TV Hasn't Been College Baseball Friendly

By: Brad Senkiw (Contact)
Independentmail.com
Anderson, South Carolina
Monday, June 1, 2009

There have been some pretty incredible moments in the regional round of the NCAA baseball tournament.

Texas and Boston College played 25 innings Saturday, the longest game in NCAA history.

Florida State hung 37 on Ohio State on Sunday.

And plenty of regional hosts faced elimination.

However, if you were interested in taking in all seven hours and three minutes of that Longhorn-Eagle marathon or wanted to see the spectacular homer-robbing catches in Greenville, N.C., you had to buy a ticket.

Television is not what you would call “college baseball friendly.”

ESPN’s vast stronghold over all things sports related doesn’t give the aluminum bat game much attention.

In fact, its family network ESPNU, an upgrade channel that not everyone with cable has access to, was the only national place to televise the first week’s action when it showed the Tallahassee and Irvine regionals.

For those that didn’t make it to the Clemson Regional, you were lucky enough to catch the action on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast. Actually, just the fortunate ones that have Charter cable since neither the Dish Network nor DirectTV satellite companies can carry that channel.

The point is, college baseball’s tournament isn’t treated in near the same fashion as college hoops, or even poker or strong man competitions for that matter.

There’s no gimmicky nickname like March Madness, and Gametracker on the Web is the only way to “watch” many of these games.

I’m sorry, but if I wanted to see computerized dots move around a computer screen, I’d just brake out the Atari.

Luckily, the ESPN networks will up their coverage in the Super Regionals later this week.

However, few folks have seen the teams they’ll watch because regular-season games are barely shown, even regionally.

But, ESPN will serve up plenty of hype for the College World Series, which begins June 22, because it’s shelled out big bucks to broadcast it.

It’ll tell us how great the experience is and how Omaha is the Disney World of college baseball.

Only problem is, the road to the CWS is much less traveled by TV.

While the college game has never claimed the attention of pro ball, it’s the future more now than ever.

San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg has already been featured on TV and in magazines as the next great professional pitcher. In Major League Baseball, Tampa Bay and Baltimore saw recent spikes in attendance for fans dying to see Rays’ future pitching ace David Price, a former Vanderbilt start, and Oriole catcher Matt Wieters, a Charleston native and former Georgia Tech standout.

The old thinking was to draft high school kids early and groom them in the farm systems, but that takes several years. Pro teams are spending more high-dollar draft picks on guys that have college experience than ever before, and they’re impacting teams much quicker.

It’s clear the college game is as healthy as it’s ever been. It’s just a shame we get to see so little of it.

Where's the Coverage?

I flipped through the channels today and I saw Women's softball on ESPN 2, Karate on ESPN Classic and Poker on another ESPN channel.

WHAT???? No College baseball??? Come on ESPN, Comcast and CBS. This is ridiculous. Are you program directors saying that Karate is more important and will generate more ratings that college baseball?

I usually don't post on weekends, but this is just plain wrong. Who's in charge of promoting college baseball? Is it someone from the NCAA? That could be the problem. Hire a marketing bulldog to create TV packages with the major networks. Millions of people are missing out on some great baseball this weekend.

The Pro's Can Wait If The Scholarship is Great

RT Staff Note: Pass this post on to everyone you know. We said we would stop the NCAA ranting...but the more we stop and pause about how great this game is, the angrier we get.

The college and high school regular seasons are over and play-off time is upon us. Many players and their teams that weren't lucky enough to earn a play-off berth are cleaning out their lockers and saying their good-byes to another season of baseball. For many, this will be their last time in an organized baseball program. For others, they await another season of summer ball and for the elite few, the years ahead will be consumed with baseball whether it be college or pro.

The MLB draft is in a few weeks. Many players have been told by their advisors where they stand and how high they will get drafted. Most of those prospects are finishing their junior season in college. But some prospects are graduating from high school.

No matter how great the prospect, we would like to see more high school players go to college. We understand that the short term financial rewards of a top 5 round selection is tough to ignore...especially for a family that is not financially secure. Since the NCAA and it's member institutions can't seem to fathom the inequities of the reward to workload ratio that baseball players endure, the decision to go pro will always win out over a family trying to cope with paying 50% of the cost to play baseball at a college.

