2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Encyclopedia
The 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 30 through June 25, 2008
and was part of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season
. The 64 NCAA
Division I college baseball
teams were selected out of an eligible 286 teams on May 26, 2008. Thirty teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. Thirty-eight of the 64 selected teams participated in the 2007 tournament
.
The 2008 tournament culminated with 8 teams advancing to the College World Series
at historic Rosenblatt Stadium
in Omaha, Nebraska
on June 14th.
On June 25, 2008, the Fresno State Bulldogs beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 6-1, to win the NCAA Mens Division I Baseball Championship. Fresno State was the lowest seeded team (4th in Regional) to win the National Championship in NCAA History.
Best-of-three super regionals were held Friday, June 6 through Monday, June 9. Four series were played Friday-Sunday and four series were played Saturday-Monday.
Mike Gleason
and Will Kimmey made up the studio team (in Bristol, Connecticut
) for both regional and super-regional rounds.
2008 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:* Regular Season Champions* World Series Champions – Philadelphia Phillies** American League Champions – Tampa Bay Rays** National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies* Postseason – October 1 to October 29...
and was part of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season
2008 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season began on February 15, 2008, and culminated in the 2008 College World Series, which was won by Fresno State.-Conference Standings:- References :**...
. The 64 NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I college baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
teams were selected out of an eligible 286 teams on May 26, 2008. Thirty teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. Thirty-eight of the 64 selected teams participated in the 2007 tournament
2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from June 1-24, . Sixty four NCAA Division I college baseball teams advanced to the post season tournament after having played through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament....
.
The 2008 tournament culminated with 8 teams advancing to the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
at historic Rosenblatt Stadium
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium is a baseball stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, the former home to the annual NCAA Division I College World Series and the minor league Omaha Royals, now known as the Omaha Storm Chasers...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
on June 14th.
On June 25, 2008, the Fresno State Bulldogs beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 6-1, to win the NCAA Mens Division I Baseball Championship. Fresno State was the lowest seeded team (4th in Regional) to win the National Championship in NCAA History.
National Seeds
Bold indicates CWS participant.- Miami (FL) (47-8)
- North Carolina (46-12)
- Arizona State (45-11)
- Florida State (48-10)
- Cal State Fullerton (37-19)
- Rice (42-13)
- LSU (43-16-1)
- Georgia (35-21-1)
Regional Schedule
Regional rounds were held Friday, May 30 through Monday, June 2. Each regional followed a similar format, with 2 games played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and one on Monday if needed.| Day | Game | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Fri. 5/30/08 | 1 | 2/3 or 1/4 (host choice) |
| 2 | 2/3 or 1/4 (host choice) | |
| Sat. 5/31/08 | 3 | Loser Games 1 & 2 |
| 4 | Winner Games 1 & 2 | |
| Sun. 6/1/08 | 5 | Winner Game 3 vs Loser Game 4 |
| 6 | Winner Games 4 & 5 | |
| Mon. 6/2/08 | 7 | if needed, only if winner of game 5 wins game 6 |
Best-of-three super regionals were held Friday, June 6 through Monday, June 9. Four series were played Friday-Sunday and four series were played Saturday-Monday.
Coral Gables Super Regional
Hosted by Miami (FL) at Mark Light FieldAthens Super Regional
Hosted by Georgia at Foley FieldFoley Field
Foley Field is a baseball stadium in Athens, Georgia. It is the home field of the University of Georgia Bulldogs college baseball team. The stadium holds 3,291 people....
Fullerton Super Regional
Hosted by Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin FieldGoodwin Field
Goodwin Field is a stadium in Fullerton, California. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of both the four-time champion Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team of the NCAA's Big West Conference and Orange County Flyers minor league baseball teams. It holds 3,500 people...
Tallahassee Super Regional
Hosted by Florida State at Dick Howser StadiumCary Super Regional
Hosted by North Carolina at USA Baseball National Training ComplexUSA Baseball National Training Complex
The USA Baseball National Training Complex is located in western Cary, North Carolina, off of Green Hope School Road. The Town of Cary was selected to be the new home of USA Baseball in 2002....
Baton Rouge Super Regional
Hosted by LSU at Alex Box StadiumAlex Box Stadium
Alex Box Stadium, sometimes pronounced as "Elec" or "Alec" Box, is a baseball stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the home field of the Louisiana State University Tigers college baseball team...
