College World Series Facts
The College World Series is the national championship event for NCAA Division I baseball. Despite starting sluggishly in 1947, the series has grown in popularity and is now the premier event for showcasing the best college baseball players hoping to be drafted by Major League Baseball teams.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
The University of California beat Yale, 8-7, in the first College World Series in 1947. The tournament moved between cities for three years before finding a permanent host in Omaha, Nebraska. The event lost money for 10 of the first 12 years in the city but since then has steadily grown in popularity. In addition, the tournament has gradually expanded to include more teams and a longer qualification process.
Attendance and TV ratings for the College World Series increased every year from 2000 to 2009, and the event surpassed 5 million visitors in 2002.
Location
-
The College World Series was held in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1947 and 1948, and Wichita, Kansas in 1949. From 1950 to 2010, the tournament took place in Omaha at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. The stadium seats more than 23,000 people and was also the home of the Omaha Royals, a minor league team, until 2010.
Starting in 2011, the College World Series will be held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
-
Format
-
The format of the NCAA baseball playoffs loosely resembles the NCAA basketball tournament. Sixty-four teams qualify for 16 College World Series regional tournaments on the basis of their performance throughout the regular season. The winners of these mini-tournaments then compete in a best-of-three "super regional" tournament. The eight winners of the super regionals qualify for the College World Series.
The CWS format is a double-elimination system, with two divisions of four teams each. The winner of each of these sectionals then meets in the championship series, which has been a best-of-three format since 2003. The winner of this series is the NCAA baseball champion.
Athletes
-
Hundreds of future Major League Baseball players played in the College World Series, including Robin Ventura, J.D. Drew, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
In 1973, Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield won the CWS Most Valuable Player award as a pitcher for the University of Minnesota. Major leaguers Pat Burrell, Huston Street and Mark Kotsay have also won CWS MVP awards.
Records
-
As of 2009, the University of Southern California has won 12 College World Series titles, the most in NCAA history. From 1970 to 1974, USC won five straight national championships, and six of seven from 1968 to 1974.
Florida State University has made 20 appearances in the College World Series but has never won a championship.
-
References
- Photo Credit baseball image by CraterValley Photo from Fotolia.com
