History

The "College World Series" is unusual among NCAA championship events in that it has a permanent home. Formally the National Collegiate Baseball Championship, the tournament was first held June 27-28, 1947, on the Western Michigan University campus in Kalamazoo.

After another year in Kalamazoo, it went to Wichita, Kansas. Then the NCAA accepted an offer from a civic group in Omaha, Nebraska, to host the tournament every year.

As a result, Omaha has been the home of the College World Series since 1950. The host committee, now known as College World Series, Inc., handles all the details of housing and food, in addition to supplying the park, while the NCAA oversees the competition itself.

The tournament cost the Omaha sponsors more than it brought in for the first dozen years, but since 1962 it has shown a surplus, which is shared among the participating schools, the NCAA, and the hosts.

Since 1954, the championship race has begun with competition in eight regions. Six teams from each region play a double-elimination tournament, with the champion advancing to the College World Series in Omaha. Those eight regional champions then take part another double-elimination tournament to determine the national champion.

The Division II championship was inaugurated in 1968 at Springfield, Missouri. It moved Springfield, Illinois, in 1972 and to Riverside, California, in 1980. Montgomery, Alabama, has hosted the tournament since 1985.

Marietta (Ohio) College hosted the Division III baseball championship from its inception in 1976 through 1987. After two years in Bristol, Connecticut, the tournament moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1990 and to Salem, Virginia, in 1995.