# 1981 NCAA Division I baseball season

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.

## 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.
| Conference | Regular season Winner | Conference tournament | Tournament venue • city | Tournament winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Clemson/NC State | 1981 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament | Boshamer Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC | Clemson |
| Big Eight Conference | Missouri | 1981 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament | All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK | Oklahoma State |
| Big Ten Conference | East - Michigan West - Minnesota | 1981 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament | Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan |
| EIBL | Yale | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Central Michigan | 1981 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament | Bill Theunissen Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI | Eastern Michigan |
| Midwestern City Conference | North - Xavier South - Oral Roberts | 1981 Midwestern City Conference baseball tournament | Tulsa, OK | Oral Roberts |
| Pacific-10 Conference | North - Washington South - Arizona State | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | East - Florida West - Mississippi State/Alabama | 1981 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament | Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS | Florida |
| Southern Conference | East Tennessee State/Marshall/Western Carolina | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | 1981 Southwest Conference baseball tournament | Disch–Falk Field • Austin, TX | Texas |
| Trans America Athletic Conference | East - Georgia Southern West - Hardin–Simmons | 1981 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament | Hunter Field • Abilene, TX | Mercer |

## Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
1981 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings :
| 1981 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Clemson ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 10–4 .71434–24 .586 NC State ‍†‍‍ 10–4 .71433–12 .733 Maryland ‍‍‍ 7–3 .70023–13 .639 Virginia ‍‍‍ 8–5 .61528–20 .583 Duke ‍‍‍ 6–6 .50029–10 .744 North Carolina ‍‍‍ 6–7 .46238–15 .717 Wake Forest ‍‍‍ 3–9 .25017–13 .567 Georgia Tech ‍‍‍ 1–13 .07114–24 .368 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1981 Big Eight Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 30 Missouri ‍†‍‍$^y$ 17–6 .73943–16 .729 No. 2 Oklahoma State ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 12–6 .66752–17 .754 Kansas ‍‍‍ 12–11 .52232–19 .627 Nebraska ‍‍‍ 11–11 .50042–22 .656 Oklahoma ‍‍‍ 11–13 .45840–15 .727 Kansas State ‍‍‍ 8–12 .40034–21 .618 Iowa State ‍‍‍ 6–18 .25034–22 .607 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1981 Big Ten Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT East Michigan $^x$‍‍‡‍$^y$ 10–4 .71441–20 .672 Purdue ‍‍‍ 8–6 .57134–30 .531 Ohio State ‍‍‍ 7–9 .43834–18 .654 Michigan State ‍‍‍ 6–8 .42923–28 .451 Indiana ‍‍‍ 5–9 .35723–25 .479 West Minnesota $^x$‍‍‍ 13–3 .81337–16 .698 Illinois ‍‍‍ 11–3 .78635–26 .574 Iowa ‍‍‍ 8–6 .57144–21 .677 Wisconsin ‍‍‍ 3–13 .18824–36 .400 Northwestern ‍‍‍ 3–13 .18817–33 .340 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1981 Eastern 8 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT East Rutgers $^x$‍‍‡‍ 5–3–0 .62518–19–1 .487 UMass ‍‍‍ 4–4–0 .50022–17–0 .564 Rhode Island ‍‍‍ 3–5–0 .37514–18–0 .438 West West Virginia $^x$‍‍‍ 6–2–0 .75017–18–0 .486 Pittsburgh ‍‍‍ 7–3–0 .70025–8–0 .758 George Washington ‍‍‍ 3–3–0 .50018–20–0 .474 Duquesne ‍‍‍ 0–8–0 .00013–12–0 .520 x – Division champion ‡ – Championship Series champion As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1981 Mid-American Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT Central Michigan ‍†‍‍ 13–3–0 .81337–13–0 .740 Western Michigan ‍‍‍ 14–3–1 .80632–21–1 .602 Miami ‍‍‍ 12–5–1 .69422–27–1 .450 Eastern Michigan ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 9–7–0 .56337–29–0 .561 Toledo ‍‍‍ 8–9–0 .47130–20–0 .600 Northern Illinois ‍‍‍ 6–10–2 .38919–26–2 .426 Kent State ‍‍‍ 5–8–0 .38513–18–1 .422 Bowling Green ‍‍‍ 5–8–0 .38513–18–1 .422 Ohio ‍‍‍ 5–13–0 .27812–34–0 .261 Ball State ‍‍‍ 4–12–0 .25018–22–0 .450 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1981 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern Washington $^x$‍‍‍ 12–6 .66734–18 .654 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 11–7 .61129–14 .674 Washington State ‍‍‍ 11–7 .61127–25 .519 Oregon ‍‍‍ 2–16 .11116–21 .432 Southern No. 1 Arizona State $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 26–4 .86755–13 .809 Stanford ‍‍‍$^y$ 16–14 .53343–22 .662 Southern California ‍‍‍ 15–15 .50034–24 .586 Arizona ‍‍‍ 14–16 .46730–22 .577 California ‍‍‍ 12–18 .40031–31 .500 UCLA ‍‍‍ 7–23 .23321–35 .375 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1981 Southeastern Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Eastern Division No. 15 Florida $^x$‍‍‡‍$^y$ 16–7 .69642–17 .712 Kentucky ‍‍‍ 13–9 .59139–16 .709 Tennessee ‍‍‍ 10–13 .43522–27 .449 Vanderbilt ‍‍‍ 9–12 .42926–25 .510 Georgia ‍‍‍ 8–15 .34823–23 .500 Western Division No. 6 Mississippi State $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 17–6 .73946–17 .730 Alabama $^x$‍‍‍ 17–6 .73941–15 .732 Ole Miss ‍‍‍ 8–14 .36424–24 .500 LSU ‍‍‍ 7–14 .33323–30 .434 Auburn ‍‍‍ 7–16 .30427–27 .500 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1981 Southern Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 17 East Tennessee State ‍†‍‍$^y$ 12–4 .75044–17 .721 Western Carolina ‍‍‍ 12–4 .75025–14 .641 Marshall ‍‍‍ 12–4 .75022–17 .564 The Citadel ‍‍‍ 11–5 .68831–13 .705 Appalachian State ‍‍‍ 8–8 .50035–17 .673 Davidson ‍‍‍ 7–9 .43818–26 .409 Chattanooga ‍‍‍ 6–10 .37528–24 .538 Furman ‍‍‍ 4–12 .25011–33 .250 VMI ‍‍‍ 0–16 .0003–37 .075 y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1981 Southwest Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 3 Texas ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 16–5–1 .75061–11–0 .847 Arkansas ‍‍‍ 12–9–0 .57131–21–0 .596 Houston ‍‍‍ 11–9–0 .55032–20–0 .615 Rice ‍‍‍ 11–10–0 .52434–23–0 .596 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 10–10–0 .50035–16–0 .686 TCU ‍‍‍ 9–12–0 .42927–19–0 .587 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 8–13–0 .38126–21–0 .553 Baylor ‍‍‍ 6–15–0 .28621–24–0 .467 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1981 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT East Georgia Southern $^x$‍†‍‍ 9–0–0 1.00041–22–1 .648 Mercer ‍‍‡‍ 3–4–0 .42939–12–1 .760 Arkansas–Little Rock ‍‍‍ 0–6–0 .00022–25–0 .468 West Hardin–Simmons $^x$‍‍‍ 8–4–0 .66720–28–0 .417 Centenary ‍‍‍ 8–4–0 .66733–29–0 .532 Northeast Louisiana ‍‍‍ 6–6–0 .50033–22–0 .600 Northwestern State ‍‍‍ 2–10–0 .16716–42–0 .276 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 30, 1981 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |

