Big Ten Baseball Getting Mistreated

[MacroGuru]

I always find it funny when something like this happens.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebaseball/story/7441941

For some reason it's not letting me post the article in it's entirety.

[sovereignstar]

Yeah. The Big Ten champs should have to play in Fullerton, CA.

[Passacaglia]

Open up the Rose Bowl, the last stumbling block toward a college football playoff, and we'll give you your July CWS.

Huh?

[Daimyo]

Heh, I grew up in Indiana and went to Northwestern and I didn't even know the Big Ten played baseball.

[Cards4ever]

Don't other NCAA sports have common starting times? What's wrong with a March 1st beginning date for games? The Sun Belt schools will still have a advantage, it just won't be as dramatic.

[Ksyrup]

Because by doing so, you have to push the season into mid-summer. That's the problem.

Or, at least, having the college football season end 2 weeks in to January is a problem, but for some, that same problem wouldn't exist if baseball was still being played for nearly 2 months after the school year ended. The point is, they can't have it both ways.

[Cards4ever]

It would also be nice if he knew all the facts, the last Big 10 team to win, was Ohio State in 1966.

http://espn.go.com/ncaa/cws/history.html

[Cards4ever]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Because by doing so, you have to push the season into mid-summer. That's the problem.

Or, at least, having the college football season end 2 weeks in to January is a problem, but for some, that same problem wouldn't exist if baseball was still being played for nearly 2 months after the school year ended. The point is, they can't have it both ways.

I disagree, don't they start playing football before the school year starts? So, what's the difference?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

I disagree, don't they start playing football before the school year starts? So, what's the difference?

I don't follow you.

But to answer your question, at least here in Florida, no, they don't start playing football (at least not real games) before the season starts. Practice, sure, but even when FSU plays in the kick-off classic, it's never earlier than the week school starts, AFAIK.

The difference is - the second semester ends at the end of April, and baseball would still be going (not just practices, but real games and then the championship) into July. In football, games begin at the beginning of the first semester, and the schools are against extending the season even one more week in January to add a true championship game, since it would run into the second semester by a few days. That's inconsistent logic.

[Huckleberry]

Po' wittle babies.

[Cards4ever]

School doesn't usually start until after Labor Day in most places, Mckerney should be able to tell us when Minnesota starts to verify that. Yet, there are always games Labor Day weekend and whether they are practicing or playing games, the athletes are required to be there before school starts, so, extending baseball into July, really shouldn't be that big of deal(especially when we sit here on June 24th with the CWS still going on).

I don't want to see the Northern schools split off, but, the danger is there, I guess the question is, do the other schools want to take that chance?

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

Don't other NCAA sports have common starting times? What's wrong with a March 1st beginning date for games? The Sun Belt schools will still have a advantage, it just won't be as dramatic.

The non Sun-Belt schools can start play just as early as any other school. If it is too cold to play at home, they should travel. Heck, your in the Big Ten. If you want to play baseball in February, build a dome with some of that BCS money.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

I don't want to see the Northern schools split off, but, the danger is there, I guess the question is, do the other schools want to take that chance?

And I think the answer is, they're about as important to college baseball as small Div. I schools are to the BCS.

School starts the 3rd or 4th week of August here, depending on how the calendar shapes up in any given year, btw.

[Cards4ever]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

And I think the answer is, they're about as important to college baseball as small Div. I schools are to the BCS.

School starts the 3rd or 4th week of August here, depending on how the calendar shapes up in any given year, btw.

That maybe so, but, what does ESPN think? As we all know, TV is important in all sports, and if they think they can get more revenue or lose alot of revenue because the Big 10 is in or out of the CWS, that might be what it comes down to.

I still think I have a point about practice starting in early August, YMMV.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

But to answer your question, at least here in Florida, no, they don't start playing football (at least not real games) before the season starts. Practice, sure, but even when FSU plays in the kick-off classic, it's never earlier than the week school starts, AFAIK.

The difference is - the second semester ends at the end of April, and baseball would still be going (not just practices, but real games and then the championship) into July. In football, games begin at the beginning of the first semester, and the schools are against extending the season even one more week in January to add a true championship game, since it would run into the second semester by a few days. That's inconsistent logic.

For many schools on the quarter system, football starts well before school. At Washington, school often starts in late September, so the football team may get in 3 or even 4 games before classes start. Add to that mandatory fall camp which takes place in August, and you've got football players losing over 1 month of their summer break in order to play their sport.

Thus, I find the idea that extending the baseball season into July is bad because it takes kids well into their summer break to be a hypocritical one when compared to football.

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

I still think I have a point about practice starting in early August, YMMV.

Why? College baseball teams practice all fall semester.

The Big Ten is acting like a big crybaby. A hypocritical crybaby.

