College World Series Sets Viewership Records

An average of more than 2.75 million viewers tuned in for the championship series of the 2009 College World Series in Omaha last week. It was a 37 percent increase in viewership from last year, the Daily Texan reports.

Louisiana State University beat the University of Texas, 2-1, in the three-game title series, which produced three of the top four most-watched CWS telecasts in ESPN's 30 years of tournament coverage, the newspaper said. The third game had the highest viewership in ESPN's CWS telecast history, with a 2.3 Nielsen rating and an average of 3.16 million viewers.

In addition to the major ratings boost on television, more than 330,000 fans attended the tournament, breaking the previous record for the tournament's overall attendance. It was the second-to-last World Series to be held at Omaha's Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Starting in 2011, the CWS will be played at TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha.