University of Florida

If you go to Rivals.com florida gators website, then you can find the baseball specific page,

or you can go to Rivals Baseball and talk all things college baseball

www.gatorcountry.com

Under Forums/Chat, click Around the Horn (baseball)

Thanks Alot guys.

Does anyone have any other info that may be valuable.

UF is in a rebuilding phase under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan (second year).
Great school, fantastic facilities, great weather, great academic programs and as a Florida resident, bright futures.
My son worked under Sully at Clemson. I do admit that I am a bit biased , but if an offer is made, I would take him up on it, especially if your son is a pitcher.

PM me if you have any questions.

do alot of fans attend the games?

quote:

Originally posted by alg:
do alot of fans attend the games?

http://www.gatorzone.com/facilities/?venue=mckethan&sport=baseb

Check it out on this page at bottom. Also check out that locker room! This was a result of two national championships in football and basketball.

This year , due to their success, attendance increased. It had been down for a few years when the program was losing.

Winning teams bring fans.

Thanks. Yea i had seen that but not the table. By the way your son was a coach at Clemson while O sullivan was there? Whats his name?

quote:

Originally posted by alg:
Thanks. Yea i had seen that but not the table. By the way your son was a coach at Clemson while O sullivan was there? Whats his name?

O'Sullivan was not the HC but the pitching coach at Clemson for 9 years and for three of them he was my son's pitching coach.

You sound and write like two different posters. I would suggest that you do some homework on coaches that are recruiting you (or your son). A lot of your success (or your sons) and the teams, depends on who runs a program.

i knew he wasnt the head coach there that why i said a coach not the head coach

And i was just wondering what your sons name was

but forget it

It doesn't matter who son is, this post wasn't about him but the questions that were asked. I was trying to give some background info on UF and help out.

Hey, I coach the club team at Florida and from my experience, the D-1 program is really solid. Ever since O'Sullivan has arrived the team is playing better and harder ball. the last year of McMahon, I wouldn't even go to games because they just didn't play the game right. O'Sullivan seems to have a lot of energy and from what I hear the players love playing for him. As far as facilities, everything is brand new and they have a huge indoor batting tunnel down the left field line complete with covered bullpens.

quote:

Check it out on this page at bottom. Also check out that locker room! This was a result of two national championships in football and basketball.

The stadium expansion and locker room/training facility addition occurred during the 05-06 window. (Florida finished #2 in Omaha in 05). The basketball championships happened in 06 and 07. The football championships happened in 96(97), 06(07) and 08(09). The university's commitment to the baseball program was not a product of the recent success of the other programs.

I saw the locker room in 2003. It didn't look like that. It apparently got the extreme makeover it needed.

There was a planned expansion that began in 2003 (yeah it didn't look like that either). My son was there last year and it looked totally different than in 2003. TOTALLY.

The universities committment to the "new" direction of the bb program began after basketball and football recently won national championships, UF baseball struggled to get into the NCAA for two years, it was embarrasing. With so many players leaving the state to play elsewhere, I am sure new and improved facilities has helped tremendously.

TPM - I was pointing out that the new facilities that you stated were the result of recent successes in other sports at UF were, in fact, already in place or at least under construction before those championships. Certainly the "new direction" of the baseball program (translation: The Sully Era) followed a couple of down years. The change was inevitable, given the lack of tolerance for lack of success at the school. And THAT lack of tolerance is most certainly the product of the success of football and basketball. Hence, yes, the Sully era is the product of heightened success elsewhere. I suspect the facilities help, but not as much as some might think.

With the dirth of quality players that Florida (the state) produces, I'm certain there will continue to be "many players leaving the state to play elsewhere". However, there is no question that Sully's ability to recruit has already stemmed the tide somewhat, or at least caught a few quality arms that Ross would likely have been unable to land. This is not to say that all is well with the program, but it is moving again, hopefully in the right direction. Time will tell.

FitMeIn,
When a school (any) wins a national championship or major bowl games the whole athletic department benefits by way of improvements or "perks".
I know that the expansion was in place, the perks are results of money awarded for championships.

That's all I was pointng out, and not meant for debate.

No intent to debate. Just wanted to clarify. (And comments that follow are not to debate. I think it's an interesting topic.)

There's no doubt that it takes serious money today to provide top tier facilities for college teams. No longer is it enough to simply have a fine field or court. In order to compete with other schools in the recruiting process, it is perceived that the auxilliary practice facility or the dedicated weight room are no longer perks, but rather necessities. And the equivilancy sports like baseball can never (almost never, with woefully few exceptions) self fund such "necessities". A school's success in football and men's basketball must make it much easier (serious understatement) to rally the alumni around a project such as a dedicated s****r stadium or lacrosse practice field. I think one could safely lump the recent expansions at MacKethan Stadium, and many of the other facilities at UF, into that setting.

Some might put this under the broad umbrella of the heading, success breeds success. I prefer it this way: Success breeds the expectation of success. They could be the same thing. I'll leave that to the motivational speaker to draw the fine distinction.

For some schools however who have not realized the level of success as UF, this becomes a chicken/egg discussion. How do you provide the spoils of success in order to attract and land the talent that will help you achieve that very success?

At some base level, I'd like to believe there must be a more deep-seated commitment to a sport, or a desire to compete and win. But don't think that's really the case at Florida, or at any mega-U. It's a business. UF hired Foley long before the current "golden age", and certainly he was/is central (or foundational) to the last decade of success.

With some schools, it could be one uber-successful alum who's looking for a place to "give back", but that's more likely the guy looking for a legacy to put his name on a building or a stadium.

Back to the business of sports: These days at large schools where the expectations of the alumni starts and stops with championships, the pressure to succeed is huge on the head coach to produce. UF as a case in point. Not even two years removed from a runner-up finish at Omaha, McMahon and his staff were let go. Granted, there were certainly secondary issues, not the least of which were Pat's unrelenting commitment to his staff that helped get them to that best-ever finish in 05. But the underlying/over-arching issue was, what have you done for me lately?

The losers in this "win, whatever it takes" mentality are the players, IMO. They are a commodity, caught up in the same "what have you done for me lately" carosel. The "I'll take care of your son Mrs. Jones" statement in a recruit's home may still be heard, but I don't think it rings as true as it once did. Truth be told, it should be something more like, "If your son performs the way I hope and believe he can, then I'll take care of him". Sadly, the business of college sports has led to the deterioration of what I believe should be central to college sports: that is the development of the individual, both on and off the field. FWIW, I don't think the majority of young college coaches put enough emphasis on protecting the well-being and developing the character of the individual. They're all about the win. And in this microwave society, they're all about the win NOW.

And lest you think I'm taking a shot at your boy, know that the opinions above are NOT directed at Sully. You don't need to defend him. I see this issue as almost epidimic among young coaches around the country, across the majority of the various sports.

Bottom line: College sports is a business. And big college sports is big business. The black and red ink for debits and credits is found in the wins and losses. Period. Too much red ink will bring about change, hopefully, but not always, for the better.