1961 NCAA University Division baseball season

1961 NCAA University Division baseball season
NCAA Tournament
College World Series
Champions	Southern California
Runners-up	Oklahoma State
MOP	Littleton Fowler (Oklahoma State)
Seasons
← 1960	1962 →

The 1961 NCAA University Division baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1961. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1961 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifteenth time in 1961, consisted of one team from each of eight geographical districts and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Southern California claimed the championship.^[1]

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1961 season. Each of the eight geographical districts chose, by various methods, the team that would represent them in the NCAA Tournament. 9 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 16 teams earned at-large selections.^[1][2]

Conference	Regular Season Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke
Big Eight Conference	Oklahoma State
Big Ten Conference	Michigan
CIBA	Southern California
EIBL	Navy
Mid-American Conference	Western Michigan
Pacific Coast Conference	Washington State
Southeastern Conference	LSU
Southern Conference	West Virginia
Southwest Conference	Texas

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1961 Athletic Association of Western Universities baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT North Division #28 Washington State †^y 8 – 4   .667     21 – 10   .677 Oregon State 8 – 6   .571     27 – 14   .659 Oregon 6 – 5   .545     –   – Idaho 6 – 9   .400     –   – Washington 4 – 8   .333     13 – 10   .565 California Intercollegiate Baseball Association #1 Southern California †^y 12 – 4   .750     36 – 7   .837 #14 California 11 – 5   .688     29 – 10   .744 UCLA 7 – 9   .438     25 – 15   .625 Santa Clara 5 – 11   .313     –   – Stanford 5 – 11   .313     26 – 17   .605 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1961[3]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

The 1961 season marked the fifrteenth NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Southern California claiming their third championship with a 1–0 win over Oklahoma State in the final.^[1]

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round
	Winner's Bracket
		Oklahoma State	3
		Duke	2
							Oklahoma State	12
							Syracuse	9
		Syracuse	12
		Colorado State	5
												Oklahoma State	2
												Southern California	4
		Boston College	3
		Western Michigan	2
							Boston College	3
							Southern California	10
		Southern California	8
		Texas	6
						Loser's Bracket
							Duke	15
							Colorado State	3				Boston College	4*
												Duke	3*
							Western Michigan	8
							Texas	2				Syracuse	6
												Western Michigan	0

Semifinals

Finals

if needed

Re-ordered Semi-finals

Oklahoma State

8

Syracuse

0

Oklahoma State

0

Southern California

1

Southern California

4

Boston College

3

* - Indicates game required 10 innings.

Award winners

All-America team

References

1. W.C. Madden & Patrick J. Stewart (2004). The College World Series:A Baseball History, 1947-2003. McFarland & Co. pp. 35–38. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
2. "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 7. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
3. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1961". Boyd's World. Retrieved April 4, 2014.