List of NCAA Division I baseball programs
The following is a list of schools that participate in NCAA Division I baseball.[1] In the 2021 season, 300 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 ongoing 2022 NCAA baseball season. Years of conference changes, indicated in footnotes, reflect baseball seasons, which take place in the calendar year after a conference change takes effect. Numbers of appearances in the NCAA Tournament and CWS, plus CWS titles, are current through the 2021 college baseball season.[2][3]
At least one Division I program did not play in the 2021 season due to COVID-19 concerns. On October 27, 2020, Bethune–Cookman, which 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 downgraded after 2023. Hartford has begun its plan to drop its athletic department, including baseball, to Division III by the 2024 season.[5]
Division I programs
Schools in transition
These schools are in transition from Division II or III 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 (Tarleton) | 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] | |
University of St. Thomas | Tommies | Koch Diamond | Summit League | (Div. III 2001, 2009) | July 2025[17] |
School | Nickname | Home field | Future conference | National titles | Full membership |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lindenwood University | Lions | Lou Brock Sports Complex | Ohio Valley | July 2026[18] | |
University of Southern Indiana | Screaming Eagles | USI Baseball Field | Ohio Valley | (Div. II 2010, 2014) | July 2026[19] |
Stonehill College | Skyhawks | Lou Gorman Field | Northeast | July 2026[20] |
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.[21]
Eliminated programs
- Boise State University, which had reinstated baseball for the 2020 season after a 40-year absence,[22] dropped the sport after that season due to COVID-19-related financial challenges.[23]
- 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.[24]
- Furman University announced in May 2020 that the Paladins baseball team would be terminated due to budget concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]
- La Salle also dropped baseball at the end of the 2020–21 academic year for sustainability reasons.[26]
- North Carolina Central discontinued baseball after the 2021 season.[27]
Notes
- Hartford has planned to join an unnamed Division III conference in 2024.
- Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, and Stony Brook join the CAA in 2023.
- BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF join the Big 12 in 2024.
- Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston join C-USA in 2024.
- Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC no later than 2026.
- 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.
- James Madison joins the Sun Belt in 2023.
- Charlotte, FAU, Rice, UAB, and UTSA join The American in 2024.
- Marshall plans to open a new on-campus ballpark for the 2024 season.
- Marshall and Southern Miss join, with Old Dominion rejoining, the Sun Belt in 2023.
- 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".
- Belmont, Murray State, and UIC join the Missouri Valley in 2023.
- Dallas Baptist joins C-USA in 2023.
- Bryant joins the America East in 2023.
- Austin Peay joins the ASUN in 2023.
- Incarnate Word joins, and UT Arlington rejoins, the WAC in 2023.
- Little Rock joins the Ohio Valley in 2023.
- Dixie State is to be renamed Utah Tech University before the 2023 season.
- Lamar rejoins the Southland in 2024.
- 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.
- "Athletics Transition" (Press release). University of Hartford. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 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.
- Frederick, Jace (July 15, 2020). "Making the jump: St. Thomas granted approval to move to Division I in 2021". TwinCities.com. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- "Lindenwood Announces Transition to NCAA Division I and Ohio Valley Conference". Lindenwood Lions. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- "USI announces OVC as partner for NCAA reclassification" (Press release). Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- "Stonehill Announces Transition to NCAA Division I for 2022-23 Academic Year". Stonehill Skyhawks. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- "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.
- "An Open Letter to the La Salle and Explorer Athletics Community" (Press release). La Salle Explorers. September 29, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- "NCCU Athletics Announces Sport Sponsorship Change" (Press release). NCCU Athletics. February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.