# 1976 NCAA Division I baseball season

The 1976 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 1976. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1976 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the thirtieth time in 1976, 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 claimed the championship for the first time.

## Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1976 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. 18 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 16 teams earned at-large selections.
| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference tournament | Tournament venue • city | Tournament winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Clemson | 1976 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament | Beautiful Tiger Field • Clemson, SC | Clemson |
| Big Eight Conference | Missouri | 1976 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament | All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK | Missouri |
| Big Ten Conference | Michigan | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| EIBL | Columbia | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Eastern Michigan | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Pacific-8 Conference | North - Washington State South - UCLA | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Auburn | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southern Conference | Furman | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |

## Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
1976 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings :
| 1976 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 Clemson ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 10–2 .83336–15 .706 Maryland ‍‍‍ 8–4 .66719–14 .576 North Carolina ‍‍‍ 8–4 .66719–17 .528 NC State ‍‍‍ 6–6 .50020–10 .667 Wake Forest ‍‍‍ 5–7 .41722–11 .667 Virginia ‍‍‍ 4–8 .33317–22 .436 Duke ‍‍‍ 1–11 .0837–23 .233 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1976 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1976 Mid-American Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Eastern Michigan ‍†‍‍$^y$ 12–3 .80046–16 .742 Ohio ‍‍‍ 11–7 .61125–20 .556 Toledo ‍‍‍ 8–6 .57133–11 .750 Miami ‍‍‍ 10–8 .55640–20 .667 Ball State ‍‍‍ 9–9 .50034–14 .708 Bowling Green ‍‍‍ 8–8 .50033–20 .623 Western Michigan ‍‍‍ 8–10 .44425–22 .532 Central Michigan ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38929–16 .644 Kent State ‍‍‍ 6–11 .35314–26 .350 Northern Illinois ‍‍‍ 4–10 .28615–22 .405 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1976 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1976 Pacific-8 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT Northern Division No. 6 Washington State $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 16–2–0 .88943–15–0 .741 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 12–6–0 .66731–15–0 .674 Oregon ‍‍‍ 6–12–0 .33320–18–0 .526 Washington ‍‍‍ 2–16–0 .1117–27–0 .206 California Intercollegiate Baseball Association No. 15 UCLA $^x$‍‍‍ 16–8–0 .66735–25–0 .583 Southern California ‍‍‍ 15–8–1 .64633–36–2 .479 Stanford ‍‍‍ 14–10–0 .58342–23–0 .646 California ‍‍‍ 9–14–1 .39633–20–1 .620 UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍ 5–19–0 .20817–29–0 .370 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1976 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1976 Western Athletic Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern BYU $^x$‍‍‍ 15–3 .83326–21 .553 Wyoming ‍‍‍ 10–7 .58822–29 .431 Utah ‍‍‍ 8–9 .47115–26 .366 Colorado State ‍‍‍ 2–16 .11118–26 .409 Southern No. 3 Arizona State $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 17–1 .94465–10 .867 No. 1 Arizona ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–6 .66756–17 .767 New Mexico ‍‍‍ 4–14 .22228–24 .538 UTEP ‍‍‍ 3–15 .1679–25 .265 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1976 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |

## College World Series

The 1976 season marked the thirtieth 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 claiming their first championship with a 7–1 win over Eastern Michigan 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 | | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Final | Final | Final |
| Clemson | Clemson | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Auburn | Auburn | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Auburn | Auburn | 4 | Clemson | Clemson | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 3$^{10}$ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 3 | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 3$^{10}$ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Maine | Maine | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Maine | Maine | 2 | | | | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona State | Arizona State | 7$^{10}$ | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona State | Arizona State | 7$^{10}$ | | | | | | | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 6 | | | | | | |
| Arizona | Arizona | 6 | | | | | | | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 6 | | | | | | |
| Arizona | Arizona | 6 | Arizona State | Arizona State | 9 | | | | Arizona | Arizona | 11 | | | | | | |
| | | | Washington State | Washington State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Washington State | Washington State | 6 | Washington State | Washington State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastern Michigan | Eastern Michigan | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Arizona | Arizona | 5 | Arizona | Arizona | 7 |
| | | | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | Washington State | Washington State | | | | | | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | Auburn | Auburn | 8 | Maine | Maine | | | | | | 6 | | | | | |
| | | | Auburn | Auburn | 8 | Maine | Maine | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 7 | | 6 | | | | | |
| | | | Maine | Maine | 9 | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 7 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Maine | Maine | 9 | | | | Maine | Maine | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Clemson | Clemson | | Maine | Maine | 0 | 6 | | | | | | |
| | | | Arizona | Arizona | 10 | Arizona | Arizona | | | | | 10 | | | | | | |
| | | | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |