario, resulting in increased levels of tritium in drinking water along the lake shoreline;[5]
On December 10, 1994, a pipe break at Pickering reactor 2 resulted in a major loss of coolant accident and a spill of 185 tonnes of heavy water. The Emergency Core Cooling System had to be used to prevent a core meltdown.[49] It has been called "the most serious nuclear accident in Canada" by The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources in 2001.

text: Darlington[edit]

text: In 2009, more than 200,000 litres of water containing trace amounts of tritium and hydrazine spilled into Lake Ontario after workers accidentally filled the wrong tank with tritiated water. However the level of the isotope in the lake was not enough to pose harm to residents.[47][50]

text: Point Lepreau[edit]

text: On December 13, 2011, a radioactive spill happened at New Brunswick's Point Lepreau nuclear generating station during refurbishment. Up to six litres of heavy water splashed to the floor, forcing an evacuation of the reactor building and halt of operations. Then, on December 14, NB Power issued a news release, admitting there had been another type of spill three weeks earlier.[51]

text: Fuel cycle[edit]

text: CANDU type reactors operating in Canada have the particularity of being able to use natural uranium as fuel because of their high neutron economy. Therefore the costly fuel enrichment step required by the more prevalent light-water reactor types can be avoided. However this comes at the cost of heavy water usage which, for example, represented 11% ($1.5 billion) of the capital costs of the Darlington plant.[52]

text: The low uranium-235 density in natural uranium (0.7% 235U) compared with enriched uranium (3-5% 235U) implies that less fuel can be consumed before the fission rate drops too low to sustain criticality, explaining why fuel burn-up in CANDU reactors (7.5 to 9 GW.day/tonnes) is far lower than in PWR reactors (50 GW.d/t).[53] Therefore, a lot more fuel is used and consequently a lot more spent fuel is produced by CANDUs for a given quantity of energy produced (140 t.GWe/year for a CANDU vs 20 t.GWe/year for a PWR).[52] Yet mined uranium utilization is lower by almost 30% in a CANDU because there is no wasteful enrichment step during the ore processing into fuel. Paradoxically heavy-water reactors in Canada use less uranium but produce more spent fuel than their light water counterparts.

text: Uranium mining[edit]

text: In 2009, Canada had the 4th largest recoverable uranium reserves in the world (at a cost of less than 130 USD/kg)[54] and was up until that date the world's largest producer. The only currently active mines and most prominent uranium reserves are in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan. Cameco's McArthur River mine, opened in 2000, is both the largest high-grade uranium deposit and the largest producer in the world.[55]

text: Approximately 15% of Canada’s uranium production is used to fuel domestic reactors, the rest being exported.[56]

text: Fuel production[edit]

text: Uranium ore concentrate (yellowcake) from mines in Canada and elsewhere is processed into uranium trioxide (UO3) at Cameco's Blind River plant, the world’s largest commercial uranium refinery.[57] This purer form of uranium is the raw material for the next stage of processing happening in Port Hope, Ontario. There, Cameco's conversion facility produces uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for foreign uranium enrichment facilities and uranium dioxide (UO2) for local fuel manufacturers. Cameco's Port Hope and BWXT's Peterborough and Toronto[58] fuel manufacturing facilities turns uranium dioxide powder into ceramic pellets before sealing these into zirconium tubes to form fuel rods assembled into bundles for CANDU reactors in Canada and elsewhere.[59]

text: Waste disposal[edit]

text: Like in the USA or Finland, the policy of Canada is not to reprocess spent nuclear fuel but to directly dispose of it for economic reasons.

text: In 1978, the government of Canada launched a nuclear fuel waste management program. In 1983 an underground laboratory was constructed at Whiteshell Laboratories in Manitoba to study the geological conditions associated with the storage of spent nuclear fuel. The 420-metre deep facility was decommissioned and deliberately flooded in 2010 to perform one final experiment.[60] In 2002 the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) was founded by the industry to develop a permanent waste strategy.

text: Low- and intermediate-level waste[edit]

text: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) plans to build a 1 million m³ Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at the Chalk River site to dispose of its low-level radioactive waste beginning in 2020.[61]

text: Low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste produced by the three Ontario nuclear power plants in operation are managed by the Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF) located at the Bruce nuclear site in Tiverton, Ontario. OPG is proposing to build a deep geological repository adjacent to the WWMF to serve as a long-term storage solution for about 200,000 m³ of this waste.[62] The Deep Geologic Repository would be dug 680 metres below the surface in an argillaceous limestone layer isolated beneath 200 metres of shale.[63]

text: Spent fuel[edit]

text: As of June 2015, Canadian reactors had produced 2.6 million spent fuel bundles or around 52,000 tonnes of high-level waste, the second largest amount in the world behind the USA.[52] This number could grow to 5.2 million bundles (103,000 tonnes) at the end of the planned life of the current reactors fleet.

text: Spent fuel is stored at each reactor sites either in fuel pools (58% of the total) or dry cask storage (42%) when it is cool enough.[18] Although more spent fuel is produced by CANDU reactors, dry storage costs for a given electricity production are comparable with costs for PWR reactors because the spent fuel is more easily handled (no fuel criticality). The same is true with the cost and space requirements for the permanent disposal of the waste.[64]

text: In 2005 the NWMO decided to build a deep repository dedicated to store the spent nuclear fuel underground. The $24 billion price tag of this 500- to 1000-metre underground vault is to be paid by a trust fund backed by the nuclear production companies. The spent fuel bundles would be placed in steel baskets wrapped together 3 by 3 (324 fuel bundles total) in corrosion resistant copper to form containers designed to last at least a 100,000 years. The containers would be encased in the tunnels of the repository by swelling bentonite clay but remain retrievable for approximately 240 years.[65] Since 2010, the process of identifying a proper place for such a long-term facility has been ongoing. Out of 22 interested communities, eight located in Northern Ontario and Bruce County, are being studied as potential sites.[66][67]

text: Public opinion[edit]

text: According to a 2012 poll by Innovative Research Group, on behalf of the Canadian Nuclear Association, 37% of Canadians are in favour of nuclear power, while 53% oppose it. Both of these figures represent a drop from 2011 (38% and 56% respectively), and the population that neither supports nor opposes or did not know their opinion has grown to 9%. Support ranges from a high of 54% in Ontario to a low of 12% in Quebec. Other notable demographic details include men being generally more supportive of nuclear power than women, and older populations being slightly more supportive than younger populations. There was not a significant change in opposition to nuclear power in Canada following the March 2011 events at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (from 54% to 56%), and the issue was followed at least somewhat closely by 70% of Canadians polled.[68]

text: Anti-nuclear movement[edit]

text: Canada has an active anti-nuclear movement, which includes major campaigning organizations like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver by former Sierra Club members to protest nuclear weapons tests on Amchitka Island. Over 300 public interest groups across Canada have endorsed the mandate of the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout (CNP). Some environmental organizations such as Energy Probe, the Pembina Institute and the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR) are reported to have developed considerable expertise on nuclear power and energy issues. There is also a long-standing tradition of indigenous opposition to uranium mining.[69][70]

text: The province of British Columbia firmly maintains a strict no-nuclear policy. The Crown corporation, BC Hydro, upholds this principle by "rejecting consideration of nuclear power in implementing B.C.'s clean energy strategy."[71]


document_title: NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament

question_text: who has the most women's ncaa basketball championships

question_tokens: who has the most women 's ncaa basketball championships

root

text: Tournament format[edit]

text: A total of 64 teams qualify for the tournament played in March and April. Of these teams, 32 earn automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments. Since 2017 the Ivy League conducts their own post-season tournament. The remaining teams are granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. Dr. Marilyn McNeil, vice president/director of athletics at Monmouth University is the current chairwoman. On March 1, 2011, Bowling Green State University's director of intercollegiate athletics, Greg Christopher, was appointed chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee during the 2011–12 academic year.[3]

tag: p

text: The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible[citation needed]. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc.

text: Number of teams, and seeding[edit]

text: The first NCAA women's basketball tournament was held in 1982. The AIAW also held a basketball tournament in 1982, but most of the top teams, including defending AIAW champion Louisiana Tech, decided to participate in the NCAA tournament.

text: The championship consisted of 32 teams from 1982–1985 (in 1983, 36), 40 teams from 1986–1988, and 48 teams from 1989–1993. Since 1994, 64 teams compete in each tournament.

text: Prior to 1996, seeding was conducted on a regional basis. The top teams (eight in the 32-, 40-, and 48-team formats, and 16 in the 64-team format) were ranked and seeded on a national basis. The remaining teams were then seeded based on their geographic region. Teams were moved outside of its geographic region only if it was necessary to balance the bracket, or if the proximity of an opponent outside of its region would be comparable and a more competitive game would result. In 1993, all teams except for the top four were explicitly unseeded. The regional seeding resumed in 1994. In 1996, seeds were assigned on a national basis using an "S-Curve" format[clarification needed] similar to the process used in selecting the field for the men's tournament.

text: The following table summarizes some of the key attributes of the seeding process:[4]

text:
Number of teams selected

Year
Automatic
At-Large
Total
Location of first round(s)
Seeding Basis

1982
12
20
32
Higher seed
Regional

1983
14
22
36
Higher seed†

1984
17
15
32

1985
18
14
Higher seed

1986
17
23
40
Higher seed†

1987
18
22

1988

1989
19
29
48

1990
21
27

1991

1992
22
26

1993
23
25

1994
32
32
64

1995

1996
31
33
Higher seed
National

1997
30
34
Higher seed†

1998
Higher seed

1999

2000
Higher seed†

2001
31
33

2002
Higher seed

2003
16 Sites‡

2004

2005
8 Sites‡

2006

2007

2008

2009
16 Sites‡

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014
32
32

2015
Higher seed†

2016

2017

2018

tag: table

text:
† Some exceptions. Due to venue availability, in some cases, the lower seed hosted, or the game was played at a neutral site.
‡ From 2003-2014, sixteen predetermined sites were selected for first and second-round games. Teams were allowed to play at home, if hosting.
Between 2005 and 2008, eight sites were used for first-round games.

text: Selection process[edit]

text: A special selection committee appointed by the NCAA determines which 64 teams will enter the tournament, and where they will be seeded and placed in the bracket. Because of the automatic bids, only 32 teams (the at-large bids) rely on the selection committee to secure them a spot in the tournament.

text: Women's NCAA Division I basketball champions[edit]

text:
Year
Winner
Score
Opponent
Venue
Other Semifinalists

1982
Louisiana Tech
76–62
Cheyney State
Norfolk Scope (Norfolk, Virginia)
Tennessee & Maryland

1983
USC
69–67
Louisiana Tech
Old Dominion & Georgia

1984
USC
72–61
Tennessee
Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California)
Cheyney State & Louisiana Tech

1985
Old Dominion
70–65
Georgia
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Western Kentucky & Northeast Louisiana

1986
Texas
97–81
USC
Rupp Arena (Lexington, Kentucky)
Western Kentucky & Tennessee

1987
Tennessee
67–44
Louisiana Tech
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Texas & Long Beach State

1988
Louisiana Tech
56–54
Auburn
Tacoma Dome (Tacoma, Washington)
Long Beach State & Tennessee

1989
Tennessee
76–70
Auburn
Louisiana Tech & Maryland

1990
Stanford
88–81
Auburn
Thompson–Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Virginia & Louisiana Tech

1991
Tennessee
70–67 (OT)
Virginia
Lakefront Arena (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Connecticut & Stanford

1992
Stanford
78–62
Western Kentucky
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles, California)
Southwest Missouri State & Virginia

1993
Texas Tech
84–82
Ohio State
Omni Coliseum (Atlanta, Georgia)
Iowa & Vanderbilt

1994
North Carolina
60–59
Louisiana Tech
Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, Virginia)
Purdue & Alabama

1995
Connecticut
70–64
Tennessee
Target Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Stanford & Georgia

1996
Tennessee
83–65
Georgia
Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Connecticut & Stanford

1997
Tennessee
68–59
Old Dominion
Riverfront Coliseum (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Notre Dame & Stanford

1998
Tennessee
93–75
Louisiana Tech
Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri)
Arkansas & North Carolina State

1999
Purdue
62–45
Duke
San Jose Arena (San Jose, California)
Louisiana Tech & Georgia

2000
Connecticut
71–52
Tennessee
First Union Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Rutgers & Penn State

2001
Notre Dame
68–66
Purdue
Savvis Center (St. Louis, Missouri)
Connecticut & Southwest Missouri State

2002
Connecticut
82–70
Oklahoma
Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)
Tennessee & Duke

2003
Connecticut
73–68
Tennessee
Georgia Dome (Atlanta, Georgia)
Texas & Duke

2004
Connecticut
70–61
Tennessee
New Orleans Arena (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Minnesota & LSU

2005
Baylor
84–62
Michigan State
RCA Dome (Indianapolis, Indiana)
LSU & Tennessee

2006
Maryland
78–75 (OT)
Duke
TD Garden (Boston, Massachusetts)
North Carolina & LSU

2007
Tennessee
59–46
Rutgers
Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio)

2008
Tennessee
64–48
Stanford
St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, Florida)
LSU & Connecticut

2009
Connecticut
76–54
Louisville
Scottrade Center (St. Louis, Missouri)
Stanford & Oklahoma

2010
Connecticut
53–47
Stanford
Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)
Baylor & Oklahoma

2011
Texas A&M
76–70
Notre Dame
Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Connecticut & Stanford

2012
Baylor
80–61
Notre Dame
Pepsi Center (Denver, Colorado)
Stanford & Connecticut

2013
Connecticut
93–60
Louisville
New Orleans Arena (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Notre Dame & California

2014
Connecticut
79–58
Notre Dame
Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tennessee)
Stanford & Maryland

2015
Connecticut
63–53
Notre Dame
Amalie Arena (Tampa, Florida)
South Carolina & Maryland

2016
Connecticut
82–51
Syracuse
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Oregon State & Washington

2017
South Carolina
67–55
Mississippi State
American Airlines Center (Dallas, Texas)
Connecticut & Stanford

2018

Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

2019

Amalie Arena (Tampa, Florida)

2020

Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, Louisiana)

text: Team titles[edit]

text:
Team
Titles
Year Won

Connecticut
11
1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Tennessee
8
1987, 1989, 1991,1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008

Baylor
2
2005, 2012

Louisiana Tech
2
1982, 1988

Stanford
2
1990, 1992

USC
2
1983, 1984

Maryland
1
2006

North Carolina
1
1994

Notre Dame
1
2001

Old Dominion
1
1985

Purdue
1
1999

South Carolina
1
2017

Texas
1
1986

Texas A&M
1
2011

Texas Tech
1
1993

text: NCAA Final Fours by school[edit]

text:
School
Final Four Years
Number of Appearances
Championships

Connecticut
1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
18
11

Tennessee
1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
18
8

Stanford
1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017
13
2

Louisiana Tech
1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1998, 1999
10
2

Notre Dame
1997, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
7
1

Georgia
1983, 1985, 1995, 1996, 1999
5
0

LSU
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
5
0

Maryland
1982, 1989, 2006, 2014, 2015
5
1

Duke
1999, 2002, 2003, 2006
4
0

Auburn
1988, 1989, 1990
3
0

Baylor
2005, 2010, 2012
3
2

North Carolina
1994, 2006, 2007
3
1

Oklahoma
2002, 2009, 2010
3
0

Old Dominion
1983, 1985, 1997
3
1

Purdue
1994, 1999, 2001
3
1

Texas
1986, 1987, 2003
3
1

USC
1983, 1984, 1986
3
2

Virginia
1990, 1991, 1992
3
0

Western Kentucky
1985, 1986, 1992
3
0

Cheyney St.
1982, 1984
2
0

Long Beach St.
1987, 1988
2
0

Louisville
2009, 2013
2
0

Missouri St.
1992, 2001
2
0

Rutgers
2000, 2007
2
0

South Carolina
2015, 2017
2
1

Alabama
1994
1
0

Arkansas
1998
1
0

California
2013
1
0

Iowa
1993
1
0

Louisiana-Monroe
1985
1
0

Michigan St.
2005
1
0

Minnesota
2004
1
0

Mississippi St.
2017
1
0

North Carolina St.
1998
1
0

Ohio St.
1993
1
0

Oregon St.
2016
1
0

Penn St.
2000
1
0

Syracuse
2016
1
0

Texas A&M
2011
1
1

Texas Tech
1993
1
1

Vanderbilt
1993
1
0

Washington
2016
1
0

text: Multiple NCAA championship coaches[edit]

text:
Coach
School
Championships

Geno Auriemma
Connecticut
11

Pat Summitt
Tennessee
8

Kim Mulkey
Baylor
2

Linda Sharp
USC

Tara VanDerveer
Stanford

text: NCAA Championship by Conference[edit]

text: Note: Conferences are listed by all champions' affiliations at that time; these do not necessarily match current affiliations.

