List of College World Series broadcasters
Through 1987, the College World Series was a pure double-elimination event. The format was changed in 1988, when the tournament was divided into two four-team double-elimination brackets, with the survivors of each bracket playing in a single championship game. The single-game championship was designed for network television, with the final game on CBS on Saturday afternoon.
In 2003, the tournament returned entirely to cable television on ESPN, which had been covering all of the other games of the CWS since 1982 (and a partial schedule since 1980). The championship final became a best-of-three series between the two bracket winners, with games scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings. In the results shown here, Score indicates the score of the championship game(s) only.
The following is a list of the American television networks and announcers that have broadcast the College World Series.
By decade
2000s
Year |
Network |
Play-by-play |
Color commentator(s) |
Field reporter(s) |
2008 |
ESPN |
Mike Patrick |
Orel Hershiser |
Erin Andrews |
2007 |
ESPN |
Mike Patrick |
Orel Hershiser |
Erin Andrews |
2006 |
ESPN |
Mike Patrick |
Harold Reynolds |
|
2005 |
ESPN |
Mike Patrick |
Harold Reynolds |
|
2004 |
ESPN |
Mike Patrick |
Harold Reynolds |
Kyle Peterson |
2003 |
ESPN |
Mike Patrick |
Harold Reynolds |
Dave Ryan |
2002 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Rick Cerone |
|
2001 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Ray Knight |
|
2000 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Jerry Kindall |
1990s
Year |
Network |
Play-by-play |
Color commentator(s) |
1999 |
CBS |
Sean McDonough |
Joe Carter |
1998 |
CBS |
Sean McDonough |
Fred Lynn |
1997 |
CBS |
Sean McDonough |
Fred Lynn |
1996 |
CBS |
Sean McDonough |
Steve Garvey |
1995 |
CBS |
Sean McDonough |
Jeff Torborg |
1994 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Jeff Torborg |
1993 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Jim Kaat |
1992 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Jim Kaat |
1991 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Jim Kaat |
1990 |
CBS |
Greg Gumbel |
Jim Kaat |
1980s
Year |
Network |
Play-by-play |
Color commentator(s) |
1989 |
CBS |
Brent Musburger |
Joe Morgan |
1988 |
CBS |
Brent Musburger |
Rick Monday |
Basic television broadcaster overview
- 1980-1981 - ESPN (selected games of the CWS)
- 1982-1987 - ESPN (entire CWS)
- 1988-1990 - CBS (championship game); ESPN (remainder of CWS)
- 1991-2002 - CBS (championship game plus one game on first Saturday); ESPN (remainder of CWS)
- 2003-present - ESPN (entire CWS)
Note: ESPN aired some of these games on ESPN2