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Poster illustration of a college baseball player, 1908.

College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily fulfill that role.

As with other intercollegiate sports, most college baseball is played under the auspices of the NCAA or the NAIA. The NCAA writes the rules of play, while each sanctioning body supervises season-ending tournaments. The final rounds of the NCAA tournaments are known as the College World Series; one is held on each of the three levels of competition sanctioned by the NCAA. The College World Series for Division I takes place in Omaha, Nebraska in June, following the regular season. In reference to the University of Mississippi (aka "Ole Miss") baseball team's 37-year absence from the College World Series, OMAHA has also been coined an acronym for "Ole Miss At Home Again". [1] [2] [3] The playoff bracket for Division I consists of 64 teams, with four teams playing at each of 16 regional sites (in a double-elimination format) in late May. The 16 winners advance to the Super Regionals at eight sites, played head-to-head in a best-of-three series. The eight winners then advance to the College World Series, a double elimination tournament (actually two separate four-team brackets) to determine the two national finalists. The finalists play a best-of-three series to determine the Division I national champion. In 2009, the winner of the College World Series was the LSU Tigers.

[edit] History

The first known intercollegiate baseball game took place in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1859, between squads representing Amherst College and Williams College. Amherst won, 73-32. This game was one of the last played under an earlier version of the game known as "Massachusetts rules", which prevailed in New England until the "Knickerbocker Rules" (or "New York Rules") developed in the 1840s gradually became accepted.[4] The Fordham Rose Hill Baseball Club of St. John's College in New York (now Fordham University) played the first ever nine-man team college baseball game under the Knikerbocker Rules still in use today on November 3, 1859, against (the now defunct) St. Francis Xavier College.

[edit] Recent Growth

A map of all NCAA Division I baseball teams.

College baseball has grown phenomenally in popularity since the 1980s. Traditionally, it has been played in the early part of the year, with a relatively short schedule and during a time when cold (and/or rainy) weather hinders the ability for games to be played, particularly in the northern and midwestern parts of the U.S. These and other factors have historically led colleges and universities across the nation to effectively consider baseball a minor sport, both in scholarships as well as money and other points of emphasis. During the 1980s, coaches and athletic directors in warm-weather regions of the nation began to recognize the unrealized potential appeal of the sport. These coaches went out and aggressively recruited the sport to potential athletes, as well as made various upgrades to their programs; such as bigger and better stadiums, more money for staff and support salaries, and promotions. As these efforts resulted in better players and overall programs, more television and print media coverage began to emerge. The ESPN family of networks greatly increased television coverage of the NCAA playoffs and the College World Series.

Soon, in many warm-weather regions, baseball came to be considered a major sport, approaching the level of football and basketball. And even non-warm weather schools started to recognize baseball's potential and began to put considerably more emphasis on it. Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Oregon State are three notable examples of cold (or rainy) weather schools with very successful programs. The first two made the College World Series when warm-weather schools placed major emphasis on baseball as well as had the advantage of playing earlier and more games because of favorable climates. Oregon State won back-to-back national championships in 2006 & 2007; at that time, archrival Oregon had been without baseball for a quarter-century, having dropped its program in 1981. Many credit the Beavers' success as being a primary factor in UO's later decision to revive baseball in 2009. Minnesota has taken advantage of the use of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to play the majority of their games, including hosting a prestigious preseason tournament, and when the MLB Twins leave after the 2009 season, hope to use the facility for future Big Ten tournaments and bids on the NCAA tournament. Along with that, many smaller conferences (not in Division I) will play games at the Metrodome during February in order to keep up with schools in warm-weather locations. For 2008 and succeeding seasons, the NCAA has mandated the first ever start date for Division I baseball. This day is exactly thirteen weeks before the selection of the NCAA tournament field, which takes place on Memorial Day. For 2008, this day is February 22. Many feel this date will give schools outside of warm-weather areas more parity in college baseball and help continue to make the sport a major one nationally.

EA Sports released MVP 06 NCAA Baseball, the first college baseball video game ever released. It includes most Division I schools. A sequel, MVP 07: NCAA Baseball was also released.

[edit] Collegiate Rules

The rules of college baseball are similar to the Official Baseball Rules. Exceptions include the following:

• The bat may be made of wood or of aluminum or a metal or composite material that meets NCAA standards. [Note: The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel adopted a proposal by the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee, and ordered an immediate and indefinite moratorium on composite bats. NCAA research indicated bats, either through doctoring or normal use can, and do exceed limits of BESR (Bat Exit Speed Ratio, the speed at which the ball leaves the bat). Further research was called for to provide a means to assure the NCAA that composite bats remain within standards. NCAA press release dated August 24, 2009.^[1]
• The designated hitter rule is used. In addition, a player may serve as both pitcher and DH at the same time and may remain in one position when removed in the other.
• One or both ends of a doubleheader are sometimes seven innings in length. However, the NCAA has recently tightened the interpretation of what constitutes a regulation game, encouraging schools to play as many nine-inning games as possible. Seven-inning games may be played on the final day of a conference series, or if the two teams in a non-conference match will play two games in one day, often to make up a game that cannot be played earlier in the year because of inclement weather.
• A mercy rule may be in use, which terminates play when one team is ahead by 10 or more runs after seven innings (6½ innings if the home team is winning). In games that are scheduled for seven innings the rule takes effect in the fifth. This rule is not used in NCAA tournament games. Several conferences institute this rule only on Sundays or the final day of a conference series so that the visiting team can travel on time. In some conferences, the mercy rule may also be used to end such games in order to start the next tournament game on time as possible.
• There is an automatic ejection for maliciously running into a defender who is trying to tag a runner or a force out. An automatic double play may also be called if a player slides into a base in an attempt to take out the defensive player who is trying to throw the ball to continue a double play.
• Instant replay may be used in tournament games to determine if a slide was malicious.

[edit] Attendance Records

[edit] Top College Baseball Crowds of All Time

[edit] Top 25 On-Campus College Baseball Crowds of All Time

[edit] Longest game in college baseball history

The longest college baseball game was played between Texas and Boston College on May 30, 2009, during the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship regional tournament at Austin, Texas. Texas — which was designated the visiting team despite playing on its home field — won the game, 3-2, in 25 innings. The game lasted seven hours three minutes.^[3][4]

[edit] See also

• NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
• College World Series
• College baseball standings
• List of college baseball awards
• List of college baseball career home run leaders
• List of collegiate summer baseball leagues
• List of Division I colleges that do not sponsor baseball
• World University Baseball Championship
• College athletics
• College rivalries
• Baseball awards#U.S. college baseball

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: College baseball

• Baseball and Softball Rules
• Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports College Baseball
• NCAA Sports.com - Baseball
• NCAA.org - home page
• Ping!Baseball - home page
• National (Collegiate) Club Baseball Association
• The College Baseball Blog
• CSTV.com - College baseball polls
• College Baseball Dugout.com