text:
Conference
Year
Championships

Big East[a 1]
1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013
9

SEC
1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2017

American Athletic
2014, 2015, 2016
3

Big 12
2005, 2011, 2012

Atlantic Coast
1994, 2006
2

Pac-12[a 2]
1990, 1992

Southwest
1986, 1993

Western Collegiate
1983, 1984

American South
1988
1

Big Ten
1999

Independent
1982

Sun Belt
1985

text:
Jump up ^ The Big East Conference operated in its original form from 1979 until 2013. During that time, Connecticut won eight championships, and Notre Dame won one. Following the three-way 2013 split of that conference and subsequent settlement between the non-FBS schools and the remaining schools, the conference legally changed its name to the American Athletic Conference. Three schools (among them Notre Dame) left for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013, with a fourth doing the same in 2014; one school left for the Big Ten in 2014; and the non-FBS schools retained the Big East name. However, the current Big East now maintains the history of the original conference in all sports that it sponsors, including women's basketball. The American no longer claims any of the original Big East's competition history, even in the two sports that it sponsors and the current Big East does not (football and women's rowing).
Jump up ^ Known as the Pacific-10 Conference, or Pac-10, when both of its titles were won.

tag: ol

text: NCAA Final Four locations[edit]

text:
1982 - Norfolk, Virginia
1983 - Norfolk, Virginia
1984 - Los Angeles, California
1985 - Austin, Texas
1986 - Lexington, Kentucky
1987 - Austin, Texas
1988 - Tacoma, Washington
1989 - Tacoma, Washington
1990 - Knoxville, Tennessee
1991 - New Orleans, Louisiana
1992 - Los Angeles, California
1993 - Atlanta, Georgia
1994 - Richmond, Virginia
1995 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
1996 - Charlotte, North Carolina
1997 - Cincinnati, Ohio
1998 - Kansas City, Missouri
1999 - San Jose, California
2000 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2001 - St. Louis, Missouri
2002 - San Antonio, Texas
2003 - Atlanta, Georgia
2004 - New Orleans, Louisiana
2005 - Indianapolis, Indiana
2006 - Boston, Massachusetts
2007 - Cleveland, Ohio
2008 - Tampa Bay, Florida
2009 - St. Louis, Missouri
2010 - San Antonio, Texas
2011 - Indianapolis, Indiana
2012 - Denver, Colorado
2013 - New Orleans, Louisiana
2014 - Nashville, Tennessee
2015 - Tampa Bay, Florida
2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana
2017 - Dallas, Texas
2018 - Columbus, Ohio
2019 - Tampa Bay, Florida
2020 - New Orleans, Louisiana

tag: ul

text: Tournament trends[edit]

text: Top-ranked teams[edit]

text: Since the women's tournament began in 1982, 16 teams have entered the tournament ranked #1 in at least 1 poll and gone on to win the tournament:

text:
1982: Louisiana Tech
1983: USC
1986: Texas
1989: Tennessee
1995: Connecticut
1998: Tennessee
1999: Purdue
2000: Connecticut
2002: Connecticut
2003: Connecticut
2009: Connecticut
2010: Connecticut
2012: Baylor
2014: Connecticut
2015: Connecticut
2016: Connecticut

text: Champions excluded the next year[edit]

text: Only once has the reigning champion (the previous year's winner) not made it to the tournament the next year.

text: 1985 champion Old Dominion went 15-13 in 1986.

text: #1 seeds[edit]

text: Since 1982, at least one #1 seed has made the Final Four every year.

text: Under coach Geno Auriemma, Connecticut has been seeded #1 a record 22 times. Tennessee is second with 21 #1 seeds.

text: All #1 seeds have made it to the Final Four thrice:

text:
1989 Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Maryland, Tennessee
2012 Baylor, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford
2015 Connecticut, Maryland, Notre Dame, South Carolina

text: The championship game has matched two #1 seeds 12 times:

text:
1983 USC beat Louisiana Tech
1986 Texas beat USC
1989 Tennessee beat Auburn
1991 Tennessee beat Virginia
1995 Connecticut beat Tennessee
2000 Connecticut beat Tennessee
2002 Connecticut beat Oklahoma
2003 Connecticut beat Tennessee
2010 Connecticut beat Stanford
2012 Baylor beat Notre Dame
2014 Connecticut beat Notre Dame
2015 Connecticut beat Notre Dame

text: Three teams have beaten three #1 seeds during the course of a tournament (the largest number of such teams that can be faced):

text:
1987 Tennessee (beat Auburn, Long Beach State, Louisiana Tech)
1988 Louisiana Tech (beat Auburn, Tennessee, Texas)
2005 Baylor (beat LSU, Michigan State, North Carolina)

text: Prior to the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams, all #1 seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with three exceptions. Notably, the first two times this occurred were at the hands of the same school:

text:
1986 East #1 seed Virginia lost to #8 seed James Madison
1991 East #1 seed Penn State lost to #8 seed James Madison
1992 Midwest #1 seed Iowa lost to #8 seed Southwest Missouri State

text: High seeds[edit]

text: 1999 was the first time in tournament history (since the expansion to 64 teams) that all top seeds (1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds) made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

text: Low seeds[edit]

text: Lowest seeds to reach each round since the expansion to 64 teams:

text:
Second Round: #16 seed[5]

Harvard in 1998 (the only #16 seed to beat a #1 seed in either the women's or men's tournament)

Regional Semifinals (Sweet Sixteen): #13 seed[5]

Texas A&M in 1994
Liberty in 2005
Marist in 2007

Regional Finals (Elite Eight): #11 seed

Gonzaga in 2011

National Semifinals (Final Four): #9 seed[5]

Arkansas in 1998

National Finals (Championship Game): #5 seed

Louisville in 2013

National Champion: #3 seed[5]

North Carolina in 1994
Tennessee in 1997

text: Best Performances by #14 & #15 Seeds[edit]

text: Unlike in the men's tournament, no #14 seed has beaten a #3 and no #15 seed has beaten a #2 seed, but they have come close.

text:
2 points: #14 Seed

Austin Peay lost to UNC in 2003 (2 points, 72-70)
Eastern Michigan lost to Boston College in 2004 (2 points, 58-56)
Creighton lost to St. John's in 2012 (2 points, 69-67)

Overtime games: #15 Seed

UTSA lost to Baylor in 2009 (5 points, 87-82). UTSA is the only #15 seed to take a game into overtime.

1 point: #15 Seed

Long Beach State lost to Oregon State in 2017 (1 point, 56-55)

text: First-round games[edit]

text: Since the expansion to 64 teams in 1994, each seed-pairing has played 96 first-round games overall.

text:
The #1 seed is 95–1 against the #16 seed (.990).
The #2 seed is 96–0 against the #15 seed (1.000).
The #3 seed is 96–0 against the #14 seed (1.000).
The #4 seed is 90–6 against the #13 seed (.938).
The #5 seed is 75-21 against the #12 seed (.781).
The #6 seed is 68–28 against the #11 seed (.708).
The #7 seed is 63-33 against the #10 seed (.656).
The #9 seed is 50–46 against the #8 seed (.521).

text: Second-round games[edit]

text: Since the expansion to 64 teams in 1994, the following results have occurred for each pairing:

text: In the 1/16/8/9 bracket:

text:
vs. #8
vs. #9

#1
44–1 (.978)
44–2 (.956)

#16
–
0–1 (.000)

text:
note: The 3 losses by the #1 seed vs #8/9 were: Duke (vs Michigan St, 2009), Ohio St (vs Boston College, 2006), Texas Tech (vs Notre Dame, 1998).
note: The #9 vs. #16 game was Arkansas over Harvard in 1998.

text: In the 2/15/7/10 bracket:

text:
vs. #7
vs. #10

#2
47–13 (.783)
29–3 (.906)

