# 1961 NCAA University Division baseball season

The 1961 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 1961. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1961 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifteenth time in 1961, 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.

## Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1961 season. Each of the eight geographical districts chose, by various methods, the team that would represent them in the NCAA tournament. 9 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 16 teams earned at-large selections.
| Conference | Regular season winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Duke |
| Big Eight Conference | Oklahoma State |
| Big Ten Conference | Michigan |
| CIBA | Southern California |
| EIBL | Navy |
| Mid-American Conference | Western Michigan |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington State |
| Southeastern Conference | LSU |
| Southern Conference | West Virginia |
| Southwest Conference | Texas |

## Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
1961 Athletic Association of Western Universities baseball standings :
| 1961 Athletic Association of Western Universities baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Division No. 28 Washington State ‍†‍‍$^y$ 8–4 .66721–10 .677 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 8–6 .57127–14 .659 Oregon ‍‍‍ 6–5 .545– – Idaho ‍‍‍ 6–9 .400– – Washington ‍‍‍ 4–8 .33313–10 .565 California Intercollegiate Baseball Association No. 1 Southern California ‍†‍‍$^y$ 12–4 .75036–7 .837 No. 14 California ‍‍‍ 11–5 .68829–10 .744 UCLA ‍‍‍ 7–9 .43825–15 .625 Santa Clara ‍‍‍ 5–11 .313– – Stanford ‍‍‍ 5–11 .31326–17 .605 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1961 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1961 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 6 Duke ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 11–3 .78616–11 .593 No. 24 North Carolina ‍‍‍ 10–4 .71415–7 .682 No. 27 Wake Forest ‍‍‍ 9–5 .64323–7 .767 NC State ‍‍‍ 8–5 .61513–5 .722 Clemson ‍‍‍ 6–8 .42912–11 .522 Maryland ‍‍‍ 5–8 .3858–12 .400 Virginia ‍‍‍ 4–9 .3087–11 .389 South Carolina ‍‍‍ 1–12 .0773–15 .167 † – Conference champion ‡ – Playoff champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1961 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1961 Big Eight Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Oklahoma State ‍†‍‍$^y$ 18–1 .94727–3 .900 Missouri ‍‍‍ 13–6 .68416–7 .696 Colorado ‍‍‍ 9–8 .52921–11 .656 Kansas State ‍‍‍ 10–10 .50010–12 .455 Oklahoma ‍‍‍ 9–10 .47410–15 .400 Nebraska ‍‍‍ 7–11 .3899–14 .391 Iowa State ‍‍‍ 3–13 .1885–14 .263 Kansas ‍‍‍ 2–12 .1435–14 .263 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1961 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1961 Mid-American Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 5 Western Michigan ‍†‍‍$^y$ 11–0–0 1.00019–8–0 .704 Kent State ‍‍‍ 9–2–0 .81812–7–0 .632 Ohio ‍‍‍ 7–3–0 .70013–6–0 .684 Miami (OH) ‍‍‍ 3–6–0 .3335–11–1 .324 Bowling Green ‍‍‍ 2–7–0 .2226–12–1 .342 Marshall ‍‍‍ 2–8–0 .2008–12–1 .405 Toledo ‍‍‍ 1–9–0 .1002–16–0 .111 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1961 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1961 Southwest Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 8 Texas ‍†‍‍$^y$ 11–3 .78622–6 .786 No. 25 Baylor ‍‍‍ 10–4 .71418–4 .818 Rice ‍‍‍ 6–6 .50013–11 .542 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 6–8 .42914–10 .583 TCU ‍‍‍ 6–8 .4297–16 .304 SMU ‍‍‍ 1–11 .0835–16 .238 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1961 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |

## College World Series

The 1961 season marked the fifteenth 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 third championship with a 1–0 win over Oklahoma 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 |
| Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Duke | Duke | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Duke | Duke | 2 | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Syracuse | Syracuse | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| Syracuse | Syracuse | 12 | Syracuse | Syracuse | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| Colorado State College | Colorado State College | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Colorado State College | Colorado State College | 5 | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Boston College | Boston College | 3 | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 4 | | | | | |
| Boston College | Boston College | 3 | | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 8 | | |
| Western Michigan | Western Michigan | 2 | | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 8 | | |
| Western Michigan | Western Michigan | 2 | Boston College | Boston College | 3 | | | | Syracuse | Syracuse | 0 | | |
| | | | Southern California | Southern California | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Southern California | Southern California | 8 | Southern California | Southern California | 10 | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 0 |
| | | | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 1 |
| | | | | | | Boston College | Boston College | | | | | | 4$^{10}$ |
| | | | Duke | Duke | 15 | Duke | Duke | | | | | | 3 |
| | | | Duke | Duke | 15 | Duke | Duke | | Southern California | Southern California | 4 | | 3 |
| | | | Colorado State College | Colorado State College | 3 | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 4 | |
| | | | Colorado State College | Colorado State College | 3 | | | | Boston College | Boston College | 3 | |
| | | | | | | Syracuse | Syracuse | | Boston College | Boston College | 3 | 6 | |
| | | | Western Michigan | Western Michigan | 8 | Western Michigan | Western Michigan | | | | | 0 | |
| | | | Texas | Texas | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |