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 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 ‡ – 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 x y
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 x y
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 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[11] ; 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]
First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Winner's Bracket
Mississippi State
4
Michigan
1
Mississippi State
3
Arizona State
4
Arizona State
11
Texas
2
Arizona State
10
Oklahoma State
11 13
Oklahoma State
8 10
South Carolina
5
Oklahoma State
12
Miami (FL)
6
Miami (FL)
6
Maine
1
Loser's Bracket
Michigan
5
Texas
6
Miami (FL)
4
Texas
5
South Carolina
12
Maine
7
Mississippi State
5
South Carolina
6
Semifinals
Finals
if needed
Re-ordered Semi-finals
Oklahoma State
8
Oklahoma State
4
Texas
15 13
Arizona State
7
Texas
3
Arizona State
12
Arizona State
10
South Carolina
7
Award winners [ ]
All-America team [ ]
References [ ]
^ 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 .
^ "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF) . NCAA. 2009. p. 7. Retrieved October 6, 2014 .
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1981" . Boyd's World. Retrieved October 6, 2014 .
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1981" . Boyd's World. Retrieved May 14, 2018 .
^ 2012 Big Ten Baseball Record Book (PDF) . Big Ten Conference. p. 101. Retrieved March 3, 2013 .
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1981" . Boyd's World. Retrieved March 3, 2013 .
^ "All-time Standings" (PDF) . Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 6, 2013 .
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1981" . Boydsworld.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014 .
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1981" . Boydsworld.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014 .
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1981" . Boyd's World. Retrieved January 27, 2021 .
^ Atlantic Sun Baseball Record Book (PDF) . Atlantic Sun Conference. p. 3. Retrieved March 9, 2014 .