#15
–
–

text: In the 3/14/6/11 bracket:

text:
vs. #6
vs. #11

#3
45–21 (.682)
16–10 (.615)

#14
–
–

text: In the 4/13/5/12 bracket:

text:
vs. #5
vs. #12

#4
40–26 (.606)
17–3 (.850)

#13
3–3 (.500)
–

text: Teams entering the tournament unbeaten[edit]

text: Of the 17 teams who have entered the tournament unbeaten, 9 went on to win the National Championship.[6]

text:
In 1986, Texas entered the tournament 30–0, beat USC for the national title, and ended the season 34–0.
In 1990, Louisiana Tech entered the tournament 29–0, but lost in the Final Four to Auburn.
In 1992, Vermont entered the tournament 29–0, but lost in the first round to George Washington.
In 1993, Vermont entered the tournament 28–0, but lost in the first round to Rutgers.
In 1995, Connecticut entered the tournament 29–0, beat Tennessee for the national title, and ended the season 35–0.
In 1997, Connecticut entered the tournament 30–0, but lost in the Midwest Regional Final to Tennessee.
In 1998, Tennessee (33–0) and Liberty (28–0) both entered the tournament unbeaten; Liberty lost in the first round to Tennessee, which went on to beat Louisiana Tech for the national title and ended the season 39–0.
In 2002, 2009, and 2010, Connecticut entered the tournament 33–0, won the national title in each, and ended those seasons 39–0. They respectively beat Oklahoma, Louisville, and Stanford in those championship games.
In 2012, Baylor entered the tournament 34–0, beat Notre Dame for the national title, and ended the season 40–0. The Lady Bears became the first team in NCAA college basketball history, for either women or men, to win 40 games in a season. Notably, Louisiana Tech went 40–5 during the 1979-80 season. This was during the AIAW era for women's basketball.
In 2014, Connecticut (34–0) and Notre Dame (32–0) both entered the tournament unbeaten; Connecticut beat Notre Dame 79-58 for the national title, ended the season 40-0 and is the 8th team to end the season unbeaten.
In 2015, Princeton entered the tournament 30–0, but lost in the second round to Maryland.
In 2016, Connecticut entered the tournament 32–0, beat Syracuse for the national title, ending the season 38–0.
In 2017, Connecticut entered the tournament 32–0, but lost in the Final Four to Mississippi State, ending their 111-game winning streak to finish 36–1.

text: Home state[edit]

text: Only one team has ever played the Final Four on its home court. Two other teams have played the Final Four in their home cities, and seven others have played the Final Four in their home states.

text: The only team to play on its home court was Texas in 1987, which lost its semifinal game at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center.

text: Old Dominion enjoyed nearly as large an advantage in 1983 when the Final Four was played at the Norfolk Scope in its home city of Norfolk, Virginia, but also lost its semifinal. The Scope has never been the Lady Monarchs' regular home court. ODU has always used on-campus arenas, first the ODU Fieldhouse and since 2002 the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The following year, USC won the national title at Pauley Pavilion, the home court of its Los Angeles arch-rival UCLA.

text: Of the other teams to play in their home states, Stanford (1992) won the national title; Notre Dame (2011) lost in the championship game; and Western Kentucky (1986), Penn State (2000), Missouri State (2001), LSU (2004), and Baylor (2010) lost in the semifinals.

text: Championship margins[edit]

text:
Overtime games in a championship game:[7]

Tennessee 70, Virginia 67/OT (1991)
Maryland 78, Duke 75/OT (2006)

Smallest margin of victory in a championship game: 1 point[8]

North Carolina 60, Louisiana Tech 59 (1994)

Biggest margin of victory in a championship game: 33 points[8]

Connecticut 93, Louisville 60 (2013)

Margin of 10 points: Louisiana Tech (1982), Tennessee (1987 & 1989), Purdue (1999), Connecticut (2000, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016), and Baylor (2012) are teams to win every game in the tournament by 10 points or more on their way to a championship. The 2016 UConn team won every game by more than 20 points.
Top 8 largest point differentials accumulated over the entire tournament by tournament champion. Notably, Louisiana Tech's differential is prior to the expansion of 64 teams and the addition of one more round of play.

2016 Connecticut (+239)
2010 Connecticut (+214)
2013 Connecticut (+208)
2015 Connecticut (+197)
2000 Connecticut (+187)
2002 Connecticut (+161)
1982 Louisiana Tech (+158)
2014 Connecticut (+156)

text: Same-conference championship games[edit]

text: 6 championship games have featured two teams from the same conference:

text:
1989 SEC, Tennessee and Auburn
1996 SEC, Tennessee and Georgia
2006 ACC, Maryland and Duke
2009 Big East, Connecticut and Louisville
2013 Big East, Connecticut and Louisville
2017 SEC, South Carolina and Mississippi State

text: Result by school and by year[edit]

text: 267 teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in at least a year, since 1982 (the initial year that the post-season tournament was under the auspices of the NCAA). The results for all years are shown in this table below.[9]

text: The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:

text:
<blank> Not in tournament
O Opening Round (only in 1983)
1 First round
2 Second Round
S Sweet 16
E Elite 8
F Final 4
R National Runner-up
C National Champion

text:
Year ->
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017

Team

Akron

1 !1

Alabama

3 !S

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
5 !F
3 !S
3 !S
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2

Alabama St.

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Albany (NY)

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

Alcorn St.

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

American

1 !1

Appalachian St.

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Arizona

2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

Arizona St.
3 !S
3 !S

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
2 !2
4 !E

1 !1

2 !2
3 !S
2 !2

Arkansas

1 !1

1 !1
4 !E
3 !S

2 !2

5 !F

2 !2
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2

2 !2

Army

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Auburn
1 !1
3 !S

3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
6 !R
6 !R
6 !R
4 !E

3 !S
2 !2

4 !E
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

2 !2

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

Austin Peay

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Ball St.

2 !2

Baylor

1 !1
2 !2

3 !S
7 !C
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
5 !F
4 !E
7 !C
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E

Belmont

1 !1

1 !1

Boise St.

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Boston College

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

Boston U.

1 !1

Bowling Green

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
3 !S

1 !1
1 !1

Brown

1 !1

Bucknell

1 !1

1 !1

Buffalo

1 !1

Butler

1 !1

BYU

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

3 !S
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

3 !S
2 !2
1 !1

Cal Poly

1 !1

Cal St. Fullerton

1 !1

2 !2

Cal St. Northridge

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

California

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
3 !S

2 !2
5 !F
2 !2
2 !2

Campbell

1 !1

Canisius

1 !1

Central Arkansas

1 !1

Central Mich.

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Charlotte

1 !1

1 !1

Chattanooga

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Cheyney
6 !R
3 !S
5 !F

Cincinnati

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

Clemson
1 !1

2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

Cleveland St.

1 !1

1 !1

Colgate

1 !1

Colorado

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
4 !E
3 !S
4 !E
2 !2
3 !S

2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1

1 !1

Colorado St.

2 !2

2 !2
3 !S

2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

Connecticut

1 !1
2 !2
5 !F
2 !2
1 !1
4 !E
7 !C
5 !F
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
7 !C
5 !F
7 !C
7 !C
7 !C
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E
5 !F
7 !C
7 !C
5 !F
5 !F
7 !C
7 !C
7 !C
7 !C
6 !F

Coppin St.

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Cornell

1 !1

Creighton

2 !2

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

Dartmouth

0 !O

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Dayton

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
4 !E

Delaware

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
3 !S

Delaware St.

1 !1

Denver

1 !1

DePaul

2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

Detroit

1 !1

Drake
4 !E

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
3 !S

1 !1

Drexel

1 !1

Duke

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
4 !E
6 !R
3 !S
3 !S
5 !F
5 !F
4 !E
4 !E
6 !R
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E
2 !2
3 !S

Duquesne

2 !2

East Carolina
1 !1

1 !1

East Tenn. St.

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Eastern Ill.

1 !1

Eastern Ky.

1 !1

1 !1

Eastern Mich.

1 !1

1 !1

Eastern Wash.

1 !1

Evansville

1 !1

1 !1

Fairfield

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

FGCU

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

FIU

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

2 !2

Fla. Atlantic

1 !1

Florida

2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

2 !2

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2

2 !2

1 !1

Florida A&M

1 !1

1 !1

Florida St.

