# 1973 NCAA University Division baseball season

The 1973 NCAA University Division baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1973. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1973 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the twenty seventh time in 1973, consisted of one team from each of eight geographical districts and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Southern California claimed the championship for the fourth year in a row, en route to five consecutive titles.

## Realignment

* Houston joined the Southwest Conference, leaving the ranks of independents.

## Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1973 season. Each of the eight geographical districts chose, by various methods, the team that would represent them in the NCAA tournament. 13 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 19 teams earned at-large selections.
| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference tournament | Tournament venue • city | Tournament winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Clemson | 1973 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament | Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC | NC State |
| Big Eight Conference | Oklahoma | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Minnesota | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| EIBL | Harvard | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Miami (OH) | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Pacific-8 Conference | North - Washington State South - Southern California | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Vanderbilt | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southern Conference | Appalachian State | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Western Athletic Conference | North - BYU South - Arizona State | 1973 Western Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Series | Phoenix Municipal Stadium • Phoenix, AZ | Arizona State |

## Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
1973 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings :
| 1973 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Clemson ‍†‍‍ 10–2 .83324–16 .600 NC State ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 9–3 .75023–10 .697 Virginia ‍‍‍ 7–5 .58316–12 .571 North Carolina ‍‍‍ 5–7 .41711–15 .423 Wake Forest ‍‍‍ 6–9 .4006–16 .273 Maryland ‍‍‍ 4–7 .36411–9 .550 Duke ‍‍‍ 2–10 .1677–17 .292 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1973 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1973 Big Ten Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 3 Minnesota ‍†‍‍$^y$ 14–4–0 .77831–16–2 .653 Michigan ‍‍‍ 12–6–0 .66722–16–0 .579 Ohio State ‍‍‍ 11–7–0 .61122–14–1 .608 Wisconsin ‍‍‍ 8–8–0 .50010–14–0 .417 Michigan State ‍‍‍ 9–9–0 .50027–20–0 .574 Northwestern ‍‍‍ 8–8–0 .50028–12–0 .700 Illinois ‍‍‍ 8–10–0 .44421–13–0 .618 Indiana ‍‍‍ 8–10–0 .44420–16–0 .556 Iowa ‍‍‍ 8–10–0 .44416–14–1 .532 Purdue ‍‍‍ 2–16–0 .1118–26–0 .235 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1973 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1973 Pacific-8 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern Division Washington State $^x$‍‍‍ 15–3 .83340–15 .727 Oregon ‍‍‍ 9–9 .500– – Washington ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38910–11 .476 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 5–13 .27815–20 .429 Southern Division No. 1 Southern California $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 14–4 .77851–11 .823 Stanford ‍‍‍ 9–9 .50037–20 .649 UCLA ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38929–24 .547 California ‍‍‍ 6–12 .33321–31 .404 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1973 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1973 Southwest Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Texas ‍†‍‍$^y$ 15–3 .83350–7 .877 TCU ‍‍‍ 12–7 .63231–12 .721 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 9–8 .52919–9 .679 Baylor ‍‍‍ 9–9 .50021–17 .553 Houston ‍‍‍ 8–11 .42115–16 .484 Rice ‍‍‍ 6–10 .37516–14 .533 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 6–10 .37512–16 .429 SMU ‍‍‍ 5–12 .29410–18 .357 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1973 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1973 Western Athletic Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern BYU $^x$‍‍‍ 13–5 .72230–20 .600 Wyoming ‍‍‍ 9–9 .50021–25 .457 Colorado State ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38911–20 .355 Utah ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38911–20 .355 Southern No. 2 Arizona State $^{x‡y}$ ‍‍‍ 16–1 .94159–8 .881 No. 28 Arizona ‍‍‍ 15–5 .75037–16 .698 New Mexico ‍‍‍ 4–13 .23528–17 .622 UTEP ‍‍‍ 2–16 .11118–27 .400 x – Division champion ‡ – Championship series champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1973 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |

## College World Series

The 1973 season marked the twenty seventh 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 Southern California claiming their ninth championship, and fourth in a row, with a 4–3 win over Arizona State in the final.
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final | Final |
| Minnesota | Minnesota | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 0 | Minnesota | Minnesota | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona State | Arizona State | 3 | Arizona State | Arizona State | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Penn State | Penn State | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Penn State | Penn State | 1 | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 6 | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 3 | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 6 | | | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 8 | | |
| Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | 3 | | | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 8 | | |
| Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | 3 | Texas | Texas | 1 | | | | Minnesota | Minnesota | 7 | | |
| | | | Southern California | Southern California | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Southern California | Southern California | 4 | Southern California | Southern California | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Harvard | Harvard | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 4 |
| | | | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 3 |
| | | | | | | Texas | Texas | | | | | | 10 |
| | | | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 6 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | | | | | | 2 |
| | | | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 6 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 6 | | 2 |
| | | | Penn State | Penn State | 0 | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 6 | |
| | | | Penn State | Penn State | 0 | | | | Texas | Texas | 5 | |
| | | | | | | Minnesota | Minnesota | | Texas | Texas | 5 | 6 | |
| | | | Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | 8 | Georgia Southern | Georgia Southern | | | | | 2 | |
| | | | Harvard | Harvard | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |