1981 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams248
NCAA tournament
College World Series
ChampionsArizona State (5th title)
Runners-upOklahoma State (9th CWS Appearance)
Winning CoachJim Brock (2nd title)
MOPStan Holmes (Arizona State)
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →

The 1981 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 1981. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1981 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the thirty fifth time in 1981, 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. Arizona State claimed the championship for the fifth time.[1]

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1981 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Seven regionals of four teams and one of six each competed in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 21 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 13 teams earned at-large selections.[1][2]

Conference Regular season Winner Conference tournament Tournament venue • city Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference Clemson/NC State 1981 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC Clemson
Big Eight Conference Missouri 1981 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma State
Big Ten Conference East - Michigan
West - Minnesota		 1981 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI Michigan
EIBL Yale No tournament
Mid-American Conference Central Michigan 1981 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament Bill Theunissen Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI Eastern Michigan
Midwestern City Conference North - Xavier
South - Oral Roberts		 1981 Midwestern City Conference baseball tournament Tulsa, OK Oral Roberts
Pacific-10 Conference North - Washington
South - Arizona State		 No tournament
Southeastern Conference East - Florida
West - Mississippi State/Alabama		 1981 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS Florida
Southern Conference East Tennessee State/Marshall/Western Carolina No tournament
Southwest Conference Texas 1981 Southwest Conference baseball tournament Disch–Falk Field • Austin, TX Texas
Trans America Athletic Conference East - Georgia Southern
West - Hardin–Simmons		 1981 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament Hunter Field • Abilene, TX Mercer

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1981 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Clemson  ‍†‍‡‍y 10 – 4   .714 34 – 24   .586
NC State  ‍†‍‍ 10 – 4   .714 33 – 12   .733
Maryland  ‍‍‍ 7 – 3   .700 23 – 13   .639
Virginia  ‍‍‍ 8 – 5   .615 28 – 20   .583
Duke  ‍‍‍ 6 – 6   .500 29 – 10   .744
North Carolina  ‍‍‍ 6 – 7   .462 38 – 15   .717
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 3 – 9   .250 17 – 13   .567
Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍ 1 – 13   .071 14 – 24   .368
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[3]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Big Eight Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 30 Missouri  ‍†‍‍y 17 – 6   .739 43 – 16   .729
No. 2 Oklahoma State  ‍‍‡‍y 12 – 6   .667 52 – 17   .754
Kansas  ‍‍‍ 12 – 11   .522 32 – 19   .627
Nebraska  ‍‍‍ 11 – 11   .500 42 – 22   .656
Oklahoma  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 40 – 15   .727
Kansas State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 12   .400 34 – 21   .618
Iowa State  ‍‍‍ 6 – 18   .250 34 – 22   .607
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[4]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Big Ten Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Michigan  x‍‍‡‍y 10 – 4   .714 41 – 20   .672
Purdue  ‍‍‍ 8 – 6   .571 34 – 30   .531
Ohio State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 9   .438 34 – 18   .654
Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 6 – 8   .429 23 – 28   .451
Indiana  ‍‍‍ 5 – 9   .357 23 – 25   .479
West
Minnesota  x‍‍‍ 13 – 3   .813 37 – 16   .698
Illinois  ‍‍‍ 11 – 3   .786 35 – 26   .574
Iowa  ‍‍‍ 8 – 6   .571 44 – 21   .677
Wisconsin  ‍‍‍ 3 – 13   .188 24 – 36   .400
Northwestern  ‍‍‍ 3 – 13   .188 17 – 33   .340
x – Division champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[5][6]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Eastern 8 Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
East
Rutgers  x‍‍‡‍ 5 – 3 – 0   .625 18 – 19 – 1   .487
UMass  ‍‍‍ 4 – 4 – 0   .500 22 – 17 – 0   .564
Rhode Island  ‍‍‍ 3 – 5 – 0   .375 14 – 18 – 0   .438
West
West Virginia  x‍‍‍ 6 – 2 – 0   .750 17 – 18 – 0   .486
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 7 – 3 – 0   .700 25 – 8 – 0   .758
George Washington  ‍‍‍ 3 – 3 – 0   .500 18 – 20 – 0   .474
Duquesne  ‍‍‍ 0 – 8 – 0   .000 13 – 12 – 0   .520
x – Division champion
‡ – Championship Series champion
As of June 30, 1981
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Mid-American Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Central Michigan  ‍†‍‍ 13 – 3 – 0   .813 37 – 13 – 0   .740
Western Michigan  ‍‍‍ 14 – 3 – 1   .806 32 – 21 – 1   .602
Miami  ‍‍‍ 12 – 5 – 1   .694 22 – 27 – 1   .450
Eastern Michigan  ‍‍‡‍y 9 – 7 – 0   .563 37 – 29 – 0   .561
Toledo  ‍‍‍ 8 – 9 – 0   .471 30 – 20 – 0   .600
Northern Illinois  ‍‍‍ 6 – 10 – 2   .389 19 – 26 – 2   .426
Kent State  ‍‍‍ 5 – 8 – 0   .385 13 – 18 – 1   .422
Bowling Green  ‍‍‍ 5 – 8 – 0   .385 13 – 18 – 1   .422
Ohio  ‍‍‍ 5 – 13 – 0   .278 12 – 34 – 0   .261
Ball State  ‍‍‍ 4 – 12 – 0   .250 18 – 22 – 0   .450
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[7]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Northern
Washington  x‍‍‍ 12 – 6   .667 34 – 18   .654
Oregon State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 7   .611 29 – 14   .674
Washington State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 7   .611 27 – 25   .519
Oregon  ‍‍‍ 2 – 16   .111 16 – 21   .432
Southern
No. 1 Arizona State  x‍‍‍y 26 – 4   .867 55 – 13   .809
Stanford  ‍‍‍y 16 – 14   .533 43 – 22   .662
Southern California  ‍‍‍ 15 – 15   .500 34 – 24   .586
Arizona  ‍‍‍ 14 – 16   .467 30 – 22   .577
California  ‍‍‍ 12 – 18   .400 31 – 31   .500
UCLA  ‍‍‍ 7 – 23   .233 21 – 35   .375
x – Division champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[8]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Eastern Division
No. 15 Florida  x‍‍‡‍y 16 – 7   .696 42 – 17   .712
Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 13 – 9   .591 39 – 16   .709
Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 10 – 13   .435 22 – 27   .449
Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍ 9 – 12   .429 26 – 25   .510
Georgia  ‍‍‍ 8 – 15   .348 23 – 23   .500
Western Division
No. 6 Mississippi State  x‍‍‍y 17 – 6   .739 46 – 17   .730
Alabama  x‍‍‍ 17 – 6   .739 41 – 15   .732
Ole Miss  ‍‍‍ 8 – 14   .364 24 – 24   .500
LSU  ‍‍‍ 7 – 14   .333 23 – 30   .434
Auburn  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 27 – 27   .500
x – Division champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[9]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Southern Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 East Tennessee State  ‍†‍‍y 12 – 4   .750 44 – 17   .721
Western Carolina  ‍‍‍ 12 – 4   .750 25 – 14   .641
Marshall  ‍‍‍ 12 – 4   .750 22 – 17   .564
The Citadel  ‍‍‍ 11 – 5   .688 31 – 13   .705
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 8   .500 35 – 17   .673
Davidson  ‍‍‍ 7 – 9   .438 18 – 26   .409
Chattanooga  ‍‍‍ 6 – 10   .375 28 – 24   .538
Furman  ‍‍‍ 4 – 12   .250 11 – 33   .250
VMI  ‍‍‍ 0 – 16   .000 3 – 37   .075
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[10]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Southwest Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 3 Texas ‍†‍‡‍y 16 – 5 – 1   .750 61 – 11 – 0   .847
Arkansas ‍‍‍ 12 – 9 – 0   .571 31 – 21 – 0   .596
Houston ‍‍‍ 11 – 9 – 0   .550 32 – 20 – 0   .615
Rice ‍‍‍ 11 – 10 – 0   .524 34 – 23 – 0   .596
Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 10 – 10 – 0   .500 35 – 16 – 0   .686
TCU ‍‍‍ 9 – 12 – 0   .429 27 – 19 – 0   .587
Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 8 – 13 – 0   .381 26 – 21 – 0   .553
Baylor ‍‍‍ 6 – 15 – 0   .286 21 – 24 – 0   .467
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1981[11]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1981 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
East
Georgia Southern x‍†‍‍ 9 – 0 – 0   1.000 41 – 22 – 1   .648
Mercer ‍‍‡‍ 3 – 4 – 0   .429 39 – 12 – 1   .760
Arkansas–Little Rock ‍‍‍ 0 – 6 – 0   .000 22 – 25 – 0   .468
West
Hardin–Simmons x‍‍‍ 8 – 4 – 0   .667 20 – 28 – 0   .417
Centenary ‍‍‍ 8 – 4 – 0   .667 33 – 29 – 0   .532
Northeast Louisiana ‍‍‍ 6 – 6 – 0   .500 33 – 22 – 0   .600
Northwestern State ‍‍‍ 2 – 10 – 0   .167 16 – 42 – 0   .276
x – Division champion
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
As of June 30, 1981[12]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

