As of June 26, 2006, 830 games have been played in Rosenblatt Stadium, which were attended by over 6 million fans.
The College World Series was first played in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1947. Kalamazoo hosted the Series again in 1948. Former President George Bush was captain of the Yale baseball team that played in the College World Series in Kalamazoo in 1948. The tournament moved in 1949 to Wichita, Kansas and was moved to Omaha in 1950. Attendance the first year in Omaha was 17,805.
Although the College World Series is now a profitable event, it lost money for 10 of the first 12 years that it was in Omaha – 1950-1961. Only 1952 and 1954 showed a small net profit in those first 12 years between 1950 and 1961. A total of $43,158 was spent by Omaha corporations to subsidize those losing years.
Four Omahans who maintained their faith and interest in the College World Series during those "lean" years are due much of the credit for the tournament's continued presence in Omaha. They are the late Ed Pettis of the Brandeis Stores, the late Morris Jacobs and the late Byron Reed, both of Bozell & Jacobs, and the late Johnny Rosenblatt, Mayor of Omaha and an avid baseball fan.
The College World Series tournament set attendance records in the 1980s. Attendance has continued to grow. From 95,406 in 1980 to a record 310,609 in 2006. The single-session attendance record was set on June 21, 2006 when 30,335 people attended the games between North Carolina (6) vs. Cal State (5) and Oregon State (5) vs. Rice (0)).
The College World Series has also added fans across the country through television exposure. ESPN first covered the College World Series in 1980 with five games that year. Since 1982, ESPN has televised the entire College World Series each year except the championship games, beginning in 1988. In 1991, CBS added to its coverage the Creighton vs. Clemson game played on the first Saturday of the Series.
The opportunity to enter into a lucrative, over-the-air television contract led the NCAA to change the series format in 1988. The networks wanted a definite date for the Championship game, so the College World Series switched from an eight-team, double-elimination championship to a two-division, eight-team tournament playing double elimination with the division winners meeting in a one-game Championship playoff.
In 2002, CBS announced it would no longer broadcast the Championship game. The NCAA took the opportunity to consider other options. Due to ESPN's exclusive coverage of the College World Series and its program flexibility, the NCAA Management Council, made up of athletic directors, conference commissioners and other collegiate officials, voted for the best-of-three Championship game format change.
In addition to the Championship games, the new format will allow Championship qualifying teams to have at least one day off - possibly two - between the double-elimination portion of the tournament and the Championship series.
The new format has also received the approval and support of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). The NCAA believes the new format is a good plan for teams and fans.
|
