College World Series on CBS

Last updated
College World Series on CBS
Also known asCBS Sports NCAA Championships
Genre College baseball game telecasts
StarringGary Apple
Joe Carter
Rick Cerone
John Dockery
Ron Fraser
Steve Garvey
Greg Gumbel
Armen Keteyian
Jerry Kindall
Ray Knight
Fred Lynn
Sean McDonough
Rick Monday
Joe Morgan
Brent Musburger
Michele Tafoya
Jeff Torborg
Lesley Visser
Narrated by William (Rosko) Mercer
Don Robertson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons15
Production
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time180 minutes or until game ended
Production company CBS Sports
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseJune 11, 1988 (1988-06-11) 
June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)
Related
Major League Baseball on CBS
CBS Sports Spectacular

From 1988-2002, CBS Sports televised a portion of the annual College World Series.

Contents

History

From 1988-1990, CBS only televised the championship game. From 1991 until the end of their coverage in 2002, CBS televised one game on the first Saturday of the World Series besides the championship game.

Format change

Prior to 1988, the College World Series was a pure double-elimination event. Beginning in 1988, [1] the tournament was divided into two four-team double-elimination brackets, with the survivors of each bracket playing in a single championship game. The single-game championship was made for broadcast television, with the final game on CBS on Saturday afternoon. [2] CBS paid approximately $500,000 for the broadcasting rights to the championship game. [3]

The end of CBS' coverage

In 2003, the tournament was shifted entirely to cable on ESPN, [4] [5] which had begun covering all of the other games of the CWS since 1982 (and a partial schedule since 1980). The championship final became a best-of-three series between the two bracket winners, with games scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings.

In 2015, college baseball returned to CBS Sports in the form of a multi-year agreement between the American Athletic Conference and CBS Sports Network. [6] Under the terms of the package, CBS Sports Network would air three Houston Baseball games in 2015, as well as the first two contests of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship. Carter Blackburn provided play-by-play for all seven games of the package, while analyst duties would be handled Darryl Hamilton and Ray King along with Brandon Tierney.

Commentators

1980s

Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1988 [7] [8] [9] [10] Brent Musburger Rick Monday [11]
1989 Brent Musburger [12] Joe Morgan [13]

1990s

Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1990 [14] Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat
1991 [15] Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat
1992 [16] [17] [18] Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat
1993 [19] Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat
1994 [20] [21] Greg Gumbel Jeff Torborg
1995 [22] [23] Sean McDonough Jeff Torborg
1996 [24] Sean McDonough [25] Steve Garvey
1997 [26] Sean McDonough Fred Lynn
1998 [27] [28] Sean McDonough Fred Lynn
1999 [29] Sean McDonough Joe Carter

2000s

Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
2000 [30] Greg Gumbel Jerry Kindall
2001 [31] [32] Greg Gumbel Ray Knight
2002 [33] Greg Gumbel [34] Rick Cerone

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References

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  2. Mahan, Ted R. The History of College Baseball Since 1945 (PDF). p. 145.
  3. Silvers, Gary (February 7, 1988). "COLLEGE BASEBALL'S POPULARITY RISES AS TV RATINGS INCREASE". The Orlando Sentinel.
  4. "ESPN Is Ready for College". Los Angeles Times. July 6, 2001.
  5. "NCAA Reaches Agreement With ESPN, Inc. for Championship Television Rights". Santa Clara Athletics. July 5, 2001.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "CBS Sports Network, American Athletic Conference Announce Baseball Television Package".
  7. Moran, Malcolm (June 3, 1988). "College World Series; New Format Has Few Fans". The New York Times.
  8. "1988 NCAA Champions". Stanford University Athletics.
  9. Silvers, Greg (February 7, 1988). "COLLEGE BASEBALL'S POPULARITY RISES AS TV RATINGS INCREASE". The Orlando Sentinel.
  10. Madden, Peterson, W.C., John E. (11 May 2005). The College World Series. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   9781439615263.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. "2004 Ford Frick Award nominees". MLB.com.
  12. Margolis, Jon (June 11, 1989). "WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THIS SERIES GET A NEW HOME?". Chicago Tribune.
  13. Suellentrop, Paul (October 26, 2014). "1989 Wichita State baseball champions reunite and remember". The Wichita Eagle.
  14. DuPont, John (June 24, 2008). "CWS Flashback 1990 - Part 3". UGASports.
  15. 1991 NCAA College World Series on YouTube
  16. 1992 CWS CSUF vs Pepperdine on YouTube
  17. Penner, Mike (June 6, 1992). "Today, Surf Meets the Turf in Land of Wind and Rain". Los Angeles Times.
  18. Whicker, Mark (June 24, 2017). "Pepperdine's 1992 baseball champs surprised everyone but themselves". Los Angeles Daily News.
  19. 1993 NCAA College World Series on YouTube
  20. 1994 College World Series Championship Game Oklahoma vs Georgia Tech on YouTube
  21. Rubin, Phil (June 29, 1994). "JIM BROCK LIVED FOR BASEBALLIN HIS FINAL DAYS, HE GOT ASU TO THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES". Phoenix New Times.
  22. 1995 NCAA College World Series on YouTube
  23. "CBS Sports and NCAA Make $1.7-Billion Deal". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 1994.
  24. 1996 NCAA College World Series on YouTube
  25. Hofheimer, Bill (June 27, 2016). "McDonough recounts historic call of CWS homer featured in "The Walk Off"". ESPN Front Row.
  26. LSU 1st Inning vs Alabama (1997 College World Series Championship Game⚾ on YouTube
  27. 1998 NCAA College World Series on YouTube
  28. "CBS SPORTSLINE OFFERS REAL TIME COVERAGE OF THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES". CBS Sports. May 21, 1998.
  29. 1999 UMiami Baseball National Championship Video on YouTube
  30. LSU 6 Stanford 5 Baseball Title 2000 on YouTube
  31. 2001 NCAA College World Series on YouTube
  32. "Baseball To Face Miami In CWS Championship Game On Saturday (10 AM, PT)". PAC-12 NEWS. Jun 15, 2001.[ dead link ]
  33. 2002 NCAA College World Series Part 2 on YouTube
  34. 2002 CWS - Texas v South Carolina on YouTube