Cal baseball..gone??

quote:

Originally posted by cheapseats:

quote:

Originally posted by CaBB:

On the other hand this player is a freshman so technically he's never played @ Cal yet. What's to keep the other players from transferring @ the semester and playing some where else this spring?

CaBB - This player would have to sit in the spring if not granted a waiver. It doesn't matter that he is a freshman and has not played a game yet, if you have practiced with the team more for more than a certain number of days (I believe it is 15 days) then you are on the team for this year.

The NCAA rules do not allow mid-year transfers for baseball (and be eligible to play in the spring). Any student that transfers mid-year would need to be granted a waiver. I think it will be interesting to see if the NCAA grants that waiver.

All players will be free to transfer next fall and not sit a year because Cal athletes will fall under the non-sponsored/discontinued sports exemption. However ,the rules as currently written do not allow mid-year transfers, even when a sport is being discontinued.

Cheapseats is correct in his comments, but beyond that, the player in question is one who signed an NLI and is bound by that also. Unless the NCAA grants a waiver which(based on discussions I've had privately) is unlikely, this young man will have to sit in the spring at UCLA. This is a particularly tought situation as he approached the problem differently than nearly all of the other players, and has alienated himself from the team, so likely wouldn't even play if he stayed at Cal. His situation is unique, and I'll be very surprised if a waiver is granted to allow him to play.

As for the other freshman and sophomores, they're going to be fine. Cal has put in a complete fall of practice, and they're looking forward to taking the field in the spring. They do believe that they have a very legitimate chance to save the program, and if so, the players will be bound to stay at Cal, or sit a year if they transfer. What is going on right now is that the players have been having discussions with schools that want them in the event the program folds, and they're signing Financial Aid agreeements that are binding upon the schools, but not the athlete. This is significant, because a student can sign multiple FA agreements, and if Cal survives they stay at Cal, or if they die then the player will be able to decide which school's FA agreement he's going to enforce and he'll join that program. The other agreements will become null and void. Coming out of the 2011 Pac-10 season, these guys will have many good opportunities should the need arise to transfer elsewhere. Of the ones I know and have spoken to, not a single one wants to leave, they're all hoping desperately that the program will survive. Look for them to play with a chip on their shoulder this spring.

As to the comments/questions about Save Cal Baseball funding the women's programs that are also slated for elimination, the group is working with women's lacrosse and gymnastics, and also coordinating with rugby. Their attitude is that they're gonna do what they have to, and if that means helping raise money for those women's sports, so be it. The ultimate baseball goal is to fund a $25 million endowment for the permanent financing of baseball. They already are doing very well in obtaining pledges, and while I don't know the latest tally, I'm going to guess they have over $5 million in pledges. That's darned good for such a short time working this. They have a lot more going on, and the gruop is very optimistic that they are going to accomplish this.

This article was in the SF Chronicle today.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...11/27/MNV01GHVK6.DTL

Toward the end, the numbers of $80,000,000 being needed to endow a $4,000,000 annual budget for the 4 sports is mentioned.
Nothing, to date, from Save Cal Baseball has mentioned a number anywhere close to that one. If that is the amount needed, the challenge seems even greater.

The $80M is enough to provide $4M per annum at 5% interest. That's where that number comes from.

CADad,
I knew that aspect, although it is pretty unusual for a good university investment manager to be "proud" with that return on investment.
What I meant was this article is the first time the $80,000,000 has been printed.
Save Cal Baseball has been talking about needing to raise $25,000,000 to save all 4 sports.
They have pledges for $5,000,000.
If Barbour is the one saying $80,000,000, this is going to be tough, very tough to do.

From the Save Cal Baseball website (www.savecalbaseball.com):

Our coordinated plan is as follows:
Raise $12.5 million to reinstate all 5 programs for a period of 4 years:
Raise $10 million in pledges by January 1, 2011
Raise $2.5 million in pledges by January 1, 2012

Note that as of November 17, 2010, we have already received commitments approaching $5 million. With this great start, our $10 million goal is well within reach.

