Great Article by Zahn in CBN

OS,
Fall is football time.
Summer is NO revenue for anyone on college campus. The teams that come from the north to south get a share in the gate fees (usually).
Coaches recruit in summer.


Won't fly ever.

Many northern folk would think differently as far as summer ball. Forget the share of the gate, its about the attendance, interest, home games on a field that basically sits useless in June, July, and August.............step away from your southern roots and then think about that

has nothing to do with southern roots, my son doesn't play college baseball amymore so I have no dog in the fight. You talked about lost gate fees, some schools get more traveling away than at home.
What attendance, college campus' are empty in summer, whose coming? Some colleges share facilities with milb teams.

Why should baseball take a back seat in the fall to football, no matter where you are? What about those two sport athletes? Do you think that schools even the smallest D1's want to have 2 major sports going on at one time?

hey if it works, that's fine, but it's not going to, not when you cut into FOOTBALL.
When are college coaches supposed to recruit? Was there a lot of thought put into this?

Hey I got a better solution.
You make ALL teams travel to off site venues until the weather improves. Make the NCAA pay expenses. Make programs only have a certain percentage of games played at their school. Make southern teams travel north in late spring. Come up with a better solution to qualify the tournament field (maybe not by region).
That would even up the playing field, maybe not improve the APR, but will even out home field advantage.

College baseball should only be allowed in two season states (Fall/Spring).

If a northern college wants baseball, they should be required to have a satelite campus in a two season region.

All the whining about leveling the playing field is leading us further along the road to mediocrity.

Tampa..............I will wait for another northerners opinion before we start the next civil war.............

You admit there is a southern advantage and I will debate the isuue further. If you don't, then ignorance is bliss

quote:

Originally posted by Quincy:
College baseball should only be allowed in two season states (Fall/Spring).

If a northern college wants baseball, they should be required to have a satelite campus in a two season region.

All the whining about leveling the playing field is leading us further along the road to mediocrity.

The above I don't agree with.
I don't look at this as a north south thing. There is no easy solution. But the day that baseball has to take a back seat to football (played in fall) that's not going to benefit anyone, especially on the weekends.
Football is big college business from the smallest to the biggest, no one is going to accomodate a program (baseball) that makes no profit over an athletic departments bread and butter.

2007 ERA's..........the uniform start date should accentuate this even more in 2008:


Virginia 2.810
North Carolina 3.520
Vanderbilt 3.550
Florida St. 3.570
Mississippi 3.580
Kent St. 3.660
Central Mich. 3.710
Clemson 3.730
South Carolina 3.930
Arkansas 3.940
North Car St. 4.020
Penn St. 4.050
Eastern Mich. 4.080
Miami (Ohio) 4.130
Alabama 4.260
Miami (Fla.) 4.310
Michigan 4.380
Minnesota 4.410
Ohio St. 4.500
Duke 4.500
Kentucky 4.580
Auburn 4.590
Georgia 4.640
Northern Ill. 4.650
Wake Forest 4.850
Mississippi St. 4.860
Western Mich. 4.870
Tennessee 5.020
LSU 5.100
Georgia Tech 5.120
Bowling Green 5.130
Purdue 5.150
Maryland 5.160
Boston College 5.240
Florida 5.270
Michigan St. 5.290
Ball St. 5.320
Indiana 5.510
Ohio 5.550
Virginia Tech 5.850
Buffalo 5.850
Akron 6.080
Toledo 6.300
Illinois 6.460
Northwestern 6.700
Iowa 6.720

Consider that Oregon State has won the last two CWS.

Does it make as much sense to imply that the shorter season in the northern states allows for less wear and tear on the players?

Are the northern colleges more rested when they get to Omaha?

Maybe it should be mandated that the weather in the northern states maintain parity with the southern states.

Don't get the reason for teh stats.

However, oregon and unc in the championship game. Out of all the teams in Omaha, both do not enjoy better weather until the later spring right?

Summer? Ok, who is going to go to summer college games?

Here is a crazier idea that will never get consideration but would actually work.

Have baseball in the fall and football in the spring.

Fall would allow the entire US to have more favorable weather conditions for baseball. A second tier sport with finances would get a huge boost because starting the school year people want sport. People do happen to love baseball and love to watch it - let's give them a reason and season to.

Spring would be good for football because it would almost eliminate players dying from heat illness practicing in around 100 degree weather. Late spring does get pretty hot but by then their bodies would be in good shape. Plus the weather gets gradually hotter instead of starting practice in 100 degree heat. Football would still make tons of money because its college football - people are going to come and watch.

Leave high school baseball and football the same. This would help out in recruiting because each sport would be free to go and watch players.

I'm sure there are some drawbacks to this - like the tradition of playing football in the fall - but you have to admit on paper this makes a lot of sense.

I do realize it will never happen though.

one must be a northerner to understand.......

Considering that northern teams are playing home games in March and April, weather conditions may not be optimum for pitchers' hands.

Colder hands, dry skin, less friction on the curve ball, less break, fat pitch.

Add also the fact that any talented player given the chance to go to college in a warm weather climate will hop on the opportunity.

