UNO and the College World Series

It's baseball time in Omaha! The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is proud to co-host the NCAA Men's College World Series (CWS)! As Omaha’s premier metropolitan university, we are thrilled to play a key role in this iconic event, welcoming fans, athletes, and visitors to experience the best of college baseball.

Explore UNO's Ties to the CWS

Below are a few connections UNO has to the College World Series (CWS), courtesy of Omaha Athletics, the UNO Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications, and the UNO Alumni Association.

Check out these additional stories about UNO and the CWS:

• UNO Statistician Who Predicted the 2024 Men’s CWS Champion Releases 2025 Forecast
• 10 Things to Know About UNO During the College World Series
• Durango Steps Up to the Plate for UNO, CWS Partnership

Co-Hosts to the Greatest Show on Dirt

In 2025, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) joined Creighton University as co-hosts of the Men’s College World Series—strengthening Omaha’s legacy as the heart of college baseball. UNO’s role includes providing campus facilities for teams, from equipment and weight room access to practice sessions at Tal Anderson Field. The university also supports bat testing, sports medicine, media coordination, and ticketing during the tournament.

Board of Directors

UNO Athletic Director and Vice Chancellor Adrian Dowell has joined the College World Series of Omaha Board of Directors. His appointment reflects the growing partnership between UNO, the NCAA, and College World Series of Omaha, Inc., which names UNO a co-host of the NCAA Men’s College World Series. This role underscores UNO’s deeper involvement in organizing the event.

The College World Series of Omaha, a nonprofit formed in 1967, serves as the local organizing group for the tournament. Starting this year, its quarterly board meetings will move from the Thompson Alumni Center to UNO’s Community Engagement Center.

Helping Pitchers on the Mound

Lights, cameras, fastball! Using an array of technology, UNO's Department of Biomechanics and the UNO Pitching Lab are able to help pitchers improve their pitching, identify deficiencies, and avoid injury. Learn more about how the lab helped a pitcher gain speed on his pitches.

On the Field Training

UNO's Athletic Training program has provided important hands-on experiences for students who seek to be the sports medicine leaders of the future. Students have gotten the opportunity to put their skills to use supporting the teams of the College World Series.

Pictured below, athletic training students Tyler Gregurich and Jacqui Gutierrez participated in 2019.

Voices from the Stands

Since 2017, UNO's own student-led MavRadio has covered the entire College World Series from the press box, alongside broadcasters from local and national sports news outlets like ESPN. Over the years, MavRadio has earned numerous broadcasting awards for their sports reporting, including their CWS coverage.

UNO Scribe

UNO graduate Steve Pivovar reported on hundreds of CWS games for the Omaha World-Herald over several decades. He wrote "Rosenblatt Stadium: Omaha's Diamond on the Hill," published in 2010. The book explores the history of the former CWS home and stadium where Pivovar covered more than 1,700 games.

Rub a little Dirt on it

It's a messy job, but somebody's got to do it! For years, Omaha Softball players have been the official “mud crew” for the MCWS, meaning they had to keep more than 300 baseballs rubbed in "magic mud" to give pitchers a better grip.

Pictured below, softball stars Alexa Sedlack (left) and Lexi Burkhardt (right) were part of the 2022 College World Series mud crew.

How UNO Helped Shape a CWS Landmark

“The Road to Omaha” statue outside Charles Schwab Field was designed by former UNO student John Lajba, who used 13 UNO students as models. The 1,500-pound bronze sculpture shows four baseball players celebrating a win at home plate. It was dedicated on June 7, 1999, during Omaha’s 50th year as the home of the Men’s College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium. Learn more about the statue.

Viral Moments

After a heated mascot race ended in controversy at the 2022 College World Series, Durango met up with 6-year-old Logan Smith for a rematch at UNO's Tal Anderson Field.

Read all about Round 2 race on Durango's home turf

In 2016, Mavericks fan Sammy DiDonato went viral! Sammy was spotted sporting his favorite Mavericks apparel during a stare down with ESPN cameras.

Read more about Sammy

Big UNO Names in MCWS History

Rosenblatt Stadium was named in honor of former Omaha Mayor Johnny Rosenblatt, a student at Omaha University in 1929 who played basketball and baseball for the school.

Omaha University Baseball Coach Virgil Yelkin in 1962 was named director of the NCAA College World Series. Omaha University was the host school that year.

One-time UNO Sports Information Director Fred Gerardi — also a part-time umpire — was behind plate for CWS games in 1975 and 1976.

Clarke Lange, a third baseman on the 1982 UNO baseball team, played in the 1984 CWS with the Miami Hurricanes. The only UNO student ever to have played in the CWS, Lange later was drafted by the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the MLB draft.

Field of Dreams

A $46,000 grant from the CWS Committee in 1975 enabled UNO to lease a baseball field in the Westgate baseball complex at 84th St. and Interstate 80. It became the Mavericks' first home field in more than 10 years and was named College World Series Park. Now UNO baseball calls Tal Anderson Field home.

Pioneering the Women’s Game

While baseball coach Vergil Yelkin led the charge in hosting the 1962 NCAA College World Series, it was in 1969 that Connie Claussen, then-chair of the Women's Physical Education program but now Athletic Director Emertia, helped bring the first-ever women's college softball championship, which would go on to become the Women's College World Series, to UNO and Omaha before Title IX was passed in 1972. In 1975, Claussen would lead her team to the championship and, in 2021, have a brand new softball field named in her honor.