We recently posted three different polls here on Collegebaseball360.com to get your feedback on a handful of questions. Here’s a look at how they came out with some thoughts on each:

One format recently discussed by the NCAA would flip-flop those formats, starting with a two-team best-two-of-three Regional followed by a four-team double-elimination Super Regional. That format is favored by 21% of those who voted.

The greatest benefit to this format would be the fact that 32 different schools would get the chance to host Regionals rather than the current 16. Eight teams would then host Super Regionals, with the winners qualifying for Omaha. That means there is a potential for 40 different host sites in the first two rounds.

The other format calls for three best-two-of-three series, which is favored by 39% of those who cast their votes. This format would allow 32 teams to host a first-round Regional, 16 teams would host in the second round and eight teams would host third round series, with the winners advancing to the College World Series. There are potentially 56 host sites under this format.

Like those who voted, we favor the third option. It would add an extra week to the postseason, but it does a couple other things that would be good for college baseball.

First, it gives more teams the chance to host postseason games.  One seeds would host four seeds and two seeds would host three seeds.  It would be pretty exciting to have college baseball in 32 locations around the country to open the postseason.

Second, it’s a format that better duplicates the way the game is played during the regular season when teams play weekend three-game series (as pointed out by the NCAA in its proposal). With the exception of the final “if necessary” games, the format is also more television friendly, because game times are all predetermined. In a double-elimination format the time a team plays on day two and day three is determined by a win or a loss on day one.

Multiple games every day would be eliminated, which makes dealing with weather a lot easier too. As we saw last year in the Coral Gables Regional, weather is a TV nightmare. (Click here to see more details on this subject).

Regular Season Poll

The second poll question is an idea floated by Oklahoma head coach Sunny Golloway. The Sooner skipper would like to see the college baseball season shift so that it is played more in the summer than late winter and spring.

“I think in the fall…should be like our summer. That’s where our athletes should take three or six (credit) hours, be able to relax more and have some down time. And then let’s start in the spring, getting going,” Golloway recently told us.

Golloway argues that college baseball currently gets lost in the large shadow of the popularity of college basketball and “March Madness“. He also thinks that college baseball stadiums around the country would have a better chance to be filled by starting later in the spring when temperatures are warmer.

Sunny Golloway

Golloway says the shift in the season would also allow for a better opportunity at a national television contract that would give fans the chance to “fall in love” with college baseball the way they have with college hoops and college football.

All the points Golloway makes are valid. However, it would be a pretty radical shift for college presidents around the country to shift their academic calenders to accommodate college baseball (even if student-athletes in other sports were still in school during the traditional academic calender). There would likely have to be a large  TV revenue guarantee to give it a chance to happen.

golloway-tv

Press “Play” above to listen to Golloway’s comments.

A shift to a summer slate would do a few other things as well:

1. It would shift the way college coaches recruit and actually see recruits. A good chunk of this is currently done in the summer months when the college season is over. If the start of the college season was pushed to even April (when high school seasons are starting) instead of late February it would make it tougher for many college coaches to ever see a recruit play in a real game setting.

2. It would virtually eliminate the college summer leagues. Cape Cod, Alaska and other points around the country might no longer be destinations of college players once their college regular seasons end. There might be a way to make it happen in August and September, but it would be tougher. The summer leagues are important not only to the highly touted college prospects, but probably even more to players lower on college depth charts who need summer leagues for the chance to get real playing experience.

3. It would tax support staffs. Even at bigger schools like Oklahoma, people who work in media relations/sports information departments and on athletic training staffs work more than just one sport. At smaller schools these behind the scenes, but very important, staffers are working two, three and even four sports. Unlike the baseball players themselves, most of these staffers would not have the luxury of time off in the fall, because they would be busy working another sport.

One thing is for sure though, there’s a new flexible landing spot in Omaha if the college schedule were to go to a summer schedule. Unlike Rosenblatt Stadium, the new TD Ameritrade Park doesn’t have to share its field with a minor league baseball team, so the CWS could take place there anytime from virtually May through October. Which takes us to…

The Stadium Poll

The sun has set on Rosenblatt Stadium

College Baseball 360 blogger (and Omaha native) Paul Fiarkoski recently answered the question “What happened to Rosenblatt Stadium?”. He also asked the question “Do you agree with the decision to replace Rosenblatt?”.  The answer is a resounding “No”.

A whopping 83% of those who voted say they do not agree with the decision to replace the historic facility. Only 15% say they do agree, while 2% say they are not sure.

It is an understandable response, especially for those like Paul who grew-up in the shadow of Rosenblatt. Nostalgia is a big part of the American psyche and change can be hard to accept. While I agree with Paul and the 83%, the question is now moot.

TD Ameritrade Park is just three months away from hosting its first game when Creighton and Nebraska break-in the new facility on April 19. The Blue Jays will play their remaining 11 home contests at TDAP after that first game and then the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament gets the final tune-up from May 24-29 before the first College World Series first pitch in downtown Omaha on June 18.

Time marches on.

There’s a chance the NCAA College Baseball Tournament could have a different look in the future. At its recent meeting, the NCAA Division One Baseball Committee discussed two possible new formats.

The current format starts with 16 four-team regionals conducted in double-elimination format. The winners then advance to eight super regionals with the winners advancing to Omaha.

The first alternate format would included 32 first-round regional sites that would pit two teams in a best two-out-of-three series. Winners of those series would advance to eight four-team super regionals, which would be conducted in a double-elimination format. This format essentially flip-flops the formats of the current regionals and super regionals.

The other alternate format would be for the entire tournament prior to the College World Series to be conducted in best two-out-of-three series. That option would require an additional weekend to be added to the tournament. It would start with 32 first-round best of three series, followed by 16 best of three series, followed by eight more best of three series, with the winners advancing to the CWS.

The second alternate format would allow 32 teams to host first-round regionals, which would potentially allow more northern teams to host postseason play. However, the NCAA notes the format would also the need for hiring more umpires and institutional staff. It would also require more travel.

DI Baseball Committee Chairman Tim Weiser

“Some committee members feel that our regular season is being played in best two-out-of-three or three-out-of-four formats,” committee chair Tim Weiser told NCAA.org. “If the regular season is being driven in that fashion, some believe that postseason play should be in a two-out-of-three format.”

That argument has a lot of merit, considering virtually every conference plays three-game series over the course of the year. The Patriot League also conducts its conference tournament in best two-of-three fashion. Here’s what we said about it in our 2010 Patriot League Preview:

The Patriot League has probably the most unique postseason tournament format in college baseball (it’s also probably the most fair).  The Patriot League Baseball Championship is conducted as a field-of-four tournament over two weekends.  The two higher seeds host first round best-of-three series pitting the No. 4 seed at the No. 1 seed and the No. 3 seed at the No. 2 seed. The championship best-of-three series will be played at the site of the highest seed remaining. The Patriot League champion earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

If you haven’t been to Dugouthats.com yet, it’s time to check out their sale on College World Series gear. From South Carolina national championship apparel to one of a kind collector memorabilia, The Dugout has it all marked down & it all makes for great Christmas giving!

“

Toreros Control Their Destiny In The WCC

San Diego

TCU, New Mexico & Texas Top The Talk

Record New Mexico crowds are expected this weekend at Isotopes Park to see the Lobos face TCU (New Mexico photo).

West Conference.  The Horned Frogs are still in the running to snag one of the top eight national seeds when NCAA bids come out in less than a month, while New Mexico is looking for some big wins to try to earn its first NCAA berth in nearly 50 years.

The Lobos lead the Mountain West with a .356 batting average and 395 runs scored, while the Horned Frogs have the top pitching staff in the conference with a 3.76 staff ERA and 348 strikeouts (stats as of May 2).

In this podcast Sean Stires talks with CB360 contributor Stephen Francis about this weekend’s match-up as well as Big 12 teams like Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma as well as UT Arlington All-American Michael Choice.

LISTEN

The stretch drive of the college baseball season is coming, and conference races are heating up.  In this podcast CB 360 Editor Sean Stires talks with our West Coast correspondent, Chase Titleman from Road2rosenblatt.com, about teams like Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, UCLA and how their NCAA hopes are looking.  Will the Pac 10 get more than five NCAA bids for the first time ever?

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

Click To Listen!

Host Texas A&M Corpus Christ Joined By UCLA, Mississippi St. & Oklahoma

Nationally-ranked and renowned clubs like Arizona State, TCU, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and South Alabama have also spent parts of their spring breaks at 734 East Port Avenue.

How does this sound for 2010? UCLA, Mississippi State and Oklahoma join Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Whataburger College Classic’s fifth edition March 12-14 at Whataburger Field.

The Bruins, Bulldogs and Sooners have combined for 77 NCAA tournament appearances and 19 trips to Omaha for the College World Series. The Sooners were national champions in 1951 and 1994 and finished 18th nationally in 2009.

Recalled Corpus Christi Hooks president Ken Schrom: “My first response when the field for 2010 was finalized was ‘WOW!’ This will be a weekend at Whataburger Field to remember with three of college baseball’s elite programs. It’ll be a great opportunity for fans throughout South Texas – fans of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in particular – to come out and see the best in college baseball.”

Tickets go to public sale for the Fifth Annual Whataburger College Classic on Friday, February 12. Hooks season-ticket holders may reserve their same-seat locations by calling the box office at 361-561-HOOK, x: 1. Season-ticket invoices offered the option.

Whataburger College Classic adult ticket packages for all three days are just $18, a terrific value! Youth packages (ages 4-12) are $9. Daily tickets are $8 and $4. Children 3-and-under are admitted free.

The schedule:

Friday, March 12

Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma, 2 p.m.

TAMUCC vs. UCLA, 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 13

Oklahoma vs. TAMUCC, 1 p.m.

Mississippi State vs. UCLA, 5 p.m.

Sunday, March 14

Oklahoma vs. UCLA, 11 a.m.

Mississippi State vs. TAMUCC, 3 p.m. (DH)

(Release)

Wildcats Face 15 NCAA Tournament Teams From 2009

Kentucky Head Coach Gary Henderson

and several difficult non-conference tests. The Wildcats will host a 29-game schedule at Cliff Hagan Stadium and play a total of 27 contests away from Lexington.

Complete 2010 Kentucky Schedule (PDF)

UK will open its 2010 campaign for the second consecutive season at Coastal Carolina (47-16, No. 28 RPI), a team that finished the season ranked in the top 25. The Chanticleers will host the Wildcats in its preseason tournament, with UK’s season opener coming against ACC power Virginia Tech (32-21, No. 50 RPI) on Feb. 19 at noon ET. UK will also face West Virginia (37-18, No. 102 RPI) for the second consecutive year on Feb. 20 at 11 a.m., before facing the host Chanticleers Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.

“I thought it was important that we test our kids early and get them ready for 10 weeks of SEC play,” Henderson said. “When we got the extra week of competition in the schedule, we were able to add the trip to Coastal Carolina, which we are really pleased about. The trip was a good experience for us last year and we are looking forward to going down there. It is obviously three very good teams and we are going to be tested early in the season.”

The Wildcats will return to Cliff Hagan Stadium for their home opener on Feb. 24, hosting in-state foe Murray State (34-21) at 4 p.m. ET, before beginning a three-game homestand Feb. 26-28 with Mid-American Conference member Bowling Green (28-22).

UK’s next test will be significant, as the Wildcats begin a four-game road swing with a stop in Morehead, Ky., to face off with the Eagles on March 2, before embarking on a trip to San Diego for three games on the west coast. UK will face 2009 NCAA Regional participant San Diego State (41-23, No. 45 RPI), coached by Tony Gwynn, on March 4 before facing traditional powers San Diego (29-25, No. 50 RPI) on March 5 and Monmouth on March 6.

“You are playing two regional teams again out in San Diego,” Henderson said. “I want the team to experience some travel and play against top level competition on the road. It is important for the team to understand what it is going to be like on the road against good teams.”

After the trip to the west coast, UK will embark on a six-game homestand that includes non-conference matchups with Evansville (25-30), IPFW (13-38) and Wright State (33-30). The Wildcats then begin the rugged SEC conference season, welcoming defending conference regular-season champion Ole Miss (44-20, No. 14 RPI) in the league opener, March 19-21 at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

“The conference is going to be extremely competitive again,” Henderson said. “We are going to have as many returning players as ever in the league. When you look at the rosters and stats from around the conference, there is no weak team. It is going to be a great challenge from week to week. It is an absolute grind, 10 weeks of tremendous competition in great environments for college baseball.”

UK will host SEC series with Ole Miss, Alabama (37-21, No. 39 RPI), Florida (42-22, No. 10 RPI), South Carolina (40-23, No. 21 RPI) and 2009 NCAA Champion LSU (56-17, No. 4 RPI) during the year. The Wildcats will take trips for SEC play to Vanderbilt (37-27, No. 27 RPI), Arkansas (41-24, No. 7 RPI), Auburn (31-25, No. 33 RPI), Tennessee (26-29, No. 58 RPI) and Georgia (38-24, No. 20 RPI).

