From 1988–2002, CBS Sports televised a portion of the annual College World Series.
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, 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. CBS paid approximately $500,000 for the broadcasting rights to the championship game.
The end of CBS' coverage In 2003, the tournament was shifted entirely to cable on ESPN, 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. 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)1988Brent MusburgerRick Monday1989Brent MusburgerJoe Morgan
1990s Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s)1990Greg GumbelJim Kaat1991Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat1992Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat1993Greg Gumbel Jim Kaat1994Greg GumbelJeff Torborg1995Sean McDonoughJeff Torborg1996Sean McDonoughSteve Garvey1997Sean McDonoughFred Lynn1998Sean McDonoughFred Lynn1999Sean McDonough Joe Carter
2000s Year Play-by-play Color commentator(s)2000Greg Gumbel Jerry Kindall 2001Greg GumbelRay Knight2002Greg GumbelRick Cerone
References
External links College Baseball - CBSSports.com NCAA Men's College World Series Records - CWS TELEVISION RATINGS (1997–2002)