2011 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2011 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began on February 18, 2011. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and 2011 College World Series. The College World Series consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament. Although it was held in its annual location of Omaha, Nebraska, it was played at the newly constructed TD  Ameritrade Park for the first time. It concluded on June 29, 2011, with the final game of the best of three championship series. South Carolina defeated Florida two games to none to claim their second championship. Realignment. Dropped programs. Duquesne dropped its varsity baseball program following the 2010 season. Conference changes. New Orleans left the Sun Belt Conference to become a Division I independent. Preseason. The South Carolina Gamecocks entered the season as defending World Series champions. Among the four major baseball polls there were three different teams ranked preseason #1: the Florida Gators (Baseball America), TCU Horned Frogs (Collegiate  Baseball, NCBWA), and UCLA Bruins (Coaches'). Conference winners and tournaments. Of the 31 conferences that sponsored Division I baseball in 2011, 28 sponsored conference tournaments or championship series. With the exception of the Great West Conference, a provisional member of Division I, the winners of these tournaments received their conference's automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. Programs qualified for the conference tournaments based on their regular season against conference opponents, and tournament formats included double elimination, single elimination, and round robin. College World Series. The 2011 College World Series began on June 18, 2011 in Omaha, Nebraska. It was  the first College World Series in 61 years not played at Rosenblatt Stadium; games were played at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.