However, for those families that can work it out financially or qualify for student loans or grants to limit the additional out of pocket costs that the pittance they call a baseball scholarship doesn't cover, a player should experience and take advantage of what college has to offer.

Today's college baseball program is on par with the physical and mental development that has been the standard in college football and basketball for years. Many of the top programs have highly regarded coaching staffs, strength and conditioning coaches, top of the line equipment contracts, major league quality facilities, and a fan base that rivals the minor leagues.

The collegiate baseball player also has access to a variety of amenities from sports psychologists to nutritionists that can help them hone their skills and prepare for a long grueling season that literally is year round. From the minute they set foot on campus in the fall, they are strapping on their cleats and adjusting their batting gloves for fall practices and scrimmages and it doesn't really end until they complete their wood bat summer league assignment in August.

But the biggest advantage is the education and preparation of a life without baseball...because no matter how good a player is...you just never know. College will give young men a more controlled and disciplined path to maturity. Their lives are on a hourly schedule from 6AM to 10PM with little or no time to deviate from that schedule. College teaches them responsibility, accountability, time management, work ethic, and peer to peer friendships with young adults all around the same age that will last a lifetime.

The minor leagues for a graduating high school student doesn't offer that type of controlled environment. A kid is thrown from the life of living with mom and dad to the lives and lifestyles of players that are 23 or older. And while college is not immune from it's temptations, in minor league ball, there are no tests to study for or homework to finish after a game and that often leads to the type of down time that ruins careers. In those very volatile attitude, aptitude and maturity formation years from 18-22, it's our opinion that a player will be better served to grow up in a college environment.

But for many...college is just not economically feasible and that's because the NCAA doesn't seem to care about the gross inequities of college baseball. If college baseball players were a part of an American business, it would be served with multiple law suits that would be in violation of hundreds of labor laws. No player in any sport including football works as hard and has a grueling schedule like the collegiate baseball player. And no player gets less scholarship money for it's hard work than baseball.

So, as you watch the NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series on ESPN and ABC, unlike their basketball and football counterparts...those players parents had to pay about $10,000 a year for their kids to be there...which is about one fifth of the cost of one 30 second TV commercial that the NCAA and ESPN will be running and profiting on for the next 4 weeks. Doesn't seem fair.

More, More More.....

There are 287 division I and 246 division II schools that offer scholarships for baseball. This means that there are 5,594 scholarships on offer from NCAA schools. These are not "full ride" scholarships. Baseball is classed as an equivalency sport which gives the coach the opportunity to divide his scholarships between a larger number of players. IE: 24 players could receive a up to 50% scholarship instead of 11.7 full ride scholarships.

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics colleges can offer a maximum of twelve scholarships per college. Baseball is also classed as a equivalency sport so a larger number of scholarships can be offered by each college.

The National Junior College Athletic Association allows twenty four baseball scholarships per member institution. These are full-ride scholarships but some community college's offer partial grants in aid.

There are 184 division I colleges and 129 division II colleges that offer baseball scholarships. Each school can only offer twenty four scholarships in total, unlike the NCAA the NJCAA cannot offer a larger number of scholarships at a lower percentage.

These are the facts...Now the reality. Sometimes we wonder if what we write about day in and day out is worth it. Families spend thousands of dollars to help make their sons better baseball players...because they and their sons love the game of baseball...but the game really doesn't love them back as much as football and basketball. They have to work harder, play more games and practice more than any other NCAA sport and get the least amount of money.

Get this folks...Women's crew gets 17 scholarships. Listen, I have a daughter and if she was in to crew, I'd be proud if she got some money...but a full ride???? I would never expect that. In fact, I would be embarrassed if my son or daughter got more than 25% for that sport.

Baseball is a Big 3 sport. It's still America's greatest game and more and more Major League clubs are turning to college players come draft time each and every year. They are more mature, disciplined, seasoned and in better condition that the high school athletes. But are the best athletes playing the game in college or are the better athletes that may prefer baseball playing football because the scholarship money is better?

This is our last post on this subject for a while...now it's up to you...the parent and athlete to take the next step and lobby the NCAA to change the NCAA scholarship limits for baseball.

Increased Scholarships Equals Increased Participation

RT Staff Note: We scour the Rivals message boards and contribute from time to time from the east coast to the west coast commenting on high school and college baseball. One of our favorites is NorCal Preps, which offers some unique perpsectives on baseball issues. One such contributor had a great post. We aren't going to print it all, but he brings up some good points and conversely, some perceptions that many parents wrongly have of the pursuit of college baseball. Here's a portion of his comments in italics...our comments are below his...

Baseball seems to have evolved into a game dominated by suburban white kids. Unfortunately, money has become absolutely critical to the development process. A thirteen year old suburban kid may have eight years of organized baseball under his belt. He has been taught the fundamentals. He understands the game and knows how to execute. He also has a sincere appreciation of the "team" concept.

By the time this kid shows up for his tryouts in high school, he represents the creme of the crop. The parents of the "wanna-be" baseball players stopped investing in those $200.00 gloves and $300.00 bats two years ago. The remaining parents are now investing thousands of dollars every summer in travel ball and camps along with the Demarini bats, high priced "sliding pants", and expensive gloves. Hell, I know one kid who's parents spent more on their kids' BATTING gloves than I spent on my kids fielding glove!

The parents that I converse with tell me that the investment is worth it because that four year college scholie is worth up to $180,000 and they expect little Johnny to earn one.

Though coaching and parental support are critical to development in ALL team sports, I believe that they are particularly critical to baseball. Baseball requires knowledgeable and competent coaches, training techniques, and physical facilities --and most of these elements don't adequately exist in the Urban Environment. And, to the extent one seeks to become supremely competent, money.

I don't believe it's enough to suggest that if a kid has talent, he will be recognized and selected for advancement in baseball. It may happen at Bushrod Park in basketball or high school in football, but, baseball seems to have a more difficult road in terms of attracting that gifted athlete that needs the where-with-all to maintain that interest in high school. I think the ideal solution lies in the establishment and marketing of baseball academies in inner-city communities. I also believe that MLB and individuals that have benefited greatly as a result of their affiliation with MLB should pursue the economic resources and political avenues to make this work.
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First of all, we agree in principal with his comments. Baseball has become a white, suburban sport. As he stated, there are many parents that think that they will get that big time scholarship if they invest thousands of dollars to make Johnny a better player.

The reality is...they will spend more money to get that scholarship than what the scholarship is worth. His figure of $180,000 for a college scholarship is way, way off. If a high school player is lucky...if he is the second coming of Steven Strasburg...he MAY get $10,000 - $12,000 a year...and that is based on a typical state school. Depending on his contribution to the program, that figure shrinks each year. So, over a four year period a player is lucky to get $30-$45,000 worth of cumulative scholarship money...which is about what most families spend over 8 years of travel, lessons, equipment and college development programs from the age of 10-18 years of age.

Yet, that's what colleges expect from their recruits. They need to be seasoned...they need to playing in the top showcase tournaments and competition...and that costs money and requires unprecedented dedication to the game. You don't see recruiters hanging out at the local Berkelely playgrounds. They are at the circus like events where everyone has $375 Demarini's, Wilson's, Rawlings, Mizuno's and Under Armor.

It's not that the road to get to the college ranks is too expensive...there are alternatives and scholarships to many College Developement Programs available...basketball and football, which can be equally expensive and travel intensive, offer that as well.

It's just that in baseball, the rewards at the end of high school don't equal the invested time and money and many families in general...not just those in inner city and urban areas...can't pay the difference of what a college scholarship doesn't cover. Most state schools cost around $21,000 for tuition, books room and board. A top pitcher may get $10,000 to cover that cost. Therefore, a family must pay the difference or seek out FASFA loan assitance, Pell grants and such to cover a part...but not all... of the remaining costs.

That is part of the reason why baseball is not as popular in the inner cities...football and basketball give out 100%....yet baseball requires more work and dedication than any other sport.

They practice for 45+ days in the fall and winter...have strength and conditioning 4 days a week at 6:30 in the morning...They practice everyday from January til the end of the season...oh, and play 56+ games depending on the conference and post season activity...They then get assigned to summer wood bat leagues clear across the country where they will play an additional 50+ games.

Now a student athlete is a student first and no matter what the scholarship, they should be grateful that they are getting an education at close to half price...

Well...yes and no. Collegiate sports are hard work and are in many cases more grueling than a full time job....plus an additional part time job. An athlete will find it very tough to take more than 12 -14 units during the season...and they can't make it up during the summer because they are in the Cape or Alaska playing ball....making it even tougher to graduate on time.