Highlighting UK’s non-conference action are mid-week contests with 2009 NCAA Regional teams Xavier (39-21, No. 59 RPI), Western Kentucky (42-20, No. 41 RPI), Louisville (47-18, No. 17 RPI) and Indiana (32-27, No. 108 RPI). UK will also face Cincinnati (29-29) and Lipscomb (24-32), as part of its non-conference season.

UK will play rivals Murray State, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati and Morehead State during the season. The last few years the rivalry games have increased in fan excitement and interest, and in 2010 UK will hit the road to face Louisville in the River City, WKU in Bowling Green, Ky., Murray State in Paducah, Ky., Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., and Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.

“I think when you have as many good programs as we do in the state, it is important that everyone plays each other,” Henderson said. “The series’ that we have had in state have been extremely competitive and have created a lot of excitement and interest. As the programs continue to get better, the rivalries and fan support continues to grow, which makes for some great environments in the in-state contests.”

(Press Release)

MANHATTAN, Kan. - A 13-game homestand during the month of March and 29 games against 2009 NCAA Regional competition highlight Kansas State’s slate as head coach Brad Hill released the Wildcats’ 2010 baseball schedule on Thursday.

Complete 2010 Kansas State Schedule (PDF)

“This will be a challenging schedule,” Hill said. “We open the season with 12 games on the road and will take on 10 NCAA Regional teams from a year ago, including three in our first homestand. The nonconference schedule will help prepare our young squad for the always challenging Big 12 Conference.”

Kansas State Head Coach Brad Hill

The 2009 season opens on Friday, Feb. 19, at The Citadel Memorial Challenge against Delaware. The Cats then face East Tennessee State on Saturday before taking on the host school, The Citadel, on Sunday. K-State will then stay in Charleston, S.C., to face the Bulldogs for an extra game on Monday, Feb. 22.

Kansas State travels to Florida to play eight games in nine days, beginning with the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational at Chain of Lakes Park – the former spring training home of the Cleveland Indians – in Winter Haven, Fla. The Cats will play five games in the invitational, which runs Saturday, February 27 through Wednesday, March 3. K-State will play against a combination of teams in Duquesne, Illinois State, Maine, Northeastern, St. Bonaventure, Valparaiso, Villanova and Western Michigan. The exact schedule for the tournament will be released at a later date.

Following a day off on Thursday, K-State will participate in the Bright House Invitational, hosted by Stetson, beginning Friday, March 5, in DeLand, Fla. The Wildcats will face the Hatters on Friday before squaring off against Notre Dame on Saturday. Kansas State will finish its Florida excursion and 12-game road trip to start the season on Sunday against Harvard. The 12-game road trip is the longest to start a season since 1972.

Kansas State will open its home slate with season-long 13-game homestand beginning on Friday, March 12, against Kent State. The Cats continue their series with the Golden Flashes with a Saturday doubleheader at 12 p.m., while the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Following a home contest against Creighton on Tuesday, March 16, the Cats will play another four-game weekend series beginning on Friday, March 19, against UW-Milwaukee.

The season-long homestand also sees the start of Big 12 play for Kansas State as the Wildcats welcome Oklahoma State to Tointon Family Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. The homestand and the month of March concludes with a visit from in-state rival Wichita State on Tuesday, March 30.

K-State’s first conference road trip is to Lubbock, Texas, as the Cats face Texas Tech, April 1-3, before coming home to take on Nebraska, April 9-11.

K-State, which traveled to BYU two years ago and played the Cougars last season in Manhattan, will travel to Provo, Utah, for a two-game series against the Mountain West Conference school on April 13 and 14.

Following a three-game home conference series against 2009 NCAA Regional participant Baylor, April 16-18, the Cats travel to Eck Stadium in Wichita to conclude their season series against the Shockers on Tuesday, April 20. K-State will then stay on the road as it travels to Columbia, Mo., to face Missouri, April 23-25.

The Wildcats will face Chicago State, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 27 and 28, in Manhattan, before traveling to Oklahoma to end April and begin May as they play the Sooners Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2.

The final stretches of the season see Kansas State at home for seven of its final 11 games. The Wildcats will step out of conference play for the final time in 2010 as it hosts 2009 NCAA Regional participant and Big Ten member Minnesota, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 4 and 5.

College World Series runner-up Texas comes calling for a three-game weekend series in Manhattan beginning Friday, May 7.

The Cats will renew their in-state rivalry against Kansas beginning Friday, May 14, in Lawrence, before the series shifts to Manhattan for the Saturday and Sunday contests.  The Jayhawks are another 2009 NCAA Regional team.

Kansas State’s regular season concludes in College Station, Texas, with a three-game series at Texas A&M, beginning Friday, May 21.

The 2010 Big 12 Championship will be conducted May 26-30 at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla., while NCAA Regionals will run June 4-7 at 16 various on-campus sites throughout the country.

Four Ways To Promote The Game Where It Needs Promoting

1. Allow fall exhibition games that do not count against the 56 game limit. Teams like Texas, Rice and Baylor (to name a few) are already playing a handful of games each fall so they don’t have to cram a bunch of mid week games into a shorter season.  Teams like Michigan, Indiana and Iowa are playing games this fall as well.  Teams from the Big 12, SEC, ACC, and Pac 10 don’t have to worry about losing a few games in the spring, because they know their RPIs are going to be high enough to get them an at-large NCAA bid if they win 30 games, but teams from the north need every game they can get to 40 wins as they build their at large resume.
2. Use college football to showcase college baseball in the north. (This is assuming step #1 is in play.)  This can most easily be accomplished in September when the weather is still in the 80s and 90s pretty much across the country (including places like Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, South Bend, and Columbus…just in case those from states farther south might not be aware).  Fresno State was the defending national champion last year.  The Bulldog football team opened the 2008 season at Rutgers.  What if the Scarlet Knight baseball team could have had the defending champs play on their campus in a fall exhibition game (or games)?   Oregon State went to Penn State to play football two years ago when the Beaver baseball team was the defending CWS champion.  It’s a win-win situation for everyone.  Fresno State and Oregon State are never going to go to New Jersey or Pennsylvania in March or April, but September is perfect, and they don’t even have to worry about whether they
   

   Penn State's Beaver Stadium with baseball's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park upper right

   win or lose.  Just show up, play a game Friday night and/or Saturday morning before the football game ) when 50,000 to upwards of 100,000 fans are around to see the games) and then do some tailgating and watch a football game and go home.  It’s not limited to defending national champs though.  Some other football games that would be good fits for a fall baseball pairing include:  Arizona @ Iowa, USC @ Ohio State, Stanford @ Notre Dame, North Carolina @ UConn, Oregon @ Purdue, Virginia @ Indiana, Florida State @ BYU (I could go on).  All of those football games have either taken place recently or will take place within the next couple years.

3. Use football part II. The idea of using college football to promote college baseball is not limited to having one school’s baseball team tag along with the football team to go barnstorming in the north.  (EG: Penn State vs. Oregon State in both football and baseball as mentioned above.)  Baseball teams like LSU, Texas, Arizona State, Miami, Florida State (and a few others) could go just about anywhere independent of their football teams and draw a crowd.  So, Michigan plays Eastern Michigan in Ann Arbor on the gridiron on September 19, but Michigan plays Texas on the diamond the night before or that same morning.
4. BE CREATIVE. Schools like Rhode Island and St. John‘s don’t have the big football programs to prop up the rest of their programs like Penn State, Michigan or Notre Dame, but they could still make something happen in the fall.  How about the Red Storm playing Joba Chamberlain’s alma mater, Nebraska, at Yankee Stadium in September after the Yankees play Baltimore?  Or what if Dustin Pedroia’s college team, Arizona State, played Rhode Island at Fenway Park?
   

   Boston's Fenway Park

The biggest objection to something like this would likely come from the schools like Texas, LSU and ASU who would have to pick up the bill for the extra travel in September.  But look at it this way:  Those three traditional powers will average about 36 home games next spring.  Michigan, St. John’s, Notre Dame, and Ohio State averaged 24 home games last spring.

Ohio State played its first 21 games in Florida in 2009 before its first home game on March 31st.  Next season Texas will play its first nine games in Austin, and won’t leave the Lone Star state until a 3-game set at Oklahoma the first weekend in April.  The Longhorn’s only other trip out of Texas during the regular season is at Kansas State in early May.

In other words, it shouldn’t be too much to ask the biggest programs in the sport to make an extra trip or two in September to help the growth of the sport.

Have you ever been in a campus basketball arena when the Tennessee or UConn women’s basketball teams come to town?  Those teams are treated like rock stars by adoring young fans in front of sell out crowds, because they are the teams that are on national TV all the time.  If the Vols and Huskies are the Pied Pipers of women’s hoops, the Longhorns and Tigers can take the “ping” to the people on Saturdays in September.