NCAA Expands Baseball Playoffs

The NCAA, at its executive council meeting Wednesday in Chicago, approved expansion of the Division I baseball playoffs from 48 to 64 teams beginning next season.

The new format calls for 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals followed the next week by eight super regionals. The two teams in each of the super regionals will play a best-of-three series to decide the eight berths in the College World Series, according to NCAA spokesman Jim Wright.

All 29 conference champions will receive playoff berths, along with 35 at-large selections, Wright said.

As many as eight of the first-round regional tournaments could be held at neutral sites, but the super regional playoffs would be hosted by one of the two competing teams, Wright said.