By January 1, 2013, each program will complete a strategic business plan to achieve long-term financial sustainability. For the Baseball Program, this plan will be built on fiscal accountability, cost control, and revenue generation from as-yet untapped sources, to ensure that we do not face this threat again.

We will communicate this plan to the Chancellor to enable him to announce his commitment to work with us to reinstate the programs. We will be asking him to make this announcement by Big Game Weekend, November 19. We are asking you to help implement this plan. All pledges will go DIRECTLY to the Cal Baseball Foundation for the sole purpose of supporting the immediate reinstatement of Cal Baseball in coordination with the other four programs. As a pledge donor, you assume no financial obligation until the Baseball program is fully reinstated. None of the revenue generated in this effort will be handed to the University for any other purpose.

---------------------------------------

Infielddad - I agree that $80M seems like a very steep uphill battle, I would assume the Save Cal Baseball Foundation is breaking it into smaller goals to try to keep the momentum going towards reinstatement. I hope they make it but it looks like a long-shot.

quote:

The NCAA rules do not allow mid-year transfers for baseball (and be eligible to play in the spring). Any student that transfers mid-year would need to be granted a waiver. I think it will be interesting to see if the NCAA grants that waiver.

All players will be free to transfer next fall and not sit a year because Cal athletes will fall under the non-sponsored/discontinued sports exemption. However ,the rules as currently written do not allow mid-year transfers, even when a sport is being discontinued.

Well, it appears the NCAA continues to be consistent in apparent inconsistency. It is just now being reported that the Cal player in question, a highly recruited freshman who transferred mid-year to UCLA, has been ruled eligible to play beginning this Spring, 2011 season. He must have been granted a waiver.

I agree, the NCAA is being very inconsistent. So much for the no mid-year transfer rule for baseball....

College Baseball Daily - Eric Jaffe Ruled Eligible at UCLA

As much as I wish Eric all the best, I really disagree with the NCAA here.

Either they have a 1 year sit rule or they don't. Either they have a no mid year transfer rule or they don't.

08Dad - the NCAA rules as currently written have a provision in place to waive the 1 year sit rule for programs that fall under the non-sponsored/discontinued sports exception so I believe the NCAA is being consistent with their written rules in that area.

They do not have a provision in place to allow mid-year transfers for baseball and play in the spring (for any reason, including non-sponsored/discontinued sports) so by issuing selective waivers they are not applying their published rules consistently.

quote:

As much as I wish Eric all the best, I really disagree with the NCAA here.

I see no problem with a kid getting treated "right" after the school he commited to didn't do him "right".

I especially dislike the timing of the announcement by Cal, I suppose it could have been worse, but it left the players with little/no time to evaluate their dimished options.

The real problem is that he had to "ask" for the waiver.

Do you guys think Jaffe is paying his own way this year with the promise of aid next as I'm sure UCLA scholly money is already spoken for this year??

CollegeParentNoMore,
I am not sure this is as much doing "right" by this player as much as it is doing "wrong" by others.
For instance, cheapseats' son attends a school that is dropping from DI to DIII.
If I understand right, he can transfer and would not have to sit one year, but he and his teammates could not do so mid year and could not do so mid year and play immediately.
That school, if I remember right, made the announcement in 11/09.
Those players were not given the option to transfer mid year and the waiver so they could play in the Spring.
If the NCAA is doing right by this one Cal player, it sure seems they are doing wrong by others who sought a similar waiver and were denied.

I have never been able to distinguish how the NCAA rules on special cases including transfers and medical redshirts...in any sport.

It nearly always seems arbitrary.

Earlier in this thread, there were some discussions about whether Cal. was an isolated situation in college athletics because the AD/School didn't care/were not committed.
Here is an article cut and pasted about an LSU recruit being lost due to tightening budgets and scholarship reductions:

"Originally found in Baton Rouge Business Report:
The LSU baseball team lost out on a high-quality recruit because of concerns about how budget cuts will impact the university, Coach Paul Mainieri told the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today. Josh Bell, an outfielder from Dallas, had committed to be part of the team's 2012 recruiting class. Baseball America currently has Bell listed as the sixth-best high school baseball player in the country. But budget cuts forced LSU to take away the legacy scholarship they were going to give Bell that would have supplemented his partial athletic scholarship, Mainieri says. Bell's mother was also concerned about how state budget cuts could affect LSU's academic standing. Bell is now committed to play baseball for Texas."

This hit Cal baseball first.
Some are suggesting that the next round of budget cuts in California, and they are coming, are going to even further pressure the Cal administration, which is still underwriting a $5,000,000,000 budget deficit for sports.
Coach Maineri is, apparently, publicly indicating it is an issue for LSU baseball.
More than a few publications/speakers are suggesting the looming and large budget deficits are the next major economic hurdle in many, many States, with some proposing the budget/economic shortfalls and issues will be worse on the State level than on the Federal level.
If State governments are going to start cutting in ways that are needed, the implications I see for college baseball and sports seem obvious. Raise money and support your programs with less expectation for State or institutional support.
I don't think anyone can deny the commitment to college baseball at LSU. At some point, money shortfalls in the public sector challenge even the most loyal commitment, it appears.

quote:

If the NCAA is doing right by this one Cal player, it sure seems they are doing wrong by others who sought a similar waiver and were denied.

I'd agree. As I suggested, I think the real problem is that he had to ask for a waiver in the first place.

it just came to me, this (financialproblem) is or may become an obstacle not easily overcome. maybe in the distant future college sports becomes privatized? tuition for school would/should drop, maybe the money gets spread around more?

not very realistic, but a thought.

According to Blaine Clemmens he has inside info suggesting that Cal baseball has raised enough money to save the programs and now it's up to the AD to make the next move. Should be interesting.

www.9county9.com

Was this really a Title IX decison where Cal was cutting positions in men's sports in order to comply with Title IX?

Once it became clear that the $14,000,000 deficit in the athletic department could not continue and cuts needed to be made, the cuts then clearly created Title IX implications in terms of what to cut and how to lawfully achieve the savings of $9,000,000 that needed to occur.

Here is the latest:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...01/25/SP1M1HE64S.DTL

Looks like January 31 is the deadline imposed by the Administration. Save Cal Baseball reported it had raised about $15,000,000 in pledges earlier this month, so it likely is a bit higher number now.
The gap still seems large and compromise is going to need to occur to make this happen.
This is happening against a landscape of the State cutting upwards of another $500,000,000 from UC funding, and UC itself reporting it may be a One Billion dollar deficit.

Is the AD looking for 25 mil in pledges or actual contributions? Often times a significant portion of pledges are not collected....

I am not sure how much, if any, lingering interest there might be on this site for Cal baseball.
Assuming there is some, here is the latest email from the AD:

"Dear Cal Bear Backers,

With the end of January now upon us, we have reached the point when we need to provide clarity for the future of the teams directly impacted by our program cuts. As you know, several months ago we established Jan. 31 as the deadline to determine whether new philanthropic efforts could generate the money necessary to reinstate them past the end of their 2011 seasons.

We are now in the process of taking a careful look at the results of the fundraising work in order to fully understand the level and extent of the commitments, giving them as much due diligence as possible. The deep devotion you - our donors - have for this University has been made only more obvious by the sincere attempt to address the challenges facing our department during these difficult economic times.

Our criteria, though, have remained the same since our announcement last September: to have a viable plan that attends to the long-term economic issues of Cal Athletics - not just for a few years, but in perpetuity - and will build an endowment capable of addressing the department's financial needs without creating an undue burden on its operating budget or undermining our goal to support excellence on the field and in the classroom.

We are focused on doing the right thing for those most impacted - our student-athletes and coaches - and every day that passes only limits the options they can consider as far as next year is concerned. We owe it to everyone involved not to let the situation linger and expect to have a final decision within the next 10 days.