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
4 !E
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
4 !E
3 !S

Fordham

1 !1

1 !1

Fresno St.

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Furman

1 !1

1 !1

Ga. Southern

1 !1
1 !1

Gardner-Webb

1 !1

George Washington

2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
2 !2

2 !2
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
3 !S

1 !1
1 !1

Georgetown

3 !S

2 !2
3 !S
2 !2

Georgia
1 !1
5 !F
4 !E
6 !R
3 !S
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
4 !E

2 !2

5 !F
6 !R
4 !E
1 !1
5 !F
4 !E
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
1 !1
4 !E
1 !1

1 !1

Georgia St.

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Georgia Tech

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
3 !S

1 !1

Gonzaga

1 !1

2 !2
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S

Grambling

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Green Bay

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Hampton

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Hartford

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

1 !1
1 !1

Harvard

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Hawaii

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Holy Cross

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Houston

2 !2

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

Howard
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Idaho

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Idaho St.

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Illinois
1 !1

2 !2
2 !2

3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

Illinois St.

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

Indiana

3 !S

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

Iona

1 !1

Iowa

2 !2
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
5 !F
2 !2

3 !S
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S

Iowa St.

1 !1
2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

Jackson St.
1 !1
0 !O

1 !1

1 !1

Jacksonville

1 !1

James Madison

3 !S
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2

3 !S

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

Kansas

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1

3 !S
3 !S

Kansas St.
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

Kent St.
1 !1

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Kentucky
4 !E
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2

4 !E
2 !2
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

La.-Monroe

1 !1
3 !S
5 !F

La Salle

0 !O

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

La.-Lafayette

1 !1

Lamar

4 !E

1 !1

Lehigh

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Liberty

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Lipscomb

1 !1

Little Rock

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

LIU Brooklyn

1 !1

Long Beach St.
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
5 !F
5 !F
4 !E
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1

Louisiana Tech
7 !C
6 !R
5 !F
4 !E
4 !E
6 !R
7 !C
5 !F
5 !F
1 !1
1 !1
4 !E
6 !R
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
6 !R
5 !F
4 !E
4 !E
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Louisville

1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
3 !S
6 !R

3 !S
2 !2
6 !R
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2

Loyola Marymount

1 !1

Loyola (MD)

1 !1
1 !1

LSU

3 !S

4 !E
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
1 !1
2 !2

3 !S

3 !S
4 !E
2 !2
2 !2
4 !E
5 !F
5 !F
5 !F
5 !F
5 !F
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
1 !1

Maine

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

Manhattan

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Marist

1 !1

1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

Marquette

1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

2 !2

2 !2

Marshall

1 !1

Maryland
5 !F
3 !S
1 !1

2 !2

4 !E
5 !F
2 !2
1 !1
4 !E
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
7 !C
2 !2
4 !E
4 !E

2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
5 !F
5 !F
2 !2

Massachusetts

1 !1

1 !1

McNeese St.

1 !1
1 !1

Memphis
3 !S

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Miami (FL)

1 !1

3 !S
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

Miami (OH)

1 !1

Michigan

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2

Michigan St.

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
6 !R
3 !S
2 !2

3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2

Middle Tenn.

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Milwaukee

1 !1

1 !1

Minnesota

2 !2

2 !2
3 !S
5 !F
3 !S
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

Ole Miss
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1
4 !E

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

4 !E

Mississippi St.

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
3 !S

1 !1
3 !S
7 !R

Missouri
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

3 !S

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

Missouri State

2 !2
5 !F
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
5 !F

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Monmouth

1 !1

Montana

0 !O
3 !S

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Montana State

1 !1

Mount St. Mary’s

1 !1
1 !1

Murray St.

1 !1

N.C. A&T

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Navy

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Nebraska

2 !2

2 !2

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

3 !S

1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1

New Mexico

1 !1

1 !1
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

New Mexico St.

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1

New Orleans

2 !2

Norfolk St.

1 !1

North Carolina

1 !1
3 !S
1 !1
3 !S
2 !2

2 !2
3 !S
7 !C
3 !S

3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
3 !S

3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
4 !E
5 !F
5 !F
4 !E
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S

2 !2
4 !E
3 !S

North Carolina St.
3 !S
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

3 !S
3 !S
3 !S

3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
5 !F
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S

1 !1

1 !1

North Dakota

1 !1

North Texas

1 !1

Northeastern

1 !1

Northern Ariz.

1 !1

Northern Ill.

2 !2

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Northwestern
1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

Northwestern St.

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Notre Dame

1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
5 !F
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
7 !C
2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1
3 !S
6 !R
6 !R
5 !F
6 !R
6 !R
3 !S

Oakland

1 !1

1 !1

Ohio

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Ohio St.
1 !1

1 !1
4 !E
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2

6 !R

2 !2

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1

2 !2
3 !S

Oklahoma

3 !S

2 !2

3 !S
3 !S
6 !R
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
5 !F
5 !F
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2

Oklahoma St.

2 !2
1 !1
3 !S

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1
3 !S

2 !2

2 !2
3 !S

1 !1

Old Dominion
3 !S
5 !F
4 !E
7 !C

3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
6 !R
3 !S
3 !S
3 !S
1 !1
4 !E
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S

Oral Roberts

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Oregon
1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

Oregon St.

3 !S
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
5 !F

Penn

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Penn St.
3 !S
4 !E
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
2 !2
3 !S

2 !2
5 !F
1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
1 !1

2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

Pepperdine

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Pittsburgh

2 !2
3 !S
3 !S

2 !2

Portland

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Portland St.

1 !1

Prairie View

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Princeton

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

Providence

1 !1

1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1

Purdue

2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

5 !F
4 !E
1 !1
2 !2
4 !E
7 !C
2 !2
6 !R
2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
4 !E
2 !2
4 !E

2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

Quinnipiac

1 !1

1 !1

Radford

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Rhode Island

1 !1

Rice

2 !2

1 !1

Richmond

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Robert Morris

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Rutgers

4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

3 !S
4 !E
5 !F
2 !2

2 !2
1 !1
4 !E
3 !S
6 !R
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

2 !2

Sacred Heart

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Samford

1 !1
1 !1

San Diego

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

San Diego St.

3 !S
3 !S

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

2 !2
3 !S

1 !1

San Francisco

1 !1
3 !S
1 !1

1 !1

Santa Clara

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Savannah St.

1 !1

Seton Hall

3 !S
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1

Siena

1 !1

SMU

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

South Ala.

1 !1

South Carolina
3 !S

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
1 !1

4 !E
2 !2

3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
5 !F
3 !S
7 !C

South Carolina St.

1 !1

South Dakota

1 !1

South Dakota St.

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

South Fla.

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

Southeast Mo. St.

1 !1
1 !1

Southern California
4 !E
7 !C
7 !C
3 !S
6 !R
3 !S
3 !S

2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
4 !E
1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

Southern Ill.

2 !2
3 !S

1 !1

2 !2

Southern Miss

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

3 !S
1 !1
2 !2

Southern U.

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

St. Bonaventure

3 !S

2 !2

St. Francis Brooklyn

1 !1

Saint Francis (PA)

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

St. John’s

1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

Saint Joseph’s

1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2

Saint Mary's

1 !1

2 !2

Saint Peter’s
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Stanford
1 !1

3 !S
4 !E
7 !C
5 !F
7 !C
3 !S
4 !E
5 !F
5 !F
5 !F
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E
2 !2
6 !R
5 !F
6 !R
5 !F
5 !F
3 !S
5 !F
3 !S
4 !E
6 !F

Stephen F. Austin
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Stetson

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Syracuse

1 !1

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
6 !R

TCU

2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Temple

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2

Tennessee
5 !F
4 !E
6 !R
3 !S
5 !F
7 !C
5 !F
7 !C
4 !E
7 !C
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
6 !R
7 !C
7 !C
7 !C
4 !E
6 !R
3 !S
5 !F
6 !R
6 !R
5 !F
4 !E
7 !C
7 !C
1 !1
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E

Tennessee St.

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Tennessee Tech
1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Texas

4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
7 !C
5 !F
4 !E
4 !E
4 !E
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
5 !F
3 !S
2 !2

2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
3 !S
4 !E

Texas A&M

3 !S

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
7 !C
3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
1 !1
2 !2

Texas St.

1 !1

1 !1

Texas Tech

1 !1

2 !2

1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
7 !C
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
2 !2
3 !S

1 !1

1 !1

Texas-Arlington

1 !1

1 !1

Toledo

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Troy

1 !1

1 !1

Tulane

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

Tulsa

2 !2

1 !1

UAB

1 !1

3 !S

UC Davis

1 !1

UC Irvine

1 !1

UC Riverside

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

UC Santa Barb.

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

UCF

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1

UCLA

1 !1

3 !S

1 !1

3 !S

2 !2
4 !E
1 !1

1 !1

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2

2 !2

3 !S

UMBC

1 !1

UNC Asheville

1 !1

1 !1

UNC Greensboro

1 !1

UNI

1 !1
1 !1

UNLV

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

3 !S
2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

UT Martin

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Utah

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
3 !S

2 !2

2 !2
4 !E

1 !1
2 !2

1 !1

UTEP

2 !2

1 !1

UTSA

1 !1
1 !1

Valparaiso

1 !1
1 !1

Vanderbilt

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
5 !F
3 !S
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
1 !1

2 !2
4 !E
4 !E
2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

VCU

1 !1

Vermont

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
2 !2

Villanova

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1

2 !2
2 !2
4 !E
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

Virginia

1 !1
1 !1
2 !2
3 !S
4 !E
3 !S
5 !F
6 !R
5 !F
4 !E
3 !S
4 !E
4 !E
3 !S
2 !2
1 !1
3 !S
1 !1
1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1

Virginia Tech

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2
3 !S

2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2

Wake Forest

2 !2

Washington

1 !1
2 !2
2 !2
3 !S
2 !2
4 !E
3 !S

2 !2
2 !2
3 !S

1 !1
1 !1

4 !E

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1

1 !1
5 !F

Washington St.

1 !1

Weber St.

1 !1
1 !1

West Virginia

2 !2

3 !S

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2

2 !2
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

Western Caro.

1 !1

1 !1

Western Ill.

1 !1

Western Ky.

5 !F
5 !F
2 !2
2 !2
1 !1
1 !1
3 !S
6 !R
3 !S
2 !2
3 !S

1 !1
2 !2

2 !2

1 !1

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

Western Mich.

1 !1

1 !1

Wichita State

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1

Winthrop

1 !1

Wisconsin

1 !1

2 !2
2 !2

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1

1 !1

Wright St.

1 !1

Wyoming

1 !1

Xavier

1 !1

2 !2
1 !1
4 !E

1 !1

1 !1
1 !1
1 !1
4 !E
2 !2

Youngstown St.

1 !1

2 !2

1 !1


document_title: Baseball field

question_text: which player throws the baseball toward the catcher from an elevated mound

text: Baseball field

text: Specifications[edit]

text: This section appears to contradict itself on what "the infield" means. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2017)

text: The starting point for much of the action on the field is home plate, which is a five-sided slab of whitened rubber, 17 inches (43.2 cm) square with two of the corners removed so that one edge is 17 inches (43.2 cm) long, two adjacent sides are 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) and the remaining two sides are 12 inches (30.5 cm) and set at an angle to make a point. Adjacent to each of the two parallel 8.5-inch (21.6 cm) sides is a batter's box. The point of home plate where the two 12-inch (30.5 cm) sides meet at right angles is at one corner of a ninety-foot (27.5 m) square. The other three corners of the square, in counterclockwise order from home plate, are called first base, second base, and third base. Three canvas bags fifteen inches (38 cm) square mark the three bases. These three bags along with home plate form the four points at the corners of the infield.

text: All the bases, including home plate, lie entirely within fair territory. Thus, any batted ball that touches those bases must necessarily be in fair territory. While the first and third base bags are placed so that they lie inside the 90-foot (27.5 m) square formed by the bases, the second base bag is placed so that its center (unlike first, third and home) coincides exactly with the "point" of the ninety-foot (27.5 m) infield square. Thus, although the "points" of the bases are 90 feet (27.5 m) apart, the physical distance between each successive pair of base markers is closer to 88 feet (26.8 m).[2]

text: The lines from home plate to first and third bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction and are called the foul lines. The portion of the playing field between (and including) the foul lines is fair territory; the rest is "foul territory." The area in the vicinity of the square formed by the bases is called the infield; fair territory outside the infield is known as the outfield. Most baseball fields are enclosed with a fence that marks the outer edge of the outfield. The fence is usually set at a distance ranging from 300 to 420 feet (91 to 128 m) from home plate. Most professional and college baseball fields have a right and left foul pole. These poles are at the intersection of the foul lines and the respective ends of the outfield fence and, unless otherwise specified within the ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a batted ball that passes over the outfield wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a fair ball and the batter is awarded a home run.

text: First base[edit]

text: First base is the first of four bases that must be touched by a player on the batting team in order to score a run. Unlike when an offensive player reaches second or third base, it is permissible for a batter-runner to overrun first base without being in jeopardy of being put out. After contact is made with the base, the batter-runner may slow down and return to first base at his leisure, so long as he makes no move or attempt to advance to second base. The runner cannot be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body.

text: The first baseman is the defensive player responsible for the area near first base. A professional first baseman is often a slow runner and tall.[citation needed] A tall first baseman presents a large target to which other fielders can throw, and his height gives him a larger range in reaching and catching errant throws. Players who are left-handed are marginally preferable for first base because: first, it is easier for a left-handed fielder to catch a pick-off throw from the pitcher and tag the baserunner; and, second, it is easier for a left handed thrower to make the throw to second base to start a 3-6-3, 3-6-4, or a 3-6-1 double play.[citation needed] Also, a right-handed first baseman must, when setting himself up to receive a throw from an infielder, execute a half-pivot near the base; this is a move that a left-hander need not make (this advantage is very marginal, however). There are three infield positions that can only effectively be occupied by right-handed players: 2nd base, 3rd base, and shortstop. This is because of the time it takes to pivot and set to throw. It takes a left-handed thrower more time to make that pivot and in the fast-paced major league game, that time is critical. As a result, there are fewer positions a left-handed player can occupy, and if that player is not fast, the outfield may not be a good fit.

text: In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number '3'.

text: Second base[edit]

text: Second base is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. Second base is typically defended by the second baseman and the shortstop. Second base is also known as the keystone sack. A runner on second base is said to be in "scoring position", owing to the high likelihood of reaching home plate and scoring a run from second base on most base hits. Since second is the farthest base from home plate, it is the most common target of base stealing. The runner cannot be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body.

text: Ideally, the second baseman and shortstop possess quick hands and feet and the ability to release the ball rapidly and with accuracy. One will usually cover second base when the other attempts to field the ball. Both players must communicate well to be able to make a double play. Particular agility is required of the second baseman in double play situations, which usually forces the player to throw towards first while his momentum carries him in the opposite direction. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4, and the shortstop 6.

text: Third base[edit]

text: Third base is the third of four bases a base runner must touch in a counterclockwise succession in order to score a run. Many batted balls that result in the batter being put out (such as a sacrifice fly) may nevertheless allow a runner to reach home plate and score a run from third base, provided that the third and final out is not recorded before he can do so. A runner on third base is therefore particularly valuable to the batting team when fewer than two outs have been recorded. The runner cannot be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body.

text: The third baseman is the defensive player whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base. A third baseman ideally possesses quick reaction to batted balls and a strong arm to make the long throw to first base. The distance from 3rd to 1st is about 127 feet. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.

text: Home plate[edit]

text: Home plate, formally designated home base in the rules, is the final base that a player must touch to score. Unlike the other bases, home plate is a five-sided slab of whitened rubber that is set at ground level. The use of rubber was developed by Robert Keating, who pitched one game for the 1887 Baltimore Orioles. Previously—and more dangerously—the plate was made of stone, iron, or wood.[3]

text: The dimensions of home plate are 17 inches (43.2 cm) across the front, 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) down each side, with a triangular rear of two sides of 12 inches (30.5 cm). The rear edges are at 45 degrees to the sides, making a point at the back.[1] The plate is white and surrounded by a black strip 3/4 inches (1.9 cm) in width. The plate sits entirely in "fair" territory, with the two rear edges aligned with the right and left field foul lines. The length and angle requirements for home plate mandate that it is not a regular pentagon; it is a 17 inches by 8.5 inches (43.2 x 21.6 cm) rectangle with an isosceles triangle of base 17 inches (43.2 cm) and equal sides of 12 inches (30.5 cm) attached to the back.

