The weekend will see Arizona State play host to 27 teams from around the country, including a handful of teams who made appearances in the 2017 NCAA Postseason Tournament.
The classic itself is named in honor of Sun Devil legend Bill Kajikawa, an ASU graduate who earned his bachelor's degree in 1937 before completing a master's degree in 1948. While an undergrad, Kajikawa was a member of the varsity football team. In 1937, Kajikawa began his coaching career at ASU with the Arizona State Teacher's College freshman football team. In addition, he served as head basketball coach from 1948 to 1957, and he was head coach of ASU's club baseball team from 1947 to 1957. Before retiring in 1978, Kajikawa had worked as the freshman football coach under a total nine ASU head football coaches.
During World War II, Kajikawa took his only hiatus from ASU to serve with distinction in the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd combat regiment, manned entirely by Japanese Americans, was the Army's most decorated combat unit.
Kajikawa, who was a professor emeritus of physical education at ASU, was recognized on April 6, 1995, in a ceremony that named the Sun Devil football practice field The Bill Kajikawa Practice Facility. He was also inducted into the Arizona Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and the ASU Hall of Distinction in 1982.
The Kajikawa family became involved with the softball program in 1998, when Linda Wells invited Bill Kajikawa to throw out the first pitch at a home softball game. Five months later, his wife of 52 years passed away.
Following that game, Bill Kajikawa expressed to those close to him his desire to continue to support the program. The following 11-years, Kajikawa and his daughter could be seen at almost every practice, all of the ASU home games, and even traveled with the team to the NCAA tournaments.
Since the beginning of ASU Softball in 1966, ASU has hosted the annual event. From 1966-1990, it was named the `Sun Devil Invitational', which found its name changed in 1991 to the Coca-Cola Classic. It remained that until 1999 when the name changed yet again to the `Fiesta Bowl Tournament'. Six years later in 2005, the name was changed one final time to the `Kajikawa Classic'.
For the first time in the event's history, the Pac-12 Network will broadcast 17 games of the 2018 Kajikawa Classic. While all 17 games set to be covered by the Network include a Pac-12 school, Arizona State will appear in five of the scheduled broadcasts, including its 2018 season opener against Tennessee.
The televised portion of the 2018 Kajikawa Classic will begin at 1:30 p.m PT on Thursday, Feb. 8, and will feature a matchup between Stanford and BYU, to be followed by a matinee matchup between Oregon and Georgia at 4 p.m. PT. The night will conclude with a primetime matchup featuring Arizona State and Tennessee, with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.
Friday's slate will feature three Network games, beginning with Oregon and Fresno State at 8 a.m. followed by Arizona vs. Northwestern, Oregon State vs. Indiana and Arizona vs. Oklahoma State at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. The Friday TV schedule will again conclude with a 6:30 p.m. matchup featuring Arizona State and Nebraska.
The action will continue Saturday, with another five-game slate beginning with Fresno State and Stanford at 8 a.m. PT, followed by Oregon vs. Missouri at 10:30 a.m. Utah will make their first televised appearance against Tennessee at 1 p.m., before Oregon State makes their Pac-12 Network debut against Georgia at 4 p.m. PT. For the third straight day, Arizona State will close out the day with a 6:30 p.m. matchup against Notre Dame on Pac-12 Arizona.
The Kajikawa Classic will wrap up on Sunday with a four-game TV slate that begins with Missouri and Oregon at 8 a.m., followed by ASU and Indiana at 10:30 a.m. PT. Utah and Saint Mary's will open the final afternoon of the classic with a 1 p.m. first pitch, to be followed by ASU vs. Saint Mary's at 3:30 p.m. PT.
Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and @sundevilsb on Instagram.