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The College World Series final is set to play out this weekend, as Omaha closes out another successful run hosting one of the most unique events in all of college sports.
The three-game LSU-Coastal Carolina series begins Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, with Game 2 on Sunday night and, if necessary, a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday night.
Total attendance so far for the 12 CWS games at Charles Schwab Field Omaha this month is 292,181. The $130 million ballpark that opened in 2011 has an official capacity of 24,000 but can fit even more than that for its biggest games.
With a maximum of three games left, this year’s tournament won’t break the record of 392,946 set in 2023, but the average game attendance (24,348 so far) will rival that separate record of 24,748 set last year. The 2023 CWS had 16 total games, while the 2024 edition had 15. This year will end up with either 14 or 15.
Omaha is under contract to host the CWS through at least 2035.
Going, Going, Gone
LSU is vying for its eighth CWS title, and second in three years. In 2023, the Tigers defeated SEC rival Florida, as pitcher Paul Skenes—now one of the biggest stars in MLB—was named the Most Outstanding Player. LSU will also look to win the SEC’s sixth straight CWS, after 13 of the conference’s 16 baseball programs made the NCAA tournament.
Coastal Carolina—winners of 26 straight games—is back in the CWS for the first time since their debut in 2016, when it won the program’s first and only NCAA baseball national championship. Right after that title, the Chanticleers changed conferences, moving out of the Big South and into the Sun Belt, where they play today.
Some strong performances this weekend from both teams could play a role in how much money their programs receive from their respective schools, as revenue-sharing in the NCAA begins next season.
Baseball is not expected to earn a large chunk of available cash at any school, but most universities are committing to paying athletes from all sports at least a small portion of the $22.5 million they are allowed to spend.
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