text:
Both the Major League Baseball Official Rules and the Little League rulebook say the angle between the two 12 inch sides should be 90 degrees. However, the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle with two sides of 12 inches is

288

{\displaystyle {\sqrt {288}}}

 inches, which is slightly less than the 17 inches required. The home plate as specified is therefore not physically realizable.[4]

text: 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 meters) behind home plate is the backstop, which is a wall/fence that will stop wild pitches, passed balls, and foul balls. In enclosed stadiums, the backstop is often composed of a lower part, which is like any other part of the wall, and an upper netting to protect spectators seated behind it; in recreational baseball fields, there is usually a tall chain-link fence, including an angled top section, composing the entire backstop.

text: Batter's box and catcher's box[edit]

text: The batter's box is the place where the batter stands when ready to receive a pitch from the pitcher. It is usually drawn in chalk on the dirt surrounding home plate, and the insides of the boxes are watered down before each game.

text: The chalk lines delineating the two Foul Lines are rarely extended through the batter's boxes. However, those lines exist conceptually for the purpose of judging a batted ball fair or foul. In addition, inside edges of the Batter's Boxes are often not laid-in with chalk. Similarly, though not marked, those lines continue to exist for the purpose of the rules pertaining to the batter's box and the batter's position relative thereto.

text: There are two batter's boxes, one on each side of home plate. The batter's boxes are 4 feet wide (1.2 m) and 6 feet long (1.8 m). The batter's boxes are centered lengthwise at the center of home plate with the inside line of each batter's box 6 inches (15.24 cm) from the near edge of home plate. A right-handed batter would stand in the batter's box on the left side of home plate from the perspective of the catcher and umpire. A left-handed batter would stand in the batter's box to their right. A batter may only occupy one batter's box at a time and may not legally leave the batter's box after the pitcher has come set or has started his windup. Should the batter wish to leave the batter's box once the pitcher has engaged the rubber, he must first ask the umpire for time-out. Time will not be granted if the pitcher has already started his pitching motion. For playing rules relating to the batter's box, see Rules 6.05 and 6.06 of the Official Baseball Rules.

text: Foul poles[edit]

text: Foul poles, if present, help umpires judge whether a fly ball hit above the fence line is foul (out of play) or fair (a home run). The poles are a vertical extension of the foul lines at the edge of the field of play. The outer edge of the foul lines and foul poles define foul territory. Both the lines and the poles are in fair territory, in contrast to football and basketball, where the lines marking the playing boundaries are out of bounds. The minimum distance to hit a home run (along either foul line) is set by baseball rules, generally at 325 feet (99 m).[5]

text: Before 1920,[citation needed] the foul lines extended indefinitely; a batter was awarded a home run only if a fly ball out of the field was fair where it landed, or "when last seen" by the umpire. Now, a batted ball that leaves the field in flight is judged fair or foul at the point it leaves the field. Thus, such a fly ball passing on the fair side of a foul pole, or hitting a foul pole, is a home run regardless of where the ball goes thereafter.

text: Foul poles are typically much higher than the top of the outfield fence or wall, and often have a narrow screen running along the fair side of the pole. This further aids the umpires' judgment, as a ball that bounces off this screen is a home run. It can still be a difficult call, especially in ballparks with no outfield stands behind the poles to provide perspective. Wrigley Field is notorious for arguments over long, curving flies down a foul line (most notably in left field) that sail higher than the foul pole.

text: At Major League Baseball fields, foul poles are usually yellow. Those at Citi Field are orange. At the Rogers Centre, there are no foul poles, but large nets suspended from the roof that serve the same purpose. At Petco Park, there is no foul pole in left field; the pole's function is served by a yellow metal strip along the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.

text: Pitcher's mound[edit]

text: In roughly the middle of the square, equidistant between first and third base, and a few feet closer to home plate than to second base, is a low artificial hill called the pitcher's mound. This is where the pitcher stands when throwing the pitch. Atop the mound is a white rubber slab, called the pitcher's plate or pitcher's rubber. It measures 6 inches (15 cm) front-to-back and 2 feet (61 cm) across, the front of which is exactly 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) from the rear point of home plate. This peculiar distance was set by the rule makers in 1893, not due to a clerical or surveying error as popular myth has it, but intentionally (further details in History section).

text: In Major League Baseball, a regulation mound is 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter, with the center 59 feet (18 m) from the rear point of home plate, on the line between home plate and second base. The front edge of the pitcher's plate or rubber is 18 inches (46 cm) behind the center of the mound, making the front edge's midpoint 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) from the rear point of home plate. Six inches (15.2 cm) in front of the pitcher's rubber the mound begins to slope downward. The top of the rubber is to be no higher than ten inches (25.4 cm) above home plate. From 1903 through 1968, this height limit was set at 15 inches (38.1 cm), but was often slightly higher, sometimes as high as 20 inches (51 cm), especially for teams that emphasized pitching, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were reputed to have the highest mound in the majors.

text: A pitcher will push off the rubber with his foot in order to gain velocity toward home plate when pitching. In addition, a higher mound generally favors the pitcher. With the height advantage, the pitcher gains more leverage and can put more downward velocity on the ball, making it more difficult for the batter to strike the ball squarely with the bat. The lowering of the mound in 1969 was intended to "increase the batting" once again, as pitching had become increasingly dominant, reaching its peak the prior year; 1968 is known among baseball historians as "The Year of the Pitcher". This restrictive rule apparently did its job, contributing to the hitting surge of modern baseball.

text: A pitcher's mound is difficult for groundskeepers to maintain. Usually before every game it is watered down to keep the dust from spreading. On youth and amateur baseball fields, the mound may be much different from the rule book definition due to erosion and repair attempts. Even in the major leagues, each mound gains its own character, as pitchers are allowed to kick away pieces of dirt in their way, thereby sculpting the mound a bit to their preference.

text: The pitcher may keep a rosin bag on the rear of the mound to dry off his hands. Major League Baseball teams are also permitted cleat cleaners on the back of the mound. This may be a flat grate-style plate, or simply a hand tool such as a piece of wood used to remove mud and dirt from cleats. These items are allowed to remain on the backside of the mound at the discretion of the umpire, thus reducing the probability that they will affect a live play.[6]

text: Baseline[edit]

text: A baseline is the straight line between two adjacent bases. Baselines are not drawn on the field, although the foul lines serve to mark the baseline between home plate and first base, and between third base and home.

text: Running baseline[edit]

text: Generally, base runners are not required to follow the baseline. A base runner seeking to advance more than one base typically "rounds" the base, following a more circular path. However, a base runner's left-right motion is constrained when the defense tries to tag him. At the moment the defense begins the attempt, the baserunner's running baseline is established as a direct line from his current position to the base he is trying for. A runner straying more than three feet (1 m) away from this baseline to avoid a tag may be called out.

text: Running lane[edit]

text: Beginning halfway between home and first base, and ending at first base, there is a second chalk line to the right of the foul line. This second line and the part of the foul line it runs parallel to, form the running lane that defines the path in which a batter-runner must run as he is advancing to first base. Rule 6.05(k) of the Official Baseball Rules states that, if a batter-runner running to first base runs outside the running lane, and "in doing so" interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first, then the batter-runner is automatically out. First base itself is not located in the running lane, but Rule 6.05 lets the batter-runner leave the running lane "by means of a step, stride or slide in the immediate vicinity of first base" to step on first base.[7]

text: Grass line[edit]

text: The grass line, where the dirt of the infield ends and the grass of the outfield begins, has no special significance to the rules of the game, but it can influence the outcome of a game. Dirt running paths between the bases (and, at one time and still in some parks, between the pitcher and the catcher) have existed since the beginning of the game, although they were not mentioned in the rule books until around 1950, and their specifications are flexible. In addition to providing a running path, the grass lines act as a visual aid so that players, umpires and fans may better judge distance from the center of the diamond. Occasionally the ball may take a tricky bounce off the dirt area or the edge between the dirt and the grass. Multiple World Series championships (including 1924, 1960 and 1986) have been decided or heavily influenced by erratic hops of ground balls.