Houston Super Regional
Hosted by Rice Reckling ParkReckling Park
Reckling Park is the baseball stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA. It serves as the home field of the Rice Owls baseball team. The stadium was built on the site of Cameron Field, Rice's home from 1978-99, in time for the 2000 season...
Tempe Super Regional
Hosted by Arizona State at Packard StadiumPackard Stadium
Packard Stadium is a college baseball stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the home field of the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pacific 12 Conference. Opened in 1974, the stadium's seating capacity is 7,875....
Automatic bids
Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.| School | Conference | Record (Conf) | Berth | Last NCAA Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | Pacific-10 | 45-11 (16-8) | Won Pac-10 | 2007 (College World Series) |
| Bethune-Cookman | MEAC | 36-20 (17-1) | Won MEAC tourney | 2007 (Tallahassee Regional) |
| Bucknell | Patriot League | 29-22 (10-10) | Won Patriot playoff | 2003 (Austin Regional) |
| Charlotte | Atlantic 10 | 43-14 (19-8) | Won A-10 tournament | 2007 (Columbia, S.C. Regional) |
| Coastal Carolina | Big South | 47-12 (17-3) | Won Big South tourney | 2007 (Myrtle Beach Regional) |
| Columbia | Ivy Group | 22-28 (15-5) | Won Ivy Group | 1976 (Northeast Regional) |
| Eastern Illinois | Ohio Valley | 27-28 (13-13) | Won OVC tournament | 1999 (Waco Regional) |
| Eastern Michigan | Mid-American | 25-32 (15-8) | Won MAC tournament | 2003 (Lincoln Regional) |
| Elon | SoCon | 43-16 (19-8) | Won SoCon tourney | 2006 (Clemson Regional) |
| Fresno State | WAC | 37-27 (14-10) | Won WAC tourney | 2007 (San Diego Regional) |
| Houston | C-USA | 39-22 (19-11) | Won C-USA tourney | 2006 (Norman Regional) |
| Illinois-Chicago | Horizon | 34-20 (17-6) | Won Horizon tourney | 2007 (Long Beach Regional) |
| James Madison | Colonial Athletic | 38-17 (20-9) | Won CAA tourney | 2002 (Columbia Regional) |
| Lipscomb | A-Sun | 32-28 (19-14) | Won A-Sun tourney | First appearance |
| Long Beach State | Big West | 37-19 (16-8) | Won Big West | 2007 (Long Beach Reg.) |
| Louisville | Big East | 41-19 (16-11) | Won Big East tourney | 2007 (College World Series) |
| LSU | SEC | 43-16 (18-11) | Won SEC Tournament | 2005 (Baton Rouge Reg.) |
| Miami | ACC | 47-8 (23-5) | Won ACC tourney | 2007 (Columbia, Mo., Regional) |
| Michigan | Big Ten | 45-12 (26-5) | Won Big Ten tourney | 2007 (Corvallis Super Regional) |
| Mount St. Mary's | NEC | 21-32 (13-11) | Won NEC tourney | First appearance |
| Oral Roberts | Summit | 46-12 (24-4) | Won Summit tourney | 2007 (Wichita Regional) |
| Rider | Metro Atlantic | 29-25 (13-10) | Won MAAC tourney | 1994 (Atlantic I Regional) |
| Sam Houston | Southland | 37-23 (18-12) | Won Southland tourney | 2007 (Oxford Regional) |
| San Diego | WCC | 41-15 (16-5) | Won WCC playoff | 2007 (San Diego Regional) |
| Stony Brook | America East | 34-24 (14-10) | Won AmEast tourney | 2004 (Kinston Regional) |
| Texas | Big 12 | 37-20 (15-12) | Won Big 12 tourney | 2007 (Round Rock Regional) |
| Texas Christian | MWC | 43-17 (19-5) | Won MWC tourney | 2007 (Houston Regional) |
| Texas Southern | SWAC | 16-32 (7-17) | Won SWAC tourney | 2004 (Houston Regional) |
| Western Kentucky | Sun Belt | 33-25 (16-14) | Won SBC tourney | 2004 (Oxford Regional) |
| Wichita State | Missouri Valley | 44-15 (19-5) | Won MVC tourney | 2007 (Wichita Super Regional) |
Bids by conference
| Conference | Total | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Southeastern | 9 | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt |
| Atlantic Coast | 6 | Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia |
| Big 12 | 6 | Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M |
| Pacific 10 | 5 | Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA |
| Conference USA | 5 | East Carolina, Houston, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Tulane |
| Big West | 4 | UC Davis, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State |
| Big East | 2 | Louisville, St. John’s [N.Y.] |
| Colonial | 2 | UNC Wilmington, James Madison |
| Sun Belt | 2 | New Orleans, Western Kentucky |
| WCC | 2 | Pepperdine, San Diego |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 | Lipscomb |
| Atlantic 10 | 1 | Charlotte |
| America East | 1 | Stony Brook |
| Big South | 1 | Coastal Carolina |
| Big Ten | 1 | Michigan |
| Horizon | 1 | Ill.-Chicago |
| Independent | 1 | Dallas Baptist |
| Ivy | 1 | Columbia |
| Metro Atlantic | 1 | Rider |
| Mid-American | 1 | Eastern Michigan |
| Mid-Eastern | 1 | Bethune-Cookman |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | Wichita State |
| Mountain West | 1 | TCU |
| Northeast | 1 | Mt St. Mary's |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | Eastern Illinois |
| Patriot | 1 | Bucknell |
| Southern | 1 | Elon |
| Southland | 1 | Sam Houston State |
| Southwestern | 1 | Texas Southern |
| Summit | 1 | Oral Roberts |
| Western Athletic | 1 | Fresno State |
Tournament Performance by Conference
| Conference | Tournament Record | Percentage | Schools to Super Regionals | Schools to CWS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | 23-9 | 0.719 | Florida State, Miami (FL), North Carolina, North Carolina State | Florida State, Miami (FL), North Carolina |
| Western Athletic | 5-2 | 0.714 | Fresno State | Fresno State |
| Missouri Valley | 4-2 | 0.667 | Wichita State | |
| Pacific 10 | 16-9 | 0.640 | Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford | Stanford |
| Conference USA | 14-8 | 0.636 | Rice | Rice |
| Big South | 3-2 | 0.600 | Coastal Carolina | |
| WCC | 5-4 | 0.556 | ||
| SEC | 19-17 | 0.528 | Georgia, LSU | Georgia, LSU |
| Big West | 10-9 | 0.526 | UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton | |
| Summit | 2-2 | 0.500 | ||
| Big 12 | 11-13 | 0.458 | Texas A&M | |
| Colonial | 3-4 | 0.429 | ||
| Atlantic Sun | 1-2 | 0.333 | ||
| Big 10 | 1-2 | 0.333 | ||
| Horizon | 1-2 | 0.333 | ||
| Mountain West | 1-2 | 0.333 | ||
| Patriot | 1-2 | 0.333 | ||
| Southern | 1-2 | 0.333 | ||
| Big East | 1-4 | 0.200 | ||
| Sun Belt | 1-4 | 0.200 | ||
| America East | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Atlantic 10 | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Independent | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Ivy | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Metro Atlantic | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Mid-American | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Mid-Eastern | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Northeast | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Ohio Valley | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Southland | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
| Southwestern Athletic | 0-2 | 0.000 | ||
Round 1
- Four No. 1 seeded regional host schools, out of 16 total, lost first round games to No. 4 seeds:
- Georgia 7, Lipscomb 10
- Stanford 2, UC Davis 4
- Florida St. 0, Bucknell 7
- Long Beach St. 3, Fresno State 7
- Five No. 3 seeds upset No. 2 seeds in the opening round.
Round 2
- Fresno State was the only #4 seed to register wins in the first two rounds of the tournament.
- Tulane was the only #3 seed to register wins in the first two rounds of the tournament.
- 9 of the 16 #1 seeds registered wins in the first two rounds of the tournament.
Super Regionals
- Six of the eight national seeds advanced to the College World Series. Only #3 seed Arizona State and #5 seed Cal State Fullerton were unable to make it past Super Regionals.
- Fresno State became the first team in the history of the NCAA Tournament to make it to the College World Series as a #4 regional seed.
Television/radio/online coverage
- All games can be tracked live online through CBS College Sports Network application Gametracker http://www.cstv.com/gametracker/brackets/cws/2008/08_cws_bracket.html?from=tab
Regionals
- During the regionals, ESPNU showed games from Coral Gables (Karl Ravech and Barry Larkin) and Fullerton (Kyle Peterson), with Mike Gleason and Will Kimmey in the Charlotte ESPNU studios.
- CBS College Sports Network was not originally scheduled to show any games, as in years past. However, it aired NebraskaNebraska Cornhuskers baseballThe Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team is a member of the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA, and is currently coached by Darin Erstad. The program started in 1889....
's Friday and Saturday games through a simulcastSimulcastSimulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
with Nebraska Educational TelecommunicationsNebraska Educational TelecommunicationsNebraska Educational Telecommunications is a state network of non-commercial educational public broadcasting radio and television stations in Nebraska and is based in Lincoln. It is operated by the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission...
. - The Baton Rouge regional was shown regionally on Cox Sports Television, the Athens regional on Comcast Sports Southeast/Charter Sports SoutheastComcast Sports Southeast/Charter Sports SoutheastComcast Sports Southeast/Charter Sports Southeast is a cable regional sports network based in Atlanta, Georgia, and serving 6 million cable subscribers across twelve U.S. states. It is a joint venture between Comcast and Charter Communications, and appears on many of the two companies' cable...
, and the final two days of the Tallahassee regional aired on Sun SportsSun SportsSun Sports is a Florida sports broadcasting network, with its headquarters in Orlando. Launched in 1988 as Sunshine Network, the station is now affiliated with virtually every cable company throughout the state of Florida and can be picked up by some satellite providers around the United...
.
Super Regionals
- All super-regional games were shown on ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, ESPN2ESPN2ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
or ESPNUESPNUESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
on television and ESPN360.com through online streaming video. Announcers included Karl RavechKarl RavechKarl Ravech is an American journalist who currently works as the primary Baseball Tonight host for ESPN.-Education and career:Ravech was born in Needham, Massachusetts. He attended and graduated from Needham High School...
, Pam WardPam WardPam Ward is an on-air personality for the cable sports television network ESPN.She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in communications....
, Dave Ryan, Brian JordanBrian JordanBrian O'Neal Jordan is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder and National Football League safety. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, while he played in the MLB for the St...
, Robin VenturaRobin VenturaRobin Mark Ventura is the current manager of the Chicago White Sox. He is a former professional baseball player, a third baseman who played for four major league teams, most notably for the Chicago White Sox...
, and Kyle PetersonKyle PetersonKyle Johnathan Peterson in Elkhorn, Nebraska is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.-Career:...
.
Mike Gleason
Mike Gleason
Mike Gleason is an ESPN anchor, who appears primarily on ESPNU and ESPN Classic. Before joining ESPN, Gleason worked for WBNS-AM in Columbus, Ohio, from 1994-96 as a show host and doing play-by-play. He also worked at WBNS-TV in Columbus from 1987-98 as an anchor and handling a variety of...
and Will Kimmey made up the studio team (in Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
) for both regional and super-regional rounds.
College World Series
- All College World Series games will be shown on ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, ESPN2ESPN2ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
or ESPNUESPNUESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced by, affiliated with and owned by parent network ESPN. ESPNU originates out of ESPN Regional Television's ESPNU (often referred to as The U) is a television channel that specializes in college sports, and is produced...
on television and ESPN360.com through online streaming video. - Westwood OneWestwood OneWestwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
will broadcast all CWS championship series games on radio. Participating institutions are allowed local broadcast rights in the earlier rounds, and games may also be available on XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
and Sirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
.
See also
- NCAA Division I Baseball ChampionshipNCAA Division I Baseball ChampionshipThe NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the College World Series....
- 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball teamThe 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team is Mike Anderson's 6th year at Head coach. The huskers play their home games at Hawks Field.-Pre-Season:...
- 2008 LSU Tigers baseball team2008 LSU Tigers baseball teamThe 2008 LSU Tigers baseball team represented Louisiana State University in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2008. This was the final year for the team in the original Alex Box Stadium. A new stadium was built during the season and opened on opening day of the 2009 season.The team was...
- 2008 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team2008 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball teamThe 2008 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team represents Vanderbilt University in the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season. The team plays at Hawkins Field in Nashville, TN....
- 2008 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team2008 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball teamThe 2008 Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team represented California State University, Fresno in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2008. They played their home games at Beiden Field in Fresno, California. The team was coached by Mike Batesole who was in his fifth season at Fresno State...
External links
- Schedule, results, and game times at ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....