Season To Remain 14 Weeks
ATLANTA, GA–The 14-week college baseball season was preserved during the Division I business session by a 63-37 margin during an override vote Friday during the NCAA’s annual convention. A five-eighths vote was required to overturn the proposal which was approved last July.
The baseball proposal essentially pitted Northern institutions against those in the South, with Northern schools arguing that adding a week to the beginning of the baseball season would cause their teams to miss more class time by forcing them to play more games on the road early in the year. More road trips also equated to more expenses.
Southern schools contended that playing the same number of games (56) in 13 weeks would require more midweek games, also resulting in additional missed class time.
Matt Baysinger, chair of the Division I SAAC and a track and field student-athlete at Kansas, noted the priority the Association has placed on the academic performance of baseball student-athletes.
“Proponents will put cold-weather schools at a competitive disadvantage. The intent addresses an issue that is far greater than geographic inequity,” he said. “This proposal was created to ensure baseball student-athletes have the opportunity to make academics their priority.”
The institutions that requested the override are all located in the North, including all 11 institutions in the Big Ten Conference. The institutions cited concerns about having to travel South to begin their seasons and incurring increased expenses for the programs and additional missed class time for student-athletes.
Many of the institutions calling for the override indicated they would add an additional week at the end of the season, when spring classes are complete for many student-athletes.