Main article: 1981 College World Series

The 1981 season marked the thirty fifth 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 Arizona State claiming their fifth championship with a 7–4 win over Oklahoma State in the final.[1]

Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalSemifinalsPreliminary finalFinal
Mississippi State4
Michigan1
Mississippi State3
Arizona State4
Arizona State11
Texas2
Arizona State10
Oklahoma State1113
Oklahoma State810
Oklahoma State8
South Carolina5
Oklahoma State12Texas1513
Miami (FL)6
Miami (FL)6
Maine1Oklahoma State4
Texas3Arizona State7
Lower round 1Lower round 2Arizona State12
Miami (FL)4
Michigan5Texas5
Arizona State10
Texas6
South Carolina7
Mississippi State5
South Carolina12South Carolina6
Maine7

Award winners

All-America team

Main article: 1981 College Baseball All-America Team

References

  1. ^ a b c W.C. Madden & Patrick J. Stewart (2004). The College World Series:A Baseball History, 1947-2003. McFarland & Co. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9780786418428. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 7. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  3. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". Boyd's World. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  4. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". Boyd's World. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  5. ^ 2012 Big Ten Baseball Record Book (PDF). Big Ten Conference. p. 101. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  6. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". Boyd's World. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  7. ^ "All-time Standings" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  8. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". Boydsworld.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  9. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". Boydsworld.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  10. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". Boyd's World. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "Division I Baseball Records" (PDF). NCAA. pp. 39–40. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  12. ^ Atlantic Sun Baseball Record Book (PDF). Atlantic Sun Conference. p. 3. Retrieved March 9, 2014.


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