Thank you again for the work and energy you have put into this effort. We will be in touch again very soon.



Sandy Barbour
Director of Athletics"

I sure hope the program is saved.Just a shame to see it cut, especially with the money they have raised in a short period of time.My son has a HS teammate on the team.I think if its cut it could be a trend with athletics and college baseball, esp. during these economic hardship times.

That letter is not very promising. An endowment that will fund the program in perpetuity? Pretty unlikely. It sounds like a firm decision was made a while back and they are just going through the motions at this point.

UC Berkeley has announced through it spokesperson that, apparently, the final decision on baseball and the other four sports has been made. It will be issued sometime today.

It is not official yet but this article is encouraging!

Cal Baseball to be Reinstated

cheapseats,
Thank you. Thank you.
Now I hope Comcast and its sources got it right.
Save Cal Baseball isn't announcing anything and things seem very, very quiet, locally.

And a few minutes later, this:

"The announcement from the university on the future of baseball, rugby, men's and women's gymnastics' and women's lacrosse was originally expected Thursday, but an e-mail from Dan Mogulof in the campus Public Affairs office on Thursday morning said that the announcement was not forthcoming.

The following is a portion of that message:
An announcement of the final decision regarding the reinstatement of Cal Athletics will not take place this morning. The process of gathering, verifying and analyzing the large number of individual philanthropic commitments made to the “Save Cal Sports” effort is proving to be complicated and time consuming."

I am hoping Comcast got this right too. I am umpiring a Cal scrimmage this weekend and I want them to be in a good mood.

quote:

Originally posted by dswann:
jemaz is correct. If it's not a prority to the institution or the ALUMNI then the program should be dropped. Trust me, there's zero chance the alumni will allow 100+ years of baseball tradition to be flushed.

Glad they pulled it off

Perfect Game has posted on its Facebook page that Cal will announce, at 9:15am PST, that its cut of baseball and 4 other sports will not be changed and they won't be reinstated.

Looks like there was some inaccurate info on The College Baseball Daily website yesterday...I am sorry to see it head in this direction.

Cal Baseball will Not be Reinstated

PG Article - California done with Baseball

Really, really bad news.

If they can do it, all but a handful of other programs could too someday. Its a storied program with a rich history...very, very disappointing.

Terribly, terribly sad.

Revenge of the Pinheads

quote:

Originally posted by Prepster:
Revenge of the Pinheads

AMEN!

Sad......vey sad.

What is the impact to the PAC 10, short and long term?

Coach Horton is quoted as saying this is a huge wake up call on the need for coaches to fund raise and the need for baseball to have TV access and revenues.
George Horton probably is a reliable resource in guiding other coaches on what this means, and not just those in the Pac10.

Terrible news.

Kendall Rogers is reporting Coach Esquer is encouraging fund raising to continue but says the program could not possibly be reinstated until 2013 at the soonest. Don't know how they can weather that break in the program.

I'll be curious to see how everyone is holding up when I see them at their scrimmage this weekend. I really feel for the players. Uggh.

Just read where they reinstated three of the sports eliminated but two of the mens baseball, and gymnatics eliminated. TV access would be huge for the West Coast.

Horton has NIKE so no problems there, but he is correct in discussing fund raising, and finding ways to make money.

We all know that football is the money maker, but with Cal spending MILLIONS on the new football field its sad that the others were cut.

I did hear from someone that the football coach alloted several millions to help save the programs.

Very sad day, the real sad part, is the kids who now if they leave may not get that Cal education.
That education is HUGE.

I hope they have a great year.We play them at home this year, it will be sad.Hope the team goes far this year.

Very sad situation! It is a sin that the Cal adiministrators could not figure this out. This should have never happend, and it is probably due to some very poor budget planning at the top. To me some one should lose their job over this one. How do you not have America's game at the larget UC in the state? Does not make sense - Sorry!

Lefty