1947: Eight teams were divided into two, four-team, single-elimination playoffs. The two winners then met in a best-of-three final in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

California beat Yale two games to none to win first baseball championship. Yale featured first baseman named George Bush.

1948: Four-team playoffs were changed to double-elimination tournaments. Again in the finals, the two winners met in a best-of-three format in Kalamazoo.

1949: The final was expanded to a four-team, double-elimination format and the site changed to Wichita, Kansas. Eight teams began the playoffs with the four finalists decided by a best-of-three district format.

1950: An eight-team, double-elimination format coincided with the move to Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha in 1950. This format would continue until 1988.

The baseball committee chose one team from each of the eight NCAA districts to compete at the College World Series. This procedure would continue until 1954.

Jim Ehrler of Texas threw first CWS no-hitter against Tufts. Texas became first team to defend title after also winning title in 1949.

1954: District playoffs were conducted to determine the eight CWS participants. The baseball committee could declare an institution as the district representative to Omaha, or stage two-, three-, or four-team tournaments, depending upon the strength of each district for that particular year, thus accounting for the fluctuation in the size of the field. Maximum tournament field size was 32 from 1954 until 1971.

From 1972 to 1974 the maximum was 34 with district three permitting as many as six teams.

1960: Jim Wixson of Oklahoma State threw second CWS no-hitter against North Carolina.

1970: Southern Cal beat Florida State, 2-1, in 15 innings.

1972: CWS teams played a record eight, one-run games out of 15 total. The one-millionth fan attended the CWS.

1974: First year for designated hitter and aluminum bat. Southern Cal won its fifth consecutive CWS.

1975: The championship was changed to a regional format with eight four-team, double-elimination tournaments. This was also the first year more than one team from a conference could compete in the championship since the early 60's.

1978: Southern Cal won its 11th CWS title, the most of any team.

1980: ESPN covered selected CWS games for the first time.

1981: CWS teams hit a record 26 home runs.

1983: The two-millionth fan attended the CWS.

1984: CWS teams combine to score an average of 15.2 runs a game, an all-time high.

1987: Oklahoma State made its seventh straight CWS appearance, a record. The field was expanded to 48 teams.

1988: The eight regional champions were seeded into two, four-team brackets. Those two brackets played double-elimination with the bracket winners then meeting in a one-game championship. CBS covered CWS championship game for the first time. Stanford became the first team since Southern Cal to defend title.

1989: Wichita State became the first team outside the states of Arizona, California, Texas or Florida to win CWS since Ohio State in 1966.

1990: A record total of 138,426 fans watched the CWS, an average of 15,381 per session was also a record.

1991: A single-session record 18,206 fans watched Wichita State beat CWS host Creighton 3-2, in 12 innings. The three-millionth fan attended the CWS. CBS televised CWS championship game plus Game No. 3.

1992: Pepperdine University completed an undefeated run at the CWS as it beat Cal State Fullerton, 3-2, to win its first Division I Baseball Championship.

1993: A record 173,296 fans attended the championship, including three sessions with over 20,000 fans.

1994: For the first time, all CWS games were televised live on either CBS, ESPN or ESPN2. An all-time record 21,503 watched the championship game and a record average of 17,960 attended the nine sessions.

1995: Attendance records were established for overall attendance (182,759) average per session of (18,276) and championship game (22,027). Cal State Fullerton defeated USC 11-5 for the national championship.

1996: A new average attendance per session record (20,281) shattered the old record set in 1995. LSU defeated Miami 9-8 for the title in one of the most dramatic finishes in 50 golden years of College World Series history. LSU second baseman, Warren Morris, hit a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the Tigers victory.

1997: The championship game crowd of 24,401 set the College World Series single-session attendance record. Overall attendance reached 204,309, marking the first tie it has surpassed 200,000. The average crowd per session (20,431) also set a CWS record. The four-millionth fan attended the CWS.

1998: Southern California outslugged Pacific-10 Conference rival Arizona State, 21-14, to win its 12th title before a championship-game record crowd of 24,456 June 6 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. A total of 42 College World Series records were broken and another 26 were tied. Among the most notable records shattered included most home runs by all teams in a series (62). team batting average (.318) and highest team batting average (Southern California, .378). In addition, nearly every offensive record for a College World Series championship game was broken.

1999: The 1999 College World Series marked the 50th year of this great event in Omaha, Nebraska. The Miami Hurricanes, playing their sixth consecutive CWS, won their third national champion-ship by defeating Florida State in the title game.

2000: LSU won its fifth championship in 10 years as Brad Cresse singled in Ryan Theriot in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Stanford 6-5. Trey Hodges pitched four scoreless innings for his second win of the tournament. He was selected the CWS' most outstanding player.

2001: Miami wins its second title in three years by throttling a young Stanford team 12-1. Kevin Brown hit a home run and had five RBI, and Kevin Mannix drove in three runs for the Hurricanes (53-12). Miami center fielder Charlton Jimerson hit for power, ran the bases at will and was fabulous in the field to earn the CWS Most Outstanding Player award. For the 'Canes, it was their fourth national title overall, the others coming in 1982, 1985 and 1999.

2002: The Texas Longhorns beat the South Carolina Gamecocks, 12-6. The victory made Texas coach Augie Garrido the first to win the CWS with two schools, and gave Texas its first title since 1983. It also tied Texas (57-15) with Louisiana State and Arizona State for second on the list of CWS championships. Texas closer Huston Street was voted Most Outstanding Player for the series and became the first freshman to get the honor since Pat Burrell of Miami in 1996.

2003: The 2003 College World Series was the longest on record with a best-of-three championship series deciding the 11-day tournament. Rice won the title with a 14-2 victory over Stanford on Monday night in Game 16. It was the first best-of-three championship series in the event since 1948. The championship game attendance of 18,494 brought the tournament total to a record 260,091, breaking the old mark of 233,762 set last year. The 12-session average of 21,674 was only fourth-highest on record, however. More ...