text: In artificial turf stadiums, infield dirt was originally only placed around the bases and around the pitcher's and batting areas, which are referred to as "sliding pits." In this configuration, the "grass line" is usually designated with a white arc. Among Major League Baseball fields, Rogers Centre was the last stadium to maintain this type of configuration and is reconfigured with a full dirt infield starting in the 2016 MLB season.[8]

text: In some college baseball parks with artificial turf fields, the entire field (along with possibly the pitcher's mound) is made up of turf, with parts of the field mainly containing dirt instead merely being clay-colored turf.

text: Outfield[edit]

text: The outfield is made from thick grass or artificial turf. It is where the outfielders play. The positions to play in the outfield are right, center, and left field (named in relation to the batter's position; thus left field is beyond third base and right field is beyond first base). Outfields vary in size and shape depending on the overall size and shape of the playing field. The outfield stretches from the infield to the outfield wall and it contains the warning track. Outfields especially vary from Little League to Major League fields. Little League outfields vary more in size than Major League outfields. Outfields often differ from infields in the specific type of grass used, but most Major League outfields are grass.[9]

text: Warning track[edit]

text: The warning track is the strip of dirt at the edges of the baseball field (especially in front of the home run fence and along the left and right sides of a field). Because the warning track's color and feel differ from the grass field, a fielder can remain focused on a fly ball near the fence and measure his proximity to the fence while attempting to catch the ball safely.

text: A warning track's width is not specified in the rules. It is generally designed to give about three steps of warning to the highest-level players using the field. Typical widths run from about six feet for Little League fields to about 10–15 feet (3 - 4.5 m) for college- or professional-level play. A warning track this wide also lets groundskeepers avoid driving maintenance vehicles on the grass.

text: The track can be composed of finely ground rock particles such as cinders, which is why announcer Bob Wolff called it the "cinder path" rather than the "warning track".

text: The idea of a warning track originated in Yankee Stadium, where an actual running track was built for use in track and field events. When ballpark designers saw how the track helped fielders, it soon became a feature of every ballpark.

text: Single-minded fielders often crash into a wall trying to make a catch despite the warning track. For this reason, outfield walls are typically padded for extra safety. Wrigley Field's brick wall is covered only by ivy, which is not especially soft. However, there are pads on the walls of the tight left and right field corners in foul ground.

text: Warning-track power is a derogatory term for a batter who seems to have just enough power to hit the ball to the warning track for an out, but not enough to hit a home run. The term more generally refers to someone or something that is almost but not quite good enough for something.

text: Outfield wall[edit]

text: The outfield wall or outfield fence is the wall or fence that marks the outer boundary of the outfield. A ball passing over the wall is dead; if it passes over the wall in fair territory while in flight, it is a home run. The official rules do not specify the shape, height, or composition of the wall, or a specific mandatory distance from home plate (though Major League Baseball mandates a minimum distance of 250 feet (76 m) and recommends a minimum distance of 320 feet (98 m) at the foul poles and 400 feet (120 m) at center field). As a result, baseball fields can vary greatly along those lines. The wall has numbers affixed or painted on it that denote the distance in feet from that point on the wall to home plate. In most modern major league ballparks, the wall is made of some hard material (e.g., concrete) with padding on the field side to protect players who may collide with the wall at high speed while trying to make a play. Chain link fencing may also be incorporated into the wall in areas where the wall needs to be transparent, e.g., an outfield bullpen, a spectator area behind the wall, or to protect a scoreboard incorporated into the wall. Many ballparks feature a yellow line denoting the top of the wall to aid umpires in judging whether the ball passed over the wall or if the ball is fair or foul.

text: Bullpen[edit]

text: The bullpen (sometimes referred to as simply "the pen") is the area where pitchers warm up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Relief pitchers usually wait in the bullpen when they have yet to play in a game, rather than in the dugout with the rest of the team. The starting pitcher also makes his final pregame warmups in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin his warmup tosses. "Bullpen" is also used metonymically to describe a team's collection of relief pitchers.

text: On-deck circles[edit]

text: There are two on-deck circles in the field, one for each team, positioned in foul ground between home plate and the respective teams' benches. They are technically known as next-batter's boxes. The on-deck circle is where the next scheduled batter, or "on-deck" batter, warms up while waiting for the current batter to finish his turn. The on-deck circle is either an area composed of bare dirt; a plain circle painted onto artificial turf; or often, especially at the professional level, a mat made from artificial material, with the team or league logo painted onto it.

text: Coach's boxes[edit]

text: The coach's boxes, located behind first and third base, are where the first and third base coaches are supposed to stand, although coaches often stand outside the box. This is permissible as long as the coach does not interfere with play and the opposing team does not object (in which case the umpire shall ensure that all coaches on both teams must abide by the boundaries of the coach's boxes). The coach's boxes are marked with chalk or paint. In the early days of baseball, the term "coacher's box" was used, as "coach" was taken to be a verb. As the term "coach" evolved into a noun, the name of the box also changed.

text: History[edit]

text: This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The basic layout of the diamond has been little changed since the original Knickerbocker Rules of the 1840s. The distance between bases was already established as 90 feet (27.5 m), which it remains to this day. Through trial and error, 90 feet (27.5 m) had been settled upon as the optimal distance. 100 feet (30.5 m) would have given too much advantage to the defense, and 80 feet too much to the offense.

text: The original Knickerbocker Rules did not specify the pitching distance explicitly. By the time major league baseball began in the 1870s, the pitcher was compelled to pitch from within a "box" whose front edge was 45 feet (13.7 m)from the "point" of home plate. Although he had to release the ball before crossing the line, as with bowlers in cricket, he also had to start his delivery from within the box; he could not run in from the field as bowlers do. Furthermore, the pitcher had to throw underhand. By the 1880s, pitchers had mastered the underhand delivery—in fact, in 1880, there were two perfect games within a week of each other.[10]

text: In an attempt to "increase the batting", the front edge of the pitcher's box was moved back 5 feet (1.5 m) in 1881, to 50 feet (15 m) from home plate. The size of the box was altered over the following few years. Pitchers were allowed to throw overhand starting in 1884, and that tilted the balance of power again. In 1887, the box was set at 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) deep, with the front edge still 50 feet (15 m) from the plate. However, the pitcher was compelled to deliver the ball with his back foot at the 55.5 foot (16.9 m) line of the box, thus somewhat restricting his ability to "power" the ball with his overhand delivery.[11]:96

text: In 1893, the box was replaced by the pitcher's plate, although "the box" is still used today as a slang term for the pitcher's location on the field. Exactly 5 feet (1.5 m) was added to the point the pitcher had to toe, again "to increase the batting" (and hopefully to increase attendance, as fan interest had flagged somewhat), resulting in the seemingly peculiar pitching distance of 60.5 feet (18.4 m).[11]:230

text: Many sources suggest that the pitching distance evolved from 45 to 50 to 60.5 feet. However, the first two were the "release point" and the third is the "pushoff point", so the 1893 increase was not quite as dramatic as is often implied; that is, the 1893 rule change added only 5 feet to the release point, not 10.5 feet (3.2 m).

text: Originally the pitcher threw from flat ground, but over time the raised mound was developed, somewhat returning the advantage to the pitchers. Before the mid-20th century, it was common for baseball fields to include a dirt pathway between the pitcher's mound and home plate. This feature is sometimes known as the "keyhole" due to the shape that it makes together with the mound. The keyhole was once as wide as the pitcher's box and resembled the "pitch" area used in the game of cricket. Sometimes this path extended through the batting area and all the way to the backstop. Once the rounded pitcher's mound was developed, the path became more ornamental than practical, and was gradually thinned before being largely abandoned by the 1950s. In recent years some ballparks, such as Comerica Park and Chase Field in the major leagues, have revived the feature for nostalgic reasons.

text: Maintenance[edit]

text: Honors and awards[edit]

text: The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) presents various awards each year. Starting in 2001, its Sports Turf Manager of the Year Awards have been presented annually in the Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Short-Season/Rookie divisions of Minor League Baseball and are chosen from the 16 league winners.[12] STMA also presents the Baseball Field of the Year Award, which includes Schools and Parks, College/University and Professional categories.[13]