As for ESPN, I think they're pretty happy about the increase in the CWS popularity as it is, and Ksyrup summed up the Big Ten's importance to college baseball well earlier. Go ahead and have your own tournament. We won't give a shit. Call yourself the NIT Baseball Champions all you want.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

School doesn't usually start until after Labor Day in most places, Mckerney should be able to tell us when Minnesota starts to verify that.

Minnesota starts the day after labor day, and I believe that Ohio State doesn't start until several weeks after that.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

For many schools on the quarter system, football starts well before school. At Washington, school often starts in late September, so the football team may get in 3 or even 4 games before classes start. Add to that mandatory fall camp which takes place in August, and you've got football players losing over 1 month of their summer break in order to play their sport.

Thus, I find the idea that extending the baseball season into July is bad because it takes kids well into their summer break to be a hypocritical one when compared to football.

That may be - I'm not aware of when school starts for anyone else, all I know is what I've experienced, both from living here and from when I went to school elsewhere. When does school end? Because here, having baseball end in mid-July would be 2.5 months beyond the end of the second semester, which seems crazy, versus the 3-4 weeks football players lose by showing up at the end of July (at least here).

[Huckleberry]

I demand equity for Texas in skiing. I demand that snow be purchased and sent to cover a large hill of our choice here in Central Texas by the NCAA. I DEMAND JUSTICE!!!

[dawgfan]

Well, it's been 12 years since I graduated so I'm a little fuzzy on the last day of Spring Quarter, but I believe it's around the beginning of June.

[Cards4ever]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

Why? College baseball teams practice all fall semester.

My quote was in reference to Ksyrup being against playing baseball when school is out for the summer, I'm not debating spring football practice.

[IMetTrentGreen]

shup up and play hockey

[Cards4ever]

It's skills like that, that will take you along way in life IMTG, I think you'll be named head cashier any day now!

[ice4277]

In all honesty, I didn't realize people really cared about college baseball until about 3 years ago.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

It's skills like that, that will take you along way in life IMTG, I think you'll be named head cashier any day now!

Someone is letting him handle other people's money?

[SnDvls]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

Don't other NCAA sports have common starting times? What's wrong with a March 1st beginning date for games? The Sun Belt schools will still have a advantage, it just won't be as dramatic.

The start time isn't the big problem it's the ending time. Think July in Arizona at 1 PM.....not one fan would want to show up to a game, It's bad enough in June.
The west coast/southern schools just take their road trips in the later part of the season due to the heat so the Big 10/11 needs to suck it up and play ball or build some domes for the baseball teams they all can afford it look at their alumni donations.

[Cards4ever]

Originally Posted by SnDvls

The start time isn't the big problem it's the ending time. Think July in Arizona at 1 PM.....not one fan would want to show up to a game, It's bad enough in June.
The west coast/southern schools just take their road trips in the later part of the season due to the heat so the Big 10/11 needs to suck it up and play ball or build some domes for the baseball teams they all can afford it look at their alumni donations.

So, Arizona doesn't have any donations to build domes to play games indoors?

[Solecismic]

The author is known for his animosity to the Big Ten, so I take what he writes with a grain of salt.

But it would be funny if they decided to split off and learn for themselves just how profitable a northern college tournament of second-rate teams would be.

Having tried out for my college baseball team (pre-Michigan days, and I didn't make the team anyway), I know how brutal it is in the north even trying to practice at home in March. High school baseball is very condensed as well, with the season packed in as much as possible until it really screws with finals.

[sovereignstar]

HS baseball in North Dakota was never taken seriously by anyone that I ever knew. We'd start practice in mid-March, this consisting of using the HS gym from 6:30-8:00 in the morning to run, throw, and maybe even play some scrimmage basketball. After school we'd go over to the Legion field to shovel snow off of it and try to rush the we-can-actually-play process.

If anything it was only good to get our arms ready for Legion ball.

[SnDvls]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

So, Arizona doesn't have any donations to build domes to play games indoors?

nope ASU athletic depart was over 2 mil in the red 2 years ago and now after the Cardinals lawsuit, which was settled, they are still 1.4 mil in the red.

[ice4277]

In related news, the University of Detroit-Mercy today announced they are dropped their college baseball program. Unfortunate, they had a pretty solid program at one point, however the last decade has not been kind, and the two years I was there, it was a total afterthought. Much like it is at many northern schools, so I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing this happen more.

[Tigercat]

Just as the article states, if Nebraska can do it nearly anyone can do well under the current calender. And, oh yea, this article didn't mention all the small northern schools that do better in college baseball than Big 10 schools. I've seen schools like Army, Princeton, and Harvard field better baseball teams than most Big 10 teams.

Why should the NCAA bend to the will of a major conference whose member schools don't care enough to make the effort? Make the effort first with facilities, coaches, and attendence and then talk. I dont think the BCS would care much if the Sun Belt conference started their own tournament in college football.