Therefore, after their college season is done, they have to pay out of their own pocket..an additional year or more just to get their degree.

The answer folks is not the cost of summer College Development Programs or travel or the showcases...Basketball has the same thing...gym time costs money...the top basketball shoes cost an arm and a leg...they travel everywhere like baseball...

The problem is the reward...If baseball were to become a fully funded sport and offer at least 25 scholarships a year, we would see an increase in participation and competitive leagues...not just in the inner cities...although that's where the biggest percentage increases will be...but everywhere...Baseball will become America's past time once again.

A Sell-Out For Every Game = A Scholarship For Every Player

RT Staff Note: I have written about the strength of West Coast Baseball on this blog and on Rivals College Baseball message boards for over a year now. I am a huge supporter of Big West Baseball in particular. The following letter is an open letter of sorts to vent the frustration from my readers and fans on the lack of support for what is the one of the greatest baseball conferences in America. This also applies to the PAC 10, WCC, WAC, and Mountain West conferences. All overachive on the field but grossly underachieve at the turnstiles...with the exception of Fresno State in the WAC and San Diego State in the MWC. Here's the letter...

I don’t have to tell you how important the Big West conference is to college baseball. Their talent pool is amongst the best in the collegiate ranks. The Big West baseball players in the pros are a combination of All-Stars and future Hall Of Famers.

This year and most other years, the Big West Conference is touted as one of the premier baseball conferences in the country. It consistently is ranked with conferences like the SEC, Big 12, ACC and PAC 10. With the PAC 10 down this year, the Big West is the top conference in the West with Irvine, Fullerton, Cal Poly and Riverside leading the pack.

Unfortunately, the local fans of these clubs don’t seem to know about the accolades of the conference. If they did, then it would seem that the fan base would be a bit more enthusiastic about the quality of baseball being played in their backyard. And, may I add, that it’s being played at such a high level and low cost to the fan…you’d think that during these tough economic times, real baseball fans would gladly substitute a $25+ per person pro experience for an under $7 per person college game.

Fullerton is the lone exception. They know how to market themselves, create fan excitement and interaction. They choreograph their games like a minor league club with between inning fan games, top notch announcers, a great food court and adrenalin induced music. Their Friday night games are usually close to a sell-out and full of crazy, yet knowledgeable fans, decrying the antics of the opposing teams, while keeping the fans amused and giving their club that home field advantage. That’s part of their allure for the potential recruit. No wonder they have such a rich and storied program.

On the other hand, you’d never know that UC Irvine is the Number One Ranked team in the land. (Big West headquarters) They struggle to get 1,200 fans to a game. Granted…it’s a young program with a fraction of the history of its Orange County counterparts, but, THEY ARE NUMBER ONE!!!

Who is the Sports Information Director at this school? Why aren’t there more promotional ideas being generated to draw more fans to the Anteaters games? I have heard all of the excuses…it’s a commuter school…it’s a tough academic school that cherishes grades over extra-curricular activities. Nationwide… Vanderbilt and Rice are tough academic schools as well, that have great baseball, but they get 5,000+ to their games. What’s their secret? Good marketing and top notch stadiums and stadium experiences.

Cal Poly is another school that should be averaging 3,000 or more a night. This top 15 team is a lock for the regionals and is in a college town. There is not a pro team within a 4 hour drive of SLO. This is their team and they are not supporting it. Towns of this size in the SEC Conference are drawing 6,000 or more to each and every game. It’s embarrassing for a club of this caliber in this beautiful climate to draw as few fans as it does.

Cal Poly isn’t the only college town where baseball seems to be the stepchild of the athletic department. UC Davis is also miles away from a premier sports team and while they have an above average stadium and a good facility, they can’t draw a hundred fans. Granted, they don’t have a good team this year, but they are bringing in teams that should draw well for the baseball fan. Just recently an underachieving Santa Clara team hosted San Diego State and the great Steven Strasburg. Santa Clara did a great job of promoting that game and despite a wet night, the game was a sell-out. That’s how you promote your games. The town of Davis is a very accessible community as is the baseball stadium. There’s no excuse for the local fans not to follow this team. The athletic department is not doing its job.

