Why did Tennessee fall short of hosting the College World Series Super Regionals?

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Tennessee baseball fans received some bad news Tuesday; the NCAA College World Series Super Regionals are set to be hosted at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg instead of here in Knoxville.

There are a lot of factors that play into whether or not a school will host games in the tournament, and we now know some of the reasons Tennessee’s Lindsey Nelson Stadium fell short. In a statement to WVLT News, NCAA officials outlined what they consider when picking a venue.

Southern Miss and Tennessee both met the minimum guidelines in their respective bid proposals submitted before the championship began. In situations where a super regional matchup is between equally seeded teams, the DI Baseball Committee reviews hosting proposals submitted by each school. The committee decision is based on site selection criteria, including factors such as quality and availability of the facility, revenue potential, and attendance potential.

There’s no word on what specifically caused the NCAA to pick Southern Miss over Tennessee as host, other than what they listed in their statement, but capacity could have played a part. Pete Taylor Park and Lindsey Nelson Stadium have similar capacities (4,300 for Pete Taylor Park and 4,045 for Lindsey Nelson), but Southern Miss fills out their outfield with fans as well.

Southern Miss saw an average of 5,276 fans at each game this season while Tennessee hosted an average of 4,369 fans.

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