## 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.
| 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 |
| Mississippi State | Mississippi State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michigan | Michigan | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michigan | Michigan | 1 | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona State | Arizona State | 11 | Arizona State | Arizona State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 2 | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 11$^{13}$ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 8$^{10}$ | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 11$^{13}$ | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 8$^{10}$ | | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 8 | | | | | | |
| South Carolina | South Carolina | 5 | | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 8 | | | | | | |
| South Carolina | South Carolina | 5 | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 12 | | | | Texas | Texas | 15$^{13}$ | | | | | | |
| | | | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 6 | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Maine | Maine | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Texas | Texas | 3 | Arizona State | Arizona State | 7 |
| | | | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 12 | | | |
| | | | | | | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | | | | | | 4 | | | | | |
| | | | Michigan | Michigan | 5 | Texas | Texas | | | | | | 5 | | | | | |
| | | | Michigan | Michigan | 5 | Texas | Texas | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 10 | | 5 | | | | | |
| | | | Texas | Texas | 6 | | | | Arizona State | Arizona State | 10 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Texas | Texas | 6 | | | | South Carolina | South Carolina | 7 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | | South Carolina | South Carolina | 7 | 5 | | | | | | |
| | | | South Carolina | South Carolina | 12 | South Carolina | South Carolina | | | | | 6 | | | | | | |
| | | | Maine | Maine | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |