OMAHA, Neb. — Six conferences and an independent will be represented at the College World Series, and none of the teams were among the final eight in Omaha a year ago.

In 2024, the SEC and ACC had four teams each in the CWS and all the talk was that college baseball would forevermore be dominated by the schools in those conferences that invest the most in the sport in scholarships, NIL and, starting soon, direct payments to players.

Someone forgot to tell that to Murray State, among others.

The CWS opens today with the Sun Belt Conference’s Coastal Carolina (53-11) playing the Big 12’s Arizona (44-19) in a rematch of the 2016 finals won by the Chanticleers. No. 8 national seed Oregon State (47-14-1), an independent until the Pac-12 ramps up again in 2026-27, meets the ACC’s Louisville (40-22) in the second game.

Saturday’s games match the Big Ten’s UCLA (47-16) against Missouri Valley Conference upstart Murray State (44-15) and an all-SEC battle between No. 3 Arkansas (48-13) and LSU (48-15).

Chanticleers coach Kevin Schnall was Gary Gilmore’s assistant in 2016, and he said he never believed a power conference takeover in baseball was inevitable. His team’s 23-game win streak is the longest in history by a team entering a CWS.

“Why has Coastal been so successful for 25 years? Well, Gary Gilmore was able to teach us how to assemble a roster,” Schnall said. “It’s not about putting together just the best players. You have to put together the best team. Sometimes money doesn’t always buy that.”

The money is about to get bigger. The House v. NCAA settlement will mandate roster limits, likely 34 in baseball, and allow schools to award as many scholarships as there are roster spots. Most programs are not expected to max out scholarships in baseball, but many will at least double the longstanding limit of 11.7.

Division I Baseball Committee chair Jay Artigues, athletic director at Southeastern Louisiana, said high-performing midmajors aren’t necessarily at a disadvantage because of how they tend to build their rosters. The outlook for them is not doom and gloom, he said.

“The Arkansases, the LSUs and the Georgias of the world, they’re going to have the premier 18-, 19-year-olds in the country, no question about it,” Artigues said. “They can’t get old because their 18- and 19-year-olds are signing (pro contracts) after that third year. Now where a mid-major can compete against them is having a good 22- or 23-year-old. You put a good 22-, 23-year-old against a really good 18-year-old, it evens the field.

“I think the midmajors that are having success are all older. You look at what Southern Miss did this year, they’re a fourth-, fifth-year team. That’s why they’re kicking the crap out of some P4 teams.”

Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said he thought at least one more ACC team would join his in Omaha, but he can’t help but be happy for Murray State to make it considering he played second base on the Citadel’s 1990 CWS team. It was his greatest baseball experience, he said, and as far as he’s concerned the more players who can experience the CWS, the better.

American Baseball Coaches Association executive director Craig Keilitz said the diversity of this year’s CWS field is good for the sport.

“I’m probably surprised as a lot of people as this proliferation of money has followed its way down, to say it might not be possible,” he said. “But I think it’s absolutely remarkable. I think it’s going to be interesting. I think it’s going to be highly watched and followed. I don’t think we could have scripted it any better.”

Four MLB.com projected first-round picks in the Major League Baseball amateur draft will be playing in Omaha: LSU left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson (1), Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette (3), Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill (16) and Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (23).

The CWS is celebrating its 75th anniversary in Omaha, which landed what then was a lightly attended tournament in 1950 partly because city leaders promised to cover any cost overruns.

The CWS blossomed in the 1980s with the start of ESPN’s national coverage and moved from a dilapidated Rosenblatt Stadium to the 24,000-seat Charles Schwab Field in 2011. “Omaha” long has been a rallying cry for teams hoping to play for the national championship.

The city and NCAA have a contract that keeps the event in Omaha at least through 2035.

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Following the approval of last week’s historic House settlement’s, sweeping changes to NIL, among other aspects of college athletics will be implemented beginning on July 1. However, the settlement does not solve all of the problems still facing the industry.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently joined the Triple Option Podcast with Big Noon Kickoff hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram and Rob Stone to discuss some of the issues that are still weighing on his mind heading into the new college football season. Yormark fired off three in quick succession.

