October 4, 2023
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FORT COLLINS, CO – The charms of firing up the NCAA D-I softball season in winter weather can be elusive, but the ideal solution is ready for center stage as the team mix for the 2024 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge has been announced.
This is the eighth edition of the event and will again be held over two sessions, Feb. 8-11 and Feb. 14-18, along the sunny and inviting Pacific coast of Mexico. Games are played at Nancy Almaraz Stadium; many teams and their fans will book rooms at the refurbished, oceanside Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center, which is walking distance to the stadium.
All games will be live-streamed by FloSoftball. Here's the schedule for both sessions:
Session 1 schedule (all times CT):
Feb. 8
10:30 a.m. – Utah Valley vs. Oklahoma
1 p.m. – Duke vs. Oklahoma
4 p.m. – Iowa State vs. Utah Valley
6:30 p.m. – Nebraska vs. Washington
Feb. 9
10 a.m. – Duke vs. Iowa State
12:30 p.m. – Duke vs. Nebraska
3 p.m. – Long Beach vs. Nebraska
6 p.m. – Utah Valley vs. Washington
8:30 p.m. – Oklahoma vs. Washington
Feb. 10
10:30 a.m. – Nebraska vs. Utah Valley
1 p.m. – Oklahoma vs. Long Beach
4 p.m. – Washington vs. Iowa State
6:30 p.m. – Duke vs. Long Beach
Feb. 11
10 a.m. – Iowa State vs. Long Beach
Session 2 schedule (all time CT):
Feb. 14
Noon – Clemson vs. Wichita State
Feb. 15
10 a.m. – UC San Diego vs. Clemson
12:30 p.m. – UC Davis vs. Auburn
3 p.m. – Utah vs. Auburn
6 p.m. – Wichita State vs. South Carolina
8:30 p.m. – Utah vs. South Carolina
Feb. 16
10 a.m. – Mississippi State vs. UC Davis
12:30 p.m. – South Carolina vs. UC Davis
3 p.m. – UC San Diego vs. Mississippi State
6 p.m. – Clemson vs. Utah
8:30 p.m. – Auburn vs. Wichita State
Feb. 17
10 a.m. – South Carolina vs. UC San Diego
12:30 p.m. – UC Davis vs. Wichita State
3 p.m. – Clemson vs. Auburn
6 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Utah
8:30 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Clemson
Feb. 18
10 a.m. – UC San Diego vs. Utah
“After the steady offseason work by our dedicated staff, we are thrilled to unveil this list of teams, essentially the best of the best in college softball,” said Triple Crown Sports founder and PV College Challenge director Dave King. “We’re excited to welcome national champions, national all-Americans with MVP credentials and probably six preseason Top 15 teams. Looking at the quality and depth in both weeks of the event, well it’s simply amazing.”
The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge began in 2015 and has evolved into one of the premier tournaments designed to launch the softball season. It was the first-ever D-I softball event held outside the United States and has included programs from well-known Power 5 conferences as well as the deep pool of strong mid-major schools — the Mexican Olympic team also played in the tournament in 2020.
Puerto Vallarta remains a safe and easy-to-navigate destination and is excited to welcome back tourists. The area is full of other diversions and entertainment options for fans attending the PV College Challenge. Visit www.pvcollegechallenge.com for more information.
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for more than 40 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top D-I college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Anchored by the 1,100-team Colorado 4th of July event, TCS fastpitch tournaments draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the 650-team Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 550 teams compete in Kansas City, MO.