Where is Binghamton? What to know of Oklahoma softball's NCAA tournament opponent

Oklahoma is the resident juggernaut in college softball, the program that has solidified itself as a modern-day dynasty after steamrolling its way to seven Women’s College World Series championships in the past 13 seasons, including four of the past five. This week, the Sooners’ path back to Oklahoma City for the WCWS and another NCAA title begins. Coach Patty Gasso’s team enters the 2026 NCAA Tournament as the event’s No.

3 overall seed and will open play in the Norman Regional on Friday, May 15 with a game against Binghamton , which is appearing in its second-consecutive tournament after winning the America East Conference. Before the teams take the field, here’s a closer look at Binghamton: REQUIRED READING: Why OU softball coach Patty Gasso stresses 'one pitch at a time' in NCAA Tournament Where is Binghamton? Binghamton — or, more specifically, the State University of New York at Binghamton — is located in Binghamton, New York, a city with about 50,000 residents that’s located in New York’s Southern Tier region, just north of the Pennsylvania border.

The school’s campus is about 175 miles northwest of New York City and about 190 miles southeast of Buffalo. Prominent alumni include journalist and longtime "Pardon the Interruption" co-host Tony Kornheiser, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin, singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and actress Stephanie Courtney, who's most famous for her work as Flo in the Progressive insurance commercials. Binghamton mascot Binghamton’s athletic teams are the Bearcats, a moniker the school adopted in May 1999 when it reclassified to Division I.

Baxter the Bearcat serves as Binghamton’s mascot. The university’s squads were previously known as the Colonials. In the 1950s, when the then-nascent school was known as Harpur College, it unveiled its first live mascot — a Mexican burro named Harpo, who was tethered to a flagpole on campus.