“I take everything home with me. It’s a 24/7 job and you can never turn it off,” Yormark explained. “There’s a lot of the big national issues that we’re dealing with. And right now, I would say the big three are the (House) settlement, CFP (College Football Playoff) and future governance future governance, meaning the role of the NCAA in this new age of collegiate athletics.”

The NCAA has been around for over a century and provides a governing body to major college athletics. They provide oversight academically and athletically to student athletes, and offer national championships in each of its respective sports to their member schools.

However, as college athletics continues to shift toward a more professional model (aided by the House settlement Yormark has already mentioned), questions over whether or not the NCAA should be replaced have risen. This is all in theory at this point.

“There’s a lot going on in our space right now, and I’m sure everyone knows, but it’s not just football and basketball,” Yormark continued. “I mean, we sponsor 25 sports here (in the Big 12), 15 of which are women’s sports, and we think there’s a lot of growth there, so there’s a lot to manage and a lot to do.

“But I will tell you that coming from professional sports, there’s nothing like college athletics. It’s a purpose-driven industry and at the core is our student athlete.”

In regards to Yormark’s concerns over the College Football Playoff, the selection committee has adopted a straight-seeding model moving forward, meaning the top four teams will earn a first-round bye. Last season, Arizona State was given a first-round bye as a four seed but was No. 12 in the final poll. This would not be the case anymore.

Greater changes are expected to come regarding the CFP, as 14 and 16-team models have been proposed behind the scenes. When those changes will come, and how it will impact the Big 12 has yet to play out.

The UK Board of Trustees Athletics Committee has approved five new capital projects, three of which have to do with Kroger Field.

During Thursday’s meeting, the board requested a $110 million internal loan, to be paid back with interest, from the university to the athletics department that will be used to enhance the fan experience and add future revenue. During this multi-year initiative, $15 million will go toward maintenance at Kroger Field, $13 million toward renovating suites and elevators inside the stadium, and $8 million toward a new luxury club space and accessible public wifi.

Another $5 million will be used to renovate UK’s softball and soccer complexes. The university is set to host the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament. The fifth project revolves around creating a “fan zone” on campus that would include entertainment options, restaurants, hotels, etc. That exact cost will not be known until a request for information is answered. An additional $31 million loan, which will also be paid back with interest, was approved to account for expected deficits.

“We are proposing a new strategic governance structure and operating model, unlike any in the country,” UK President Eli Capilouto said, per a press release. “The goal is to incentivize innovation. The idea is to remain a premier program by pushing us to examine creative ways to grow and generate the revenues necessary to support our success.”

Final approval from the full Board of Trustees is expected during Friday’s meeting.

According to a report from Jon Hale of the Herald Leader, “the money being loaned to the athletics department does not come from state-appropriated taxpayer funds or student fees.” The athletics department will begin to pay back these loans beginning in fiscal year 2028.

More on Champions Blue, LLC

Athletic director Mitch Barnhart and UK Athletics announced in April the creation of a holding company, Champions Blue LLC, which will restructure the athletics department governance to provide more financial flexibility following the approval of the House settlement earlier this month. Under the terms of the settlement, UK will have $20.5 million to use annually for revenue sharing with student athletes.

Over the next year, the UK athletics department will shift to Champions Blue, LLC.

As part of creating Champions Blue, experts from outside the university have been brought in to help lead the new board navigate a college sports world that now more resembles professional sports. The two outside members were announced on Thursday: Keeneland President/CEO Shannon Arvin and former Fanatics executive Chris Prindiville. Former Kentucky football tight end Jacob Tamme, now a financial advisor, will also be on the board. All three were confirmed as the board’s subject matter experts and will have term limits.

Additionally, four voting members, who will not have term limits, were also named to the board: UK president (currently Eli Capilouto), UK executive vice president of finance and administration (currently Eric Monday), UK vice president/chief strategy and growth officer (currently Rob Edwards), and senior advisor to the president (currently George Wright).

This seven-person Champions Blue board is set to meet every month over the following year. Barnhart and JMI president Paul Archey will serve as non-voting advisors.

[UK Board Considers More Than $100 Million in Investments in Future of UK Athletics]