College Baseball

Background

College baseball is overseen by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The rules they follow are similar to Major League Baseball, except for a few minor changes, most of which are safety-related. The full rulebook is available online.

Divisions

Three divisions (I, II, III) make up college baseball. Unlike some other sports, the divisions are not regional, but are instead determined by criteria enforced by the NCAA. The divisions are divided into regions.

Division I is the top division, and the most sought after. Its regions are: Atlantic, Central, East, Mideast, Midwest, Northeast, South, and West.

Division II is broken into Central, North Atlantic, North Central, Northeast, South, South Atlantic, South Central, and West.

Division III is divided into Central, Mid-Atantic, Mideast, Midwest, New England, New York, South, and West.

The number of teams and their placement in divisions shift every year. Some teams achieve the criteria to make them a Division I program, while others drop in standing.

Conferences

Each division and region has its own set of conferences to take part in.

Division I

• America East Conference
• Atlantic 10 Conference
• Atlantic Coast Conference
• Atlantic Sun Conference
• Big 12
• Big East Conference
• Big South Conference
• Big 10 Conference
• Big West Conference
• Ivy League
• Metro Athletic Conference
• Mid-American Conference
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
• Missouri Valley Conference
• Mountain West Conference
• Northeast Conference
• Ohio Valley Conference
• Pac-10 Conference
• Southeastern Conference
• Southern Conference
• Southland Conference
• Southwestern Athletic Conference
• Sun Belt Conference
• Trans America Athletic Conference
• West Coast Conference
• Western Athletic Conference

Division II

• Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference
• Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• Great Lakes Valley Conference
• Gulf South Conference
• Heartland Conference
• Lone Star Conference
• Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• New York Collegiate Athletic Conference
• North Central Conference
• Northeast-10 Conference
• Northern Sun Conference
• Peachbelt Athletic Conference
• Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
• Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
• South Atlantic Conference
• Sunshine State Conference
• West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Division III

• Allegheny Mountain Conference
• American Southwest Conference
• Capital Athletic Conference
• Centennial Conference
• Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• Great South Athletic Conference
• Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
• Lake Michigan Conference
• Little East Conference
• Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference
• Middle Atlantic Conference
• Midwest Conference
• Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• New Jersey Athletic Conference
• North Coast Athletic Conference
• North Eastern Athletic Conference
• Northwest Conference, Ohio Athletic Conference
• Old Dominion Athletic Conference
• Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
• Presidents Athletic Conference
• Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
• SUNY Athletic Conference
• USA South Athletic Conference
• Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

College World Series

The College World Series has been taking places since 1947. It began in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but in 1950, it moved to Omaha, where it has been ever since. The Series is for Division I teams. Of the 64 teams in Division I, only 29 make it to the qualifying games. Based on a best of three championship format, the top teams are selected for the three final championship games.

College Baseball Post Season Awards

After the season is over, the NCAA gives awards to the top performers, whether they’re coaches or students. The major awards given out every year are:

• Player of the Year
• Coach of the Year
• Freshman of the Year
• All-American Teams
• Freshman All-American Team

Links to Fan Information

• Collegiate Fan Collection Clothing has over 80 different schools’ replica jerseys.
• Boyd’s World has college baseball ratings, analysis, and the occasional opinion piece.
• The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has all the essential stats.