Baseball season
The 1997 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), began in the spring of 1997. It concluded with the 1997 College World Series, the 51st, a double-elimination tournament of eight regional champions held in Omaha, Nebraska, at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. LSU claimed its second consecutive and fourth total Division I championship.[1]
Realignment
- The Big Eight Conference merged with four members of the Southwest Conference (Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech) to form the Big 12 Conference.
Format changes
- The Big West Conference divided into two divisions of four, called Northern and Southern.
Conference winners
This is a list of conference champions from the 1997 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. In order to provide all conference champions with an automatic bid, 10 conference champions participated in a play-in round. The five winners joined the other 19 conference champions with automatic bids, and 32 other teams earned at-large selections.[1][2]
| Conference
|
Regular season winner
|
Conference Tournament
|
Tournament Venue • City
|
Tournament Winner
|
| America East Conference |
Delaware |
1997 America East Conference baseball tournament |
Frawley Stadium • Wilmington, DE |
Northeastern
|
| Atlantic 10 Conference |
East - UMass
West - Xavier |
1997 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament |
Bear Stadium • Boyertown, PA |
Virginia Tech
|
| Atlantic Coast Conference |
Georgia Tech |
1997 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament |
Florida Power Park • St. Petersburg, FL |
Florida State
|
| Big 12 Conference |
Texas Tech |
1997 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament |
All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK |
Oklahoma
|
| Big East Conference |
American - West Virginia
National - Notre Dame |
1997 Big East Conference baseball tournament |
Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT |
St. John's
|
| Big South Conference |
UNC Greensboro |
1997 Big South Conference baseball tournament |
Knights Stadium • Fort Mill, SC |
UNC Greensboro
|
| Big Ten Conference |
Michigan |
1997 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament |
Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI |
Ohio State
|
| Big West Conference |
Northern - Nevada
Southern - Long Beach State |
1997 Big West Conference baseball tournament |
Blair Field • Long Beach, CA |
Cal State Fullerton
|
| Colonial Athletic Association |
VCU |
1997 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament |
Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC |
Richmond
|
| Conference USA |
Tulane |
1997 Conference USA baseball tournament |
Turchin Stadium • New Orleans, LA |
Houston
|
| Ivy League |
Gehrig - Princeton
Rolfe - Harvard |
1997 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series |
Joseph J. O'Donnell Field • Cambridge, MA |
Harvard
|
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference |
Northern - Niagara
Southern - Fairfield |
1997 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament |
Heritage Park • Colonie, NY |
Siena
|
| Mid-American Conference |
Ohio |
1997 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament |
Trautwein Field • Athens, OH |
Ohio
|
| Midwestern Collegiate Conference |
Wright State |
1997 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball tournament |
Dayton, OH |
Detroit
|
| Mid-Continent Conference |
Eastern - Troy State
Western - Northeastern Illinois |
1997 Mid-Continent Conference baseball tournament |
Les Miller Field • Chicago, IL |
Troy State
|
| Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
North - Howard
South - Florida A&M |
1997 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament |
Moore–Kittles Field • Tallahassee, FL |
Bethune-Cookman
|
| Missouri Valley Conference |
Wichita State |
1997 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament |
Eck Stadium • Wichita, KS |
Southwest Missouri State
|
| Northeast Conference |
Marist/Fairleigh Dickinson |
1997 Northeast Conference baseball tournament |
Sussex, NJ |
Marist
|
| Ohio Valley Conference |
Middle Tennessee/Tennessee Tech |
1997 Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament |
Reese Smith Jr. Field • Murfreesboro, TN |
Tennessee Tech
|
| Pacific-10 Conference |
North - Washington
South - Stanford |
1997 Pacific-10 Conference Baseball Championship Series |
Sunken Diamond • Stanford, CA |
Washington
|
| Patriot League |
Army |
1997 Patriot League baseball tournament |
Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field • West Point, NY |
Army
|
| Southeastern Conference |
Eastern - Florida
Western - LSU |
1997 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament |
Golden Park • Columbus, GA |
Alabama
|
| Southern Conference |
Western Carolina
Georgia Southern |
1997 Southern Conference baseball tournament |
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park • Charleston, SC |
Western Carolina
|
| Southland Conference |
Louisiana - Northwestern State
Texas - Southwest Texas State |
1997 Southland Conference baseball tournament |
Warhawk Field • Monroe, LA |
Southwest Texas State
|
| Southwestern Athletic Conference |
East - Alcorn State
West - Southern |
1997 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament |
Kirsch-Rooney Stadium • New Orleans, LA |
Southern
|
| Sun Belt Conference |
Southwestern Louisiana |
1997 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament |
M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field • Lafayette, LA |
South Alabama
|
| Trans America Athletic Conference |
Eastern - Mercer
Southern - Stetson
Western - Jacksonville State |
1997 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament |
Conrad Park • DeLand, FL |
UCF
|
| West Coast Conference |
Santa Clara |
No tournament
|
| Western Athletic Conference |
North - Utah
South - Rice
West - San Jose State |
1997 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament |
Smith Field • San Diego, CA |
Rice
|
Conference standings
The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
