The College World Series, or CWS, is an annual June baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska. The CWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Championship series, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight participating teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets with the winners of each bracket playing in a best-of-three championship series.
Since 1950, the College World Series (CWS) has been held in Omaha, Nebraska. It was held at Rosenblatt Stadium from 1950 through 2010; starting in 2011, it has been held at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Earlier tournaments were held at Hyames Field in Kalamazoo, Michigan (1947–48) and Wichita, Kansas (1949). The name "College World Series" is derived from that of the Major League Baseball World Series championship; it is currently an MLB trademark licensed to the NCAA.
On June 10, 2009, the NCAA and College World Series of Omaha, Inc., which is the non-profit group that organizes the event, announced a new 25-year contract extension, keeping the CWS in Omaha through 2035. A memorandum of understanding had been reached by all parties on April 30.
The currently binding contract began in 2011, the same year the tournament moved from Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium to TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, a new ballpark across from CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Format history and changes
1947 – Eight teams were divided into two, four-team, single-elimination playoffs. The two winners then met in a best-of-three final in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
1948 – Similar to 1947, but the two, four-team playoffs were changed to double-elimination tournaments. Again in the finals, the two winners met in a best-of-three format in Kalamazoo.
1949 – The final was expanded to a four-team, double-elimination format and the site changed to Wichita, Kansas. Eight teams began the playoffs with the four finalists decided by a best-of-three district format.
1950–1987 – An eight-team, double-elimination format for the College World Series coincided with the move to Omaha in 1950. 1950–1953, a baseball committee chose one team from each of the eight NCAA districts to compete at the CWS. Through 1987 the College World Series was a pure double-elimination event. That ended with the 1987 College World Series.
1988–1998 – The format was changed beginning with the 1988 College World Series, when the tournament was divided into two 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 on CBS on a Saturday afternoon.
1999–2002 – With some 293 Division I teams playing, the NCAA expanded the overall tournament to a 64-team Regional field in 1999, with 8 National Seed teams, divided into 16 four-team regionals (each region seeded 1 to 4). The winners of each of the 16 "Regionals" advanced to 8 two-team, best-of-three-format "Super Regionals". The 8 Super Regional winners advanced to the CWS in Omaha. While the CWS format remained the same, the expanded field meant that eight Super Regional champions would advance. The 64-team bracket is set at the beginning of the championship and teams are not reseeded for the CWS. Since the 1999 College World Series, the four-team brackets in the CWS have been determined by the results of regional and super-regional play, much like the NCAA basketball tournament. Prior to 1999, the pairings for the CWS were not determined until after the completion of the regional tournaments.
2003–present – The championship final became a best-of-three series between the two four-team bracket winners, with games scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings. In the results shown here, 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.
Table is sortable
Bold indicates team won the CWS that year
Table is sortable
Bold indicates team won the CWS that year
Regular indicates team was Runner-up that year
CIBA was California Intercollegiate Baseball Association that competed as a division under the Pacific Coast Conference which operated under its own Charter. (Citation pg 19 of NCAA CWS Record Book – 2016 CWS Media Guide)
Independents = Miami Hurricanes (4) and Holy Cross Crusaders (1)
(WAC*) Original Western Athletic Conference 1962-1978 (Arizona State & Arizona titles pre 1979)
SCBA was Southern California Baseball Association (1977–84).
(WAC**) Reorganized Western Athletic Conference 1992–Present (Rice & Fresno State titles - both programs have since joined other conferences)
Coastal Carolina won their 2016 CWS title as a member of the Big South Conference and less than 24 hours before officially joining the Sun Belt Conference.
