TheCollege World Series (CWS), officially theNCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is abaseball tournament held each June inOmaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of theNCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the first round—which determines the champion ofNCAA Division I levelcollege baseball. The eight participating teams are split into twodouble-elimination brackets of four teams apiece, with the bracket winners playing in abest-of-three championship series.
The event's official name was changed to "Men's College World Series" no later than 2008. The most recent hosting agreement between the NCAA and the city of Omaha and related entities, signed in that year, states, "The official name of the [championship] shall be theNCAA Men's College World Series". However, as of October 2021, the CWS logo still appeared on the NCAA's official D-I baseball tournament bracket, and on the front page of the NCAA's official CWS website, without the word "Men's".[4] The NCAA has since added "Men's" to the event's logo, and both the NCAA and College World Series of Omaha, Inc. (CWS Omaha), the nonprofit group that organizes the event, now consistently use the phrase "Men's College World Series" to describe it.[5]
On March 13, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 College World Series was canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the first time in the event's history it had been canceled.[6]
On June 10, 2008, the NCAA and CWS Omaha announced a new 25-year contract extension, keeping the MCWS in Omaha through 2035.[7] Amemorandum of understanding had been reached by all parties on April 30.[8]
1947 – Eight teams were divided into two, four-team, single-elimination playoffs. The two winners then met in a best-of-three final inKalamazoo, Michigan.
1948 – Similar to 1947, but the two, four-team playoffs were changed to double-elimination tournaments. The two winners continued to meet in a best-of-three final in Kalamazoo. The teams were selected from the NCAA's eight districts, with a local committee choosing its representative based on their own criteria, which might or might not include committee selections, conference champions, and district playoffs.
1949 – The final was expanded to a four-team, double-elimination format and the site changed toWichita, Kansas. Eight teams began the playoffs with the four finalists decided by a best-of-three district format.
1950–1953 – An eight-team, double-elimination format for the College World Series coincided with the move toOmaha, Nebraska, in 1950. A national baseball committee chose one team from each of the eight NCAA districts.
1954–1975 – Preliminary rounds determined the eight CWS teams, and the total number of teams in the preliminary round ranged from 21 to 32. The format of the CWS remained the same as 1950.
1976–1981 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 34.
1982–1984 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 36.
1985 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 38.
1986 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 40.
1987 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 48, with teams split into eight, six-team regionals. The regionals were a test of endurance, as teams had to win at least four games over four days, sometimes five if a team dropped into the loser's bracket, placing a premium on pitching. In the last two years of the six-team regional format, the eventual CWS champion –LSU in1997 andSouthern California in1998 – had to battle back from the loser's bracket in the regional to advance to Omaha. Unlike the current 64 team tournament, the CWS pairings were set after the regional tournaments.
1988–1998 – The format for the CWS was changed for the first time since 1950 with the1988 College World Series, when the tournament was divided into 2 four-team double-elimination brackets, with the survivors of each bracket playing in a single championship game. The single-game championship was designed for network television, with the final game onCBS on a Saturday afternoon.
1999–2002 – With some 293 Division I teams playing, the NCAA expanded theoverall tournament to a 64-team field in 1999. Teams were divided into 16 four-team double-elimination regionals. The regional winners advanced to the Super Regional round, which had 8 best-of-three series to advance to the CWS. Within each region, teams were seeded 1 to 4. Additionally, the top 8 teams in the tournament were given "national seeds" and placed in different Super Regionals so no national seeds could meet before the CWS. The 64-team bracket was set at the beginning of the championship and teams are not reseeded for the CWS. Since the1999 College World Series, the four-team brackets in the CWS have been determined by the results of super-regional play, much like theNCAA basketball tournament.
2003–2017 – The championship final became a best-of-three series between the two four-team bracket winners, with games scheduled for three consecutive evenings. In the results shown below,Score indicates the score of the championship game(s) only. In 2008, the start of the CWS was moved back one day, and an extra day of rest was added in between bracket play and the championship series.
2018–present – The number of national seeds increased from 8 to 16. Each Super Regional featured the winners of regionals in which the numerical sum of those regions' national seeds totaled 17 (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc.). No other format changes were made.
CIBA was California Intercollegiate Baseball Association that competed as a division under thePacific Coast Conference which operated under its own Charter.[9]
SCBA was Southern California Baseball Association (1977–84).
The Big 12 does not claim any national championships, including baseball, that were won as members of the Big Eight and makes no claim to the history or records of the Big Eight.[10][11]
The Western Athletic Conference claims 7 national championships in baseball by former members.[12] There are no gaps in its existence; the WAC has existed continuously since its formation in 1962.[13][14] After the 2026 season, the WAC will rebrand as theUnited Athletic Conference.[15]
Coastal Carolina won the 2016 CWS as a member of the Big South Conference less than 24 hours before officially joining the Sun Belt Conference.[16]
Missouri won the 1954 CWS as a member of the Big Eight Conference.
^Before 1957, Oklahoma State University was known as Oklahoma A&M.
^In addition to the four then-current SEC members, two other participants in that edition, Oklahoma and Texas, announced in 2021 that they would join the SEC no later than 2025 (2026 season). Both ultimately joined the SEC for the 2025 season.
^NCAA Trademarks – NCAA.orgArchived 2017-05-05 at theWayback Machine, footnote at bottom: "College World Series andWomen's College World Series: The NCAA is the exclusive licensee of these marks, registered by Major League Baseball, in connection with the NCAA Division I Men's Baseball Championship and the Division I Women's Softball Championship."
