The 1996 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 1996. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1996 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fiftieth time in 1996, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska, at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the third time.
Realignment The Metro Conference dissolved, with its members moving primarily to Conference USA. Notre Dame departed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for the Big East Conference, while Xavier and La Salle moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference. Fordham and Virginia Tech also joined the Atlantic 10, from the Patriot League and the Metro Conference, respectively. VCU joined the Colonial Athletic Association from the Metro Conference. Stephen F. Austin dissolved their baseball program. It would not resume until the 2006 season.
Format changes The Trans America Athletic Conference divided into three divisions of four teams each, the Eastern, Southern, and Western. The Big East divided into two divisions, named National and American. The Southland Conference divided into two divisions of four teams each, named Louisiana and Texas.
Conference winners This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1996 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, 12 conference champions participated in a play-in round. The six winners joined the other 18 conference champions with automatic bids, 24 teams earned at-large selections. ConferenceRegular season winnerConference TournamentTournament Venue • CityTournament Winner Atlantic Coast Conference Florida State 1996 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NC Big East Conference American - West VirginiaNational - 1996 Big East Conference baseball tournament Muzzy Field • Bristol, CT West Virginia Big Eight Conference 1996 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma State Big Ten Conference 1996 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament Beaver Field • State College, PA Big West Conference 1996 Big West Conference baseball tournament Titan Field • Fullerton, CA Colonial Athletic Association / 1996 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC Conference USA 1996 Conference USA baseball tournament Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS Ivy League Gehrig - Rolfe - 1996 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series Bill Clarke Field • Princeton, NJ Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Northern - Southern - 1996 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament Heritage Park • Colonie, NY Mid-American Conference 1996 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament Gene Michael Field • Kent, OH Midwestern Collegiate Conference 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball tournament Bush Stadium • Indianapolis, IN Mid-Continent Conference 1996 Mid-Continent Conference baseball tournament Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL North Atlantic Conference 1996 North Atlantic Conference baseball tournament Mahoney Diamond • Orono, ME Northeast Conference / 1996 Northeast Conference baseball tournament Ewing Township, NJ Pacific-10 Conference North - South - no tournament Patriot League 1996 Patriot League baseball tournament Bucknell Field • Lewisburg, PA Southeastern Conference Eastern - FloridaWestern - Alabama 1996 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL Alabama Southern Conference 1996 Southern Conference baseball tournament College Park • Charleston, SC Southland Conference Louisiana - Texas - 1996 Southland Conference baseball tournament Fair Grounds Field • Shreveport, LA Southwest Conference 1996 Southwest Conference baseball tournament Dan Law Field • Lubbock, TX Trans America Athletic Conference Eastern - Southern - Western - 1996 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament Conrad Park • DeLand, FL West Coast Conference No tournament
Conference standings The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
College World Series
The 1996 season marked the fiftieth 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 LSU claiming their third championship with a 9–8 win over Miami (FL) in the final.
Bracket
Award winners
All-America team
References