Did you know the College World Series wasn’t always in Omaha?

The 78th tournament which began on May 30, 2025 draws crows from across the nation as Division I teams face-off in Nebraska for the NCAA baseball championship. We take a look back at how it all started:

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My daily commute across the city of Kalamazoo takes me through downtown and past the Western Michigan University campus on Stadium Drive. Recently I noticed the addition of new signage near the athletic fields in preparation for the summer sports season. One sign in particular caught my eye which read something to the effect of:

"Kalamazoo, Michigan Home of the First College World Series"

Now, I just so happened to have been fortunate enough to spend several years of my career living in central Nebraska and traveling to the Omaha area. Because there are no professional sports teams in Nebraska I learned they take college sports extremely seriously-- and the College World Series was no different.

So, imagine my surprise when I learned the tournament originally started back in my neck of the woods here in West Michigan. It really is a small world after all.

How it All Started:

Curiosity was getting the best of me, so I decided to go straight to the source. According to WMU archives Kalamazoo, Michigan was the host of both the first and the second ever College World Series games.

Western Michigan’s Hyames Field started it all, hosting the first-ever National Athletic Association Baseball Championship Series, now referred to as the College World Series, in 1947. The series returned to Kalamazoo again in 1948, before moving to Wichita, Kan., in 1949 and finding its current location in Omaha, Neb., in 1950.

Athletic Director at the time (and the field's namesake) Judson Hyames served as chairman of the first tournament and was extremely influential in bringing the tournament to Kalamazoo. According to the school Hyames passed away in 1949 which was the same year the tournament moved to Kansas.

Hyames Field WMU
Hyames Field WMU - Google Maps
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Western Michigan University has made six appearances at the College World Series including:

  • 1952
  • 1955
  • 1958
  • 1959
  • 1961
  • 1963

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