NCAA® 2007 Men's College World Series - Omaha, Nebraska

Lucky Fan Will Be Recognized

(OMAHA, Neb. – June 13, 2006) The NCAA Men’s College World Series has drawn a total of 5,956,425  fans since the first championship was played back in 1947.  The six million fan milestone will be reached on June 16 during Session 2, according to Dennis Poppe, senior director of baseball and football for the NCAA.

“We will recognize the 6 millionth fan during the second game on Friday, June 16, through a videoboard presentation and with prizes supplied by NCAA Corporate Champions, Partners and Official Equipment Suppliers.” Poppe noted.  “At that point,  a lucky fan entering the stadium will be selected at random as our six millionth fan.”

Citing the importance of College World Series fans, Poppe emphasized, “The NCAA is indebted to all the fans who have supported the College World Series over the years and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the city of Omaha through the rest of this decade.”

“The support that fans have given us throughout the years has been phenomenal,” said Jack Diesing Jr., president of CWS of Omaha, Inc.  “It’s pretty remarkable when you consider that it took almost 25 years for the Series to reach its first one million fan milestone and just four years to go from five million to six million fans.  The growing popularity of this championship is evidence of its remarkable appeal as Omaha’s premier sports and entertainment event.”

The Top 25 All-Time Sessions of the NCAA Men’s College World Series have had more than 24,000 people attend, a testament to fan dedication to college baseball, Diesing said.  All 25 sessions were within the last decade and more than half occurred during 2004-2005 – another indication of growing support for the Series.
 

In total paid attendance during 2004-2005, Division I Baseball was second only to Division I Men’s Basketball (see chart).  “When you’re No. 2, you always try harder which is what we keep doing to ensure that fans of all ages keep coming to Rosenblatt for the Road to Omaha experience,” Diesing added.

2004-2005 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Top 10 Total Paid Attendance

 1. Division I Men's Basketball        674,064
 2. Division I Baseball                   659,578
 3. Division I Women's Basketball    300,875
 4. Division I-AA Football               135,799
 5. Division I Wrestling                  105,247
 6. Division I Women’s Volleyball       97,658
 7. Division I Men’s Ice Hockey        96,327
 8. Division II Football                    74,639
 9. Division I Softball                     63,659
 10. Division I Men’s Soccer            61,310

College World Series of Omaha, Inc. is a non-profit organization and the local organizing committee for the annual NCAA Division I Championship Baseball College World Series.  This year’s event gets underway with Opening Ceremonies on June 15 and concludes June 25 or 26 with the final Championship game.