The Quinnipiac Bobcats softball team represents Quinnipiac University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), having joined in 2014. From 1998 until 2013, the team was a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Bobcats are currently led by head coach Hillary Smith. The team plays its home games at Quinnipiac Softball Field, which is located on the college's campus.
History
Since transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1998, Quinnipiac has failed to win either a conference regular season title or a conference tournament championship. In doing so, the Bobcats have also failed to reach the NCAA Division I softball tournament. Quinnipiac has finished as high as second in the Northeast Conference standings twice, doing so under coach Germaine Fairchild in the 2004 and 2012 seasons.
Fairchild was replaced by Jill Karwoski on August 26, 2013. Fairchild's firing became the subject of a lawsuit carried out by the former coach against the university, citing a violation of Title IX. A previous lawsuit had been filed in 2009 against the university after the school had announced the elimination of several sports, notably women's volleyball, and the addition of a Division I cheerleading team. Fairchild's lawsuit claimed that she was fired after testifying at the preliminary injunction hearing related to the 2009 lawsuit, which she was subpoenaed to testify as a witness. The hearing took place three weeks before Fairchild was fired on July 11, 2013. A federal judge ruled against Quinnipiac's motion to dismiss Fairchild's claim on June 13, 2014.
After spending the first 15 years of their time in Division I in the NEC, it was announced in 2012 that the Bobcats would be leaving to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference starting in the 2013–14 academic year.