List of NCAA Division I baseball programs
The following is a list of schools that participate in NCAA Division I baseball.[1] In the 2019 season, 297 Division I schools competed. These teams compete to go the 64-team Division I baseball tournament and then to Omaha, Nebraska, and TD Ameritrade Park, for the eight-team College World Series (CWS).
Conference affiliations are current for the upcoming 2021 NCAA baseball season. Numbers of appearances in the NCAA Tournament and CWS, plus CWS titles, are current through the 2019 college baseball season.[2][3]
At least one Division I program will not play in the 2021 season due to COVID-19 concerns. On October 27, 2020, Bethune–Cookman, which had already canceled its 2020 fall sports, announced that none of its other teams, including baseball, would play in the 2020–21 school year.[4]
Another Division I program will be eliminated after 2021. On September 29, 2020, La Salle also announced that baseball would be one of the seven sports to be dropped at the end of the 2020–21 academic year for sustainability reasons.[5]
Division I programs
Schools in transition
These schools are in transition from Division II to Division I. For scheduling purposes, they are considered to be Division I institutions, but they will not be eligible for the NCAA tournament until completing the transition.
School | Nickname | Home field | Conference | National titles | Full membership |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
California Baptist University | Lancers | James W. Totman Stadium | Western Athletic | July 2022[10] | |
University of North Alabama | Lions | Mike D. Lane Field | ASUN | July 2022[11] | |
Merrimack College | Warriors | Warrior Baseball Diamond | NEC | July 2023[12] | |
Bellarmine University | Knights | Knights Baseball Field | ASUN | July 2024[13] | |
Dixie State University | Trailblazers | Bruce Hurst Field | Western Athletic | July 2024[14] | |
Tarleton State University | Texans | Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex | Western Athletic | July 2024[15] | |
University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) | Tritons | Triton Ballpark | Big West | July 2024[16] |
School | Nickname | Home field | Future conference | National titles | Full membership |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of St. Thomas | Tommies | Koch Diamond | Summit League | (Div. III 2001, 2009) | July 2025[17] |
New programs
In September 2017, Akron, a member of the Mid-American Conference, announced that it was planning to reinstate its baseball program, which had been dropped after the 2015 season. Baseball returned for the 2020 season, abbreviated due to COVID-19.[18]
Eliminated programs
- Boise State University, which had reinstated baseball for the 2020 season after a 40-year absence,[19] dropped the sport after that season due to COVID-19-related financial challenges.[20]
- Chicago State University announced in June 2020 that it would drop baseball. The school had been facing major budgetary challenges even before the onset of COVID-19.[21]
- Furman University announced in May 2020 that the Paladins baseball team would be terminated due to budget concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]
Notes
- La Salle will eliminate its baseball team after the 2021 season.
- Oklahoma State opened the 2020 season at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. O'Brate Stadium had been scheduled to open in late March 2020, by which time the season had been canceled.
- Marshall plans to open a new on-campus ballpark for the 2022 season.
- Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) did not exist until the 2018–19 school year, having been established as one of the two new institutions formed when the Indiana University and Purdue University systems dissolved Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). The IPFW athletic program was inherited by PFW, and shortly before the institutional split, the athletic program branding was changed from "Fort Wayne" to "Purdue Fort Wayne".
- Bethune–Cookman and Florida A&M join the SWAC in July 2021.
- North Carolina A&T joins the Big South Conference in July 2021.
- Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin join the WAC in July 2022.
- Northern Colorado baseball joins the Summit League in July 2021.
- UTRGV was founded in 2013 and began full operation in 2015, following the merger of two University of Texas System campuses—the NCAA Division I University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) and the University of Texas at Brownsville, a member of the NAIA. The former UTPA athletic program became the UTRGV program after the merger; UTRGV is therefore credited with all of UTPA's appearances in the NCAA tournament.
References
- "NCAA Sports Sponsorship: Division I Men's Baseball". NCAA.org. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- "2017 College World Series: NCAA Division I Baseball Championship bracket announced". May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- "Division I Championship History". Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- Medcalf, Myron (October 27, 2020). "Bethune-Cookman opts for no sports during 2020-21 school year". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
- "An Open Letter to the La Salle and Explorer Athletics Community" (Press release). La Salle Explorers. September 29, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- "Division I Baseball Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- "Baseball Championship History". NCAA. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- "Championship History (baseball)" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- "Div II Baseball Championship History". NCAA. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
- "Cal Baptist moving to NCAA Division I". The Press-Enterprise & Digital First Media. January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- "UNA to move to Division 1, join ASUN". DecaturDaily.com. December 7, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- "Merrimack Accepts Invitation to Join Northeast Conference". Northeast Conference/sidearmsports.com. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- "DONE D-1 DEAL". wdrb.com. June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- "Blazing a New Trail: Dixie State Accepts Invitation to Join Western Athletic Conference" (Press release). Dixie State Trailblazers. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- "Tarleton State University to Join Western Athletic Conference in 2020-21" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. November 12, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- "CSU Bakersfield, UC San Diego to Join Big West Conference" (Press release). Big West Conference. November 27, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- "NCAA Ruling Allows D-III St. Thomas to Make Unprecedented Leap to D-I". TommieSports.com (Press release). July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- "University of Akron Looks to Bring Back Baseball, Add Women's Lacrosse" (Press release). Akron Zips. September 19, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- "Gary Van Tol Named Boise State Head Baseball Coach" (Press release). Boise State Broncos. November 28, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
- "Boise State Athletics Announces Program Changes" (Press release). Boise State Broncos. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- "Chicago State University Board of Trustees Announces Discontinuation of Baseball" (Press release). Chicago State Cougars. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Connolly, Matt (May 18, 2020). "Furman cuts two sports, including baseball, amid coronavirus budget hits". The State. Retrieved May 18, 2020.