The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the first round—which determines the champion of NCAA Division I level college baseball. The eight participating teams are split into two double-elimination brackets of four teams apiece, with the bracket winners playing in a best-of-three championship series.
History The first edition of the College World Series was held in 1947 at Hyames Field in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The tournament was held there again in 1948, but was moved to Lawrence Stadium in Wichita, Kansas, for the 1949 tournament. Since 1950, the College World Series (CWS) has been held in Omaha, Nebraska.CWS History. CWS Omaha, Inc. Retrieved 2017-02-11. It was held at Rosenblatt Stadium from 1950 through 2010; starting in 2011, it has been held at Charles Schwab Field Omaha (formerly TD Ameritrade Park Omaha). 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.NCAA Trademarks – NCAA.org , footnote at bottom: "College World Series and Women'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."
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 the NCAA 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". 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.See, e.g., the NCAA Division I baseball home page, with linked stories consistently using "Men's College World Series"; the NCAA's official MCWS home page; and the CWS Omaha home page.
On March 13, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 College World Series was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first time in the event's history it had been canceled.
Contract extension On June 10, 2008, the NCAA and CWS Omaha announced a new 25-year contract extension, keeping the MCWS in Omaha through 2035. NCAA Signs 25-Year Agreement with College World Series of Omaha, Inc. A memorandum of understanding had been reached by all parties on April 30. NCAA Memorandum of Understanding...
The currently binding contract began in 2011, the same year the tournament moved from Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium to the venue now known as Charles Schwab Field Omaha, a new ballpark across from CHI Health 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. 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 to Wichita, 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 to Omaha, 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 in 1997 and Southern California in 1998 – 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 the 1988 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 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 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 the 1999 College World Series, the four-team brackets in the CWS have been determined by the results of super-regional play, much like the NCAA 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. 2018–2026 – 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. 2026-present – The baseball selection committee changed the format so that the number of national seeds was shifted from 16 to 32, with each team outside of the top 16 grouped based on location. This change doesn't alter the structure of the event, as 16 four-team regionals are still featured.
Results