BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship will be held at The Ballpark at Jackson from May 27-29.
The OVC Baseball Championship was previously held at The Ballpark at Jackson from 2010 through 2016.
This year’s championship will feature the top four teams in the OVC standings competing in a double-elimination format with the winner getting the OVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Ballpark at Jackson opened in 1998 and has a seating capacity of 6,000. The venue hosted the 1999 and 2011 Southern League All-Star Games. In 2017 and 2018, The Ballpark at Jackson won back-to-back Sports Field of the Year honors from the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. The back-to-back victories marked the first time that any facility in the Volunteer State won the award in consecutive seasons.
Jackson is located in the heart of West Tennessee halfway between Memphis and Nashville conveniently on Interstate 40.
“We are excited to have the OVC Baseball Championship back at The Ballpark at Jackson,” said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. “There is a level of comfort in going back to a place that has been so good to our league in the past.”
“After a brief hiatus, the Generals are excited to welcome the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament back to the Ballpark at Jackson,” said General Manager Marcus Sabata. “The economic impact that the tournament provides to the community cannot be overstated and it gives west Tennessee the opportunity to see high-quality Division I baseball in their own backyard. The OVC has been a dream to work with and we thank them for bringing this event back to Jackson. We look forward to hosting a first class event.”
The first elimination style OVC Baseball Tournament was held in 1980, most usually being played at the site of the regular season champion. Beginning in 2001 the tournament switched to a neutral site for the first time, with nine championships (2001-09) being held at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Kentucky, followed by seven years (2010-16) at the Ballpark in Jackson, two years (2017-18) at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama and one year (2019) at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois. This year will mark the 42nd OVC Baseball Championship (the event was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).