March 1

Nope, don't think I'll agree with you on that one. Don't see a rush of kids leaving Texas, Cali and Fla schools for the Big10,East and Northern schools to play ball just because the season starts later. Why is it that everyone feels a need to level the playing field. Like giving everyone a participation trophy for showing up. Did the schools cheat to get their advantage? Oh I forgot, let's strive to balance everything, reward mediocrity, because we don't want someone to feel bad when someone else is better.

On a similar note we should definitely make a rule that forbids any team from using a returning Heisman Trophy winner because they might win a national championship. Wait, oh they tried that, lost. But when it does work next season we should definitely think about making a rule!

Marsh 1 helps the northern schools only marginally. Even if they set a start practice date, southern players can still be on the field for informal workouts almost every day.

All that will do is promote more missed class time in during the crucial months of the spring semester, lengthen the season after the school year, thus losing peer support, and put draft picks into an potentially ugly situation, forcing them to decide whether to either finish the college season or upset their new employer.

The NCAA once again proves there are plenty of idiots in college.

I believe they need to move the beginning of football practice back to later in the fall. We all know that it is still too hot in the south to begin football in August. As such, I believe that is an unfair advantage to northern teams.

Seriously, all this is going to do is put more pressure on the players to balance games with studies. As I understand it, they will still play the alotted 56 game regular season schedule. What this means is they will now have around 5 games a week to work in with studies and travel.

With the new academic standards that the NCAA is imposing on the athletes, this could be a tough environment for the players.

I have a question.. do all schools in the Big 10 teams have baseball teams?

SC- in the Big Ten, I believe that all but Wisconsin have baseball. for further example, In the Pac-10 all but Oregon have baseball. by further example, Colorado has no baseball in the Big 12. all weather issues? quite likely, but also Title IX issues, costs, etc. baseball ain't a money maker.

On the March 1 thing for my 2cents- weather is certainly a factor, and its a factor in any sport except basketball, hockey and gymnastics. And I guess it is a factor in hockey since most schools in the south, west, southwest don't have hockey programs.

as pointed out above, maybe northern schools have a weather advantage in football at the outset of the season and summer practice.

Bottom line, to play the number of games in baseball that are played at the D-1 level and not start until March 1 strikes me as an impossibility. My son plays d-3 and they have a 40 game schedule that is tough enough. Add about 20 games to that, starting March 1, and you might as well forget about going to class.

Would the NCAA do something this ridiculous, perhaps. While they don't think this is a burden to baseball players, they think adding one more game to get the BCS right in football would be criminal. Go figure

And don't forget the impact on the summer leagues which will not see players until their season has started

....and starting the college season later will also offset the roster of southern, in-state players who have been playing ball year-round since they were in T-ball?

"Someone needs to do something!"
"This is something -- let's do it!"

As I understand it from checking the schedules of northern schools over the years, with the additional game needed each week (from 4 to 5 for most non-"winter weather" impacted schools), we are now going to see schools playing 4 games on week-ends, with double headers on Saturdays. These double-headers will be shortened games ... from 9 innings to 7 innings. This will definitely impact pitching rotations and plans, but one thing it can do ... it can improve a pitcher's stats so we will see more "complete game" winners than we have in the past ...

I think they should flip flop the football and baseball seasons. The weather is much more accomodating in the fall for baseball in the more northern parts of the Country.

I know I dress warmer for more baseball games in the spring than I do for the football games I attend in the fall.

CV

..rest of the nawtheners could just move down here.

...can't be that many left up there.

quote:

---

..rest of the nawtheners could just move down here.

...can't be that many left up there.

---

FO

Ain't that the truth. We're runnin' outta swamp land to sell'um...but quick.

I notice that all who have responded to this topic (other than TR) are from south of the Mason-Dixon line. The discussion about the change of starting date has been taking place for a few years. Many Division I coaches feel that it is the best thing for College Baseball (including Florida State's coach, who has been on the committee looking into this, I believe)....this is being initiated by the coaches, not the NCAA. Those of you who feel as though more games will need to be played each week don't realize that the northern schools have had to do that forever......and now by also moving the post-season back 2 or 3 weeks the southern schools still have nothing to worry about.

The idea is not so that northern schools can attract more players--norhtern kids are still going to want to play baseball in the south. What this does is gives the northern schools an opportunity to play more home games and thus perhaps improve RPI ratings, etc. Many northern schools play as many as 20+ games on the road before they ever get on their fields. Also, Division I schools won't be going to 7 inning games or Saturday doubleheaders (unless their conferences go to having four game series).

There will be an impact on summer collegiate league starting dates, school baseball budgets (as far as housing and feeding players after the winter semester ends), and perhaps some more things......but many college coaches who can look at the big picture believe it is good for college baseball.

You're right, grateful.

This is not about the socialist attitudes alluded to by trojanx2. It is about standardizing the schedule to best fit all NCAA schools; not just those blessed to reside in warm weather climates. Consider that baseball is the only NCAA sport that has such wildly different schedules & start dates for for practices and games. That is not tolerated for NCAA basketball or football teams.

FWIW, I was speaking with an OU baseball coach in Broken Arrow last summer at CM Regionals. He was strongly in favor of this rule change.