College World Series, NCAA and NAIA:The Bases of College Baseball

Most college baseball is played under the NCAA or the NAIA. The NCAA writes the rule book that both Associations follow.

In NCAA baseball, there is end of season tournaments in each conference and then there is a college world series for each Division. The winners of the Championships then play the regionals. These winners play in the super regionals and the winners then play the College World Series. The College World Series for NCAA Division I, (which is basically what you find on most sports networks), takes place in Omaha, Nebraska, in June, after the regular season is over. Last year, the winner of the College World Series was Oregon State University.

The Division II tournament has been held at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama since 1985. This Division uses a single-game championship and not a best of three series.

The Division III tournament has been held at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin since 2000. Like Division II, it uses a single game championship.

The NAIA Baseball National Championships this year is held in Lewiston, Idaho between May 23 and 30. It is a double-elimination tournament.

For the first time in college baseball, the NCAA has issued a start date. For 2008, this date was Febuary 22, so that warm weather schools can’t start their season earlier than cold weather schools. Warm weather schools have been known to have an unfair advantage. Still, the University of Nebraska, the University of Notre Dame, and Oregon State University are examples of cold or rainy weather schools with very successful programs. Nebraska and Notre Dame made the College World Series when warm-weathered schools placed major emphasis on baseball. And Oregon has won back to back National Championships the last two seasons.

By: CampusCompare