Another very disappointing program is UC Santa Barbara. Located in one of the nation’s most beautiful settings for a college campus, this school should be a haven for baseball talent. Instead, they have the league’s worst stadium and facilities. As a result, they draw less fans than the local Santa Barbara Area high school teams. There are no pro teams within a two hour drive of Santa Barbara to distract the locals from attending their college team. These guys just don’t know how to market the game. It’s like having a top of the line Mercedes and only driving it on small dusty dirt roads rather than the adjacent scenic freeway. It’s very sad, because this team has the greatest recruiting tool in the country…it’s location on the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Tigers have one of the nicest stadiums in the conference next to Fullerton and they too are located in a college town of sorts. The economy in Stockton is a big obstacle to overcome and we can forgive the fans a bit for their lack of support. The fact that they bring in 600+ fans a game is encouraging, but even that is low when you consider how fan friendly and low cost the games are. Like Davis, they too are not a very good team, but good teams are still playing in Stockton.

Long Beach State could also do better. They have the tradition, a good stadium and create some in game excitement… But, they average only 1,500 a game. When you look at their storied background and the blue chip players that have been in their program, they should be averaging over 3,000.

Northridge and Riverside are relative newcomers to the conference, but still folks.,..this is great baseball. The stadiums should be full and the games a must see event.

One should look no further than what the SEC is doing to attract record crowds year in and year out. Athletic directors from every conference in the West Coast should take an information gathering tour of those schools to find out what they are doing right. My take is that they all have top notch stadiums with lights, (If a team will install the lights...they will come...this should be mandatory for all West Coast schools) good food and great local media support. They get their students involved and each game is a new experience. Like basketball, many of these schools have rowdy student sections that keep the fans amused and in the game. It’s brutal to be an opposing team sometimes…but these fans can have you laughing out loud…it’s very entertaining to say the least.

The games announcers, both in the radio booth and on the P.A. system, rival that of any pro club and the fan interaction games in between innings are similar to what you’d find in many minor league parks…This involves mostly the younger crowd, but it’s fun, and keeps many of these youngsters coming back with their families on a regular basis. The music in between innings and before the game is current, lively and a great mood enhancer. I find many of these SEC games to be well choreographed events and it shows game in and game out at the turnstiles.

Conversely, a trip to a Big West game…Fullerton excluded, is a lesson in complacency. The stadiums are just a place to play baseball…which is fine if you are a baseball purist…but reality is…purists are a dying breed. Today’s game needs more…today’s fan expects more…They need solid information that gives them a reason to attend…and they need that information to be given to them on their platforms…Facebook, Twitter, My Space, You Tube, and the myriad of mobile device apps available to them. I mean come on…this is California, we invented those methods of communication…why isn’t the collegiate version of the national past time using them to create excitement and a great fan base?

It’s time for the Big West to step up Big Time. The conference is squandering a huge opportunity to make baseball a top revenue producing sport. If the SEC, Big 12, and ACC can do it...so can America's best baseball conference. With ESPN, CBS Sports, Comcast and Fox investing more time and money into college baseball, the timing to expand is now. The upside could be huge and the ensuing revenue boost could help make baseball a fully funded sport…a topic we have written about over a dozen times. I could go on for about ten more pages...but let's start here with this letter...Thoughts?

If Teams Invest In Their Baseball Programs...People Will Come...They Most Certainly Will Come

On Rivals College Baseball, a poster suggested that football reduce it's scholarships and grant them to baseball. While I agree with that in theory, there has to be some guidelines.

About the discrepancy of scholarships between football and baseball. I have been saying that for years. Baseball barely has enough scholarships to field one team. (9 starters, a DH a middle reliever and .7 closer)

Right now football has scholarships up to and including a full fourth string offense...up to and including a full third string defense plus 8 other players. A back up kicker and punter get full rides, yet Steven Strasburg gets 50%?

I think the NCAA should pare down football to 66. That's three full teams of offense and defense. Of those 19 available scholarships...give women's softball 6. (they only field teams of 18 so five would make them fully funded) and give baseball 13, for a total of 24.7 which is nearly fully funded.

However, a team can't qualify for that extra 13 if they don't themselves take the steps necessary to make their team a revenue generator. In other words, they should only grant more scholarships to the teams that invest more into their programs. That's why football gets so many scholarships...they generate revenue...baseball has to earn it...this isn't an entitlement...that would really tick the football guys off if baseball just got the scholarships without contributing to the revenue.