All adds up to higher ERA.

the weather is a big factor in spring ball up north. some kids want to play for there state school,so they don't go south. i really like the summer idea. who would go? probably more school kids? i don't know but it heats up the post, and we can use the heat up north.lol

quote:

Originally posted by Quincy:
Considering that northern teams are playing home games in March and April, weather conditions may not be optimum for pitchers' hands.

Colder hands, dry skin, less friction on the curve ball, less break, fat pitch.


All adds up to higher ERA.

Talent usually overcomes many of the obstacles, but not all of them, and they do exist.

2007 Top Team ERA:

1 Charlotte 2.64
2 Wichita St. 2.68
3 Virginia 2.81
4 Rice 3.04
5 Louisville 3.14
6 Pepperdine 3.33
7 San Diego 3.37
8 **** Roberts 3.45
9 Texas 3.46
10 St. John's 3.48
11 Oregon St. 3.48
12 North Carolina 3.52
13 Vanderbilt 3.55
14 Creighton 3.56
15 Florida St. 3.57
16 Long Beach St. 3.57
17 Mississippi 3.58
18 Coastal Caro. 3.63
19 Kent St. 3.66
20 UC Riverside 3.68
21 Austin Peay 3.70
22 Central Mich. 3.71
23 Cal St. Fuller 3.72
24 Evansville 3.72
25 Clemson 3.73

Not many cold weather programs

quote:

Do you think that schools even the smallest D1's want to have 2 major sports going on at one time?

I believe starting 2/22 there will be overlap in basketball and baseball lasting three weeks for sixty-five programs and several more weeks for a percentage of them. I don't believe there's a bigger back seat college baseball can take than March Madness.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
Don't get the reason for teh stats.

However, oregon and unc in the championship game. Out of all the teams in Omaha, both do not enjoy better weather until the later spring right?

Summer? Ok, who is going to go to summer college games?

Oregon and North Carolina, while not Florida or California, have early spring weather than is usually livable. There are more colder weather areas where it's impossible to be outside until April. And even then it's very cold much of the time.

Add: Many colleges are done with finals by the end of the first week of May. I don't see the baseball stadiums of the teams in the NCAA tournament empty.

In 2007, here are the top 12 percentages of games started by 3 starters in the ACC,SEC,PAC 10,and Big East. This will all change in 2008, so a true 4th-5th starter of quality will be required to win lots of games.

Arizona State 55 64 85.94%
Florida State 50 62 80.65%
Oregon State 54 67 80.60%
Tennessee 47 59 79.66%
Kentucky 43 54 79.63%
UCLA 48 61 78.69%
Southern Cal 44 56 78.57%
Georgia Tech 44 57 77.19%
Rutgers 48 63 76.19%
Pittsburgh 41 54 75.93%
California 41 55 74.55%
Mississippi 48 65 73.85%

ASU started on 2/2/07 and started the same 3 pitchers almost 86% of the time..............for reference, the average northern team used the same 3 starters about 63% of the time.

St. John's, a cold weather programs % was 68.33% and had a 2007 team ERA of 3.48, which was 10th in the nation............and the 4 guys who carried the load are still there.

Based on pitching alone, and the new compressed schedule, more cold weather teams may creep in the top 25 while warmer weather schools who were able to live off a F/Sa/Su trio all season long better hope to have a decent #4 and 5 starter and a deep bullpen............

The Uniform start date is a start, but in February/March, there is still the weather, mainly kids leaving an indoor field house to play outdoors the for 1st time.

A sidepost for TPM:
Clemson 42 64 65.63%

****looks like Sully manages pitchers like you said.

How do the southern hockey programs stack up against those in the North - oh wait, there aren't any southern hockey programs. Then why not? Where is the outrage from the NCAA?

OK, fair is fair - the north has hockey and the south has spring baseball. No - wait a minute, how many full rides does hockey have vs. baseball - is it double? Now that's not fair. I just don't think this fairness thing is ever going to be equal.

quote:

Originally posted by OLDSLUGGER8:
Many northern folk would think differently as far as summer ball. Forget the share of the gate, its about the attendance, interest, home games on a field that basically sits useless in June, July, and August.............step away from your southern roots and then think about that

Thought about it. Fall ball would mean

Northern team will go from 300-400 students a game to 10 or 20.

Omaha becomes irrelevant

and college baseball probably goes the the way of spring pro football, down the tubes. Won't fly.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
Here is a crazier idea that will never get consideration but would actually work.

Have baseball in the fall and football in the spring.

Fall would allow the entire US to have more favorable weather conditions for baseball. A second tier sport with finances would get a huge boost because starting the school year people want sport. People do happen to love baseball and love to watch it - let's give them a reason and season to.

Spring would be good for football because it would almost eliminate players dying from heat illness practicing in around 100 degree weather. Late spring does get pretty hot but by then their bodies would be in good shape. Plus the weather gets gradually hotter instead of starting practice in 100 degree heat. Football would still make tons of money because its college football - people are going to come and watch.

Leave high school baseball and football the same. This would help out in recruiting because each sport would be free to go and watch players.

I'm sure there are some drawbacks to this - like the tradition of playing football in the fall - but you have to admit on paper this makes a lot of sense.

I do realize it will never happen though.

I still like my idea better though......