The model to follow here is what the SEC is doing. Since the SEC teams average over 6,000 a game and turn a profit for their programs, they would get the full 13 extra scholarships.

The thing is...most college athletic departments are lazy when it comes to helping make baseball a revenue generating sport. The exceptions of course are all of the teams in the SEC, and teams like Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Rice, Fl. State, UNC and others scattered around the southeast and Midwest. They realized the potential of college baseball and its draw and took advantage of the opportunities and are now reaping the benefits with record crowds and positive cash flows.

Ironically, the biggest disappointment lies where some of the best baseball is played...the west coast. More on that tomorrow. If those guys in the PAC 10, Big West, WAC (outside of Fresno State, they draw well) Mountain West (sans San Diego St) would invest in lights, marketing and media participation to increase attendance, I'd think you'd have an NCAA and advisory committee that would be more open to increasing baseball scholarships.

Right now, it's out of whack, because there are too many teams that treat baseball as a fifth wheel. I think that baseball would be better off if they weed out the fifth wheels that will never invest or even fully fund their programs and put them in a Division 1A. The teams in the southeast, southwest and west that recruit to win..as long as the invest to make money, should get the full benefit of increased scholarships. It would also make for better competition and a more exciting NCAA tournament.

Foul Play...Part 5

You know the issues, now it's time to address these issues with the people in charge. These names were copied from the NCAA site. At that site, there are e-mails and other contact information. Write or e-mail the NCAA staffers and then express your concerns with the Athletic Directors that help govern and pass these decisions.

Dennis L. Poppe is the baseball NCAA staffer...but the committee that made the decision to deny the scholarship increases is a rag tag group of Associate AD's, faculty representatives and even one student athlete that is a middle distance runner from the University of Kansas. For the record, track and field gets 12.6 scholarships for men. No baseball coaches, representatives or players were on this committee. Non baseball people making baseball decisions will never result in a good outcome for baseball.

If you look at the list, there are really no athletic directors involved at major baseball schools...there are a lot of Associate Athletic Directors. An associate athletic director's duties should not be confused with an athletic directors job description. Many AD's have law or MBA's and are in touch with the business of sports. Associate athletic directors are fund raisers and more sales oriented and are less in touch with the intricate facets of the individual sports at most schools. We Googled a job description of one schools criteria for an associate AD...

Supervise preparation on NCAA Squad Lists and NCAA certification of eligibility.
Supervise preparation and approve issuing National Letters of Intent for new student athletes.
Supervise operations of the following sports: Baseball, Men’s cross country, Indoor and Outdoor Track, Men’s tennis, Men’s Golf, Softball, Women’s tennis, Women’s Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track.
Assist in construction of Department’s budget.
Coordinate and approve issuing all Southland Conference initial and continuing grant in aid contracts.
Coordinate the Athletic Awards Program and the Bobcat Club Academic Ring Ceremony.
Oversee and approve all requests for travel, travel expenditures, purchase orders and all other expenditures.
Establish departmental polices and procedures.
Evaluate monthly budget reports.
Evaluate performance of personnel.
Supervise and approve hiring of department personnel.
General oversight of various department athletics events.
Attend university and community functions to help promote the university and department of athletics.

Sounds more like an admin. job to us. Approving travel expenditures, attending functions, evaluating budgets....Not exactly the qualifications I would want to determine the future of collegiate baseball. Angry yet? Here's are the people responsible...

Liaisons:
Stephen A. Mallonee, Lynn M. Holzman, Leeland Zeller, Amy Huchthausen

Chair:
Joseph F. D'Antonio, Jr.

FBS- AD- Robert Spear - University of Idaho - Western Athletic Conference

FBS- AD, Director of Athletics - Derrick L. Gragg - Eastern Michigan University- Mid-American Conference-

FBS- Associate Commissioner- Gregory Sankey - Southeastern Conference- Southeastern Conference

FBS- Associate Commissioner- Joseph F. D'Antonio, Jr. - Big East Conference- Big East Conference

FBS- Associate Commissioner- Shane Lyons - Atlantic Coast Conference- Atlantic Coast Conference

FBS- Associate Commissioner for Compliance- Kathy Keene - Sun Belt Conference- Sun Belt Conference

FBS- CCD, Assistant Commissioner- Lori Ebihara - Big 12 Conference- Big 12 Conference

FBS- FAR- Bruce Jaffee - Indiana University, Bloomington- Big Ten Conference

FBS- FAR, Faculty Representative- Kelvin Koong - Oregon State University- Pacific-10 Conference-

FBS- SWA, Associate Athletic Director/SWA- Leslie Claybrook - Rice University- Conference USA

FBS- SWA, Associate Athletics Director- Janice Ruggiero - University of New Mexico-Mountain West Conference

FBS- Student-Athlete- Matt Baysinger - University of Kansas- Big 12 Conference

FCS- Associate Commissioner- Kelly Brooks - Southwestern Athletic Conf.- Southwestern Athletic Conf

FCS- CCD- Jean Gee - University of Montana- Big Sky Conference

FCS- CCD, Sr. Assoc. Commissioner- Carolyn S. Campbell-McGovern - Ivy Group- Ivy Group

FCS- Commissioner, Commissioner- Jon A. Steinbrecher - Ohio Valley Conference- Ohio Valley Conference

FCS- SWA, Associate AD/Internal Affairs- Susan Groff - University of Delaware- Colonial Athletic Association

FCS- SWA, Associate AD/SWA- Margaret Hefferan - Wagner College- Northeast Conference

FCS- SWA, Associate Athletic Director- Tracy Shoemake - Texas State University-San Marcos- Southland Conference

FCS- SWA, Associate Athletics Director- Elaine Jacobs - Youngstown State University- Horizon League

FCS- SWA, Associate Athletics Director- Meredith Eaker - Liberty University- Big South Conference

FCS- SWA, Associate Executive Director/SWA- Joanna Kreps - Patriot League- Patriot League

FCS- SWA, Executive Asst. to the Commissioner- Sonja Stills - Mid-Eastern Athletic Conf.- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conf.

FCS- SWA, Sr. Associate AD- Carrie Doyle - University of New Hampshire- America East Conference

FCS- associate commissioner- Doug King - Southern Conference- Southern Conference

DI- AD- Stan Williamson - Campbell University- Atlantic Sun Conference

DI- AD, Athletic Director- William J. Maher - Canisius College- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

DI- CCD, Assistant Commissioner for Compliance- Mary Mulvenna - Missouri Valley Conference- Missouri Valley Conference

DI- CCD, Associate Commissioner- Edward Pasque - Atlantic 10 Conference- Atlantic 10 Conference

DI- SWA, Associate Athletic Director- Angie Torain - Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis- The Summit League

DI- SWA, Associate Athletic Director/SWA- Karen Peters - University of Portland- West Coast Conference-

DI- SWA, Senior Associate Athletics Director- Cindy Masner - Long Beach State University- Big West Conference

Call, write or e-mail. Voice your opinion. Heck, knowing our new presidents involvement and interest in sports, write him too. Any President that wants a football play-off has to understand the inequities that baseball is experiencing too.

Foul Play...Part 4

All week, we have been talking about the incredibly awful decision that the NCAA made last week to deny an increase in scholarships for baseball players. There's so much more to complain about...we just think the scholarship issue is the most important. But in the past year or so, the NCAA and it's member institutions made some additional changes that are also head scratchers. One such move was to condense the season...squeezing the same 56 game schedule into 20 fewer playable days.

This has caused all sorts of problems for student athletes and scheduling. Many schools are forced to play up to 5 games a week to fit their games in. That produces all sorts of problems in the class room for athletes. Here's our list of changes in the collegiate game that need to happen now.

1. Expand the season two weeks...One week earlier and one week later.

2. Eliminate conference tournaments so that the season can end to accommodate the NCAA tourney and have it end on time.

3. Either de-regulate the scholarship limit or give the schools 20 scholarships.

4. Penalize any team that doesn't fully fund by deducting RPI points or making them ineligible for post-season play. Those that consistently under fund will have to give up their Division I status.

5. Spread out the top rated teams around the country like NCAA basketball does...thereby eliminating insane match-ups like the Long Beach (totally tortuous regional), Stanford and Miami regional had last season.

Remember this is supposed to be a tournament that ends up matching up the best against the best when they get to Omaha. Each team in the Long Beach Regional could have been a #1 or #2 seed anywhere else. As it stood, there were three top ten teams and the eventual National Champ in that region.

Going forward, I and others that really love collegiate sports would like to see north/south match-ups. What a great ratings booster that would be. I love bragging rights match-ups. Given a choice I think that a Miami, Texas, Georgia, Stanford or Fullerton would travel rather than be stuck in a regional full of top rated teams.

Thoughts? What do you want changed?

Foul Play...Part 2

Baseball takes a lot of time from a student’s time in the classroom, yet no relief is usually given in terms of making sure the stress of a 6 hour day of baseball and an 8 hour day of school is manageable.

Baseball players must still take 15-17 credit hours in a semester based system…yet in reality, based on the time available, they should be taking only 12-13…The problem is that if a baseball player takes 12-13 credits a semester, he will be ineligible at many institutions before the start of his junior year because of the 40-60-80% progress towards degree rule.

Therefore, players are forced to pay for summer classes out of their own pocket to make up the difference, because there are no more mid-year certifications. In addition, baseball players have to be eligible at the start of the academic year to play in the spring...which is fine except the NCAA does not require this in basketball or football.

Now, there are huge problems with all of this…The problem with summer school is that many of the players get assigned to summer leagues which start a week or two after school is out and continues through the first of August. If a coach thinks a player has a chance to start the next year or has pro aspirations, he will assign him to the Cape Cod, Northwoods, Alaskan, California Collegiate or many of the other summer leagues to get more innings in. There’s no time for summer school!!!

This is yet another point that illustrates the demands on the collegiate baseball player. They are expected to play year round...56 games in the spring and around 40-50 in the summer depending on the league. They have another 45 days of practice and scrimmages in the fall.

Do basketball players play over 100 games in a year? Do football players have a taxing schedule like this? The gridiron and court players get over 100 scholarships between them, yet are required to play half the games combined in a given year.

As America's Past Time...it's way "Past Time" that the collegiate sport get it's due. While 20 scholarships that I mentioned yesterday may seem unrealistic, it's really the only fair solution...besides...a mentor once told me, "If you don't aim high, you will never hit your target." By aiming at 14 scholarships, the NCAA will always end up back at 11.7 if that rule is followed.

Aiming at 20 scholarships will hopefully give us...the parents who foot all the bills, and the players who give up their lives to play the game they love, a bigger incentive and reward for all of the "way above the average" work load they put into the sport each and every year.

RT Staff

Foul Play at the NCAA

Last week, the NCAA denied a motion to increase the scholarships for baseball to 14. We at Rounding Third just don't understand the rationale. Many of our readers who have sons that aspire to play at the next level should be outraged and we really encourage you to speak out and write the NCAA, it's member schools and complain. This week, we will address this issue and supply you with members to contact.

Baseball is grossly underfunded based on the amount of time and effort players put into it. No other sport at the NCAA level demands so much of its athletes than baseball. Consider this...

1. 45 sanctioned fall practice days peppered with 6:30am strength and conditioning sessions throughout the entire fall semester. Many warm weather teams have extra team captain supervised practices on top of this.

2. Practices/games the entire spring semester as well as strength and conditioning and team captain supervised practices.

3. Up to 5 games a week...no other sport in amateur or the pros with the exception of MLB has this kind of grueling schedule...and that's on top of 12-14 units of college courses. These guys are working the equivalent of two full time jobs...for what $5,000????...that's a serious violation of civil/worker rights.

4. In reality 14 scholly's are not even enough...To make things equal for a sport that IS generating a profit at many schools...baseball should offer at least 20. 14 is an embarrassment and 11.7 is a moral outrage.

5. The time demands of baseball and the costs many parents have to invest in College Development Programs, showcases and lessons just to get to the next level at many of the top producing programs is upside down. More money is spent to qualify a kid to get to the next level than is granted to him once he gets there.

6. The irony is...many schools ARE investing more and more money into facilities, top coaches and marketing...I guess the mantra...if you build it..."they" (scholarships in this case) will come does not apply to the NCAA and their opinion of baseball...However, they encourage schools to build new basketball palaces, and football venues and get rewarded...

7. The NCAA is dead wrong and legal action must be taken to challenge this ruling.

8. I wish an official from the NCAA would take the time to answer us in this type of forum...on this web site...their rationale for rulings that have the potential to ruin this great sport. Unfortunately, the tuition paying/hard working average Joe is not granted this type of transparency. The NCAA is a cloaked and secret organization/dictatorship that answers to no one apparently.