Here’s one reason why you want a successful baseball program: success is causing UCLA to expand Jackie Robinson Stadium in anticipation of postseason play. UCLA’s baseball program has always been decent, but in the past few years the school has moved to the upper echelon of NCAA baseball, sending high-level prospects to the pros and […]
Tag Archives | ncaa
Arizona Wildcats to Hi Corbett Field for 2012 and beyond
The Arizona Wildcats are moving to Tucson’s Hi Corbett Field for 2012 and beyond, as the program’s leaders decided a larger and more professional venue was needed to replace Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium, which opened in 1967. Moving off-campus is always a risky move, but University of Arizona officials say the ability […]
Will Legion move to wood bats?
With three statewide American Legion baseball programs mandating wood bats and several others evaluating a switch, we could see a nationwide shift in the country’s major youth baseball program toward traditional baseball. Rhode Island, Connecticut and Florida Legion programs now mandate wood bats, and several other state programs are evaluating a switch. If enough states […]
Day after botched MLB call, NCAA makes move toward instant replay
Though the two aren’t related, the timing couldn’t be better: a day after umpire Jerry Meals totally butchered a call at that plate that gave an illegitimate win to the Braves, the NCAA is instituting instant replay at the College World Series. By now most baseball fans have seen the blown call that ended a […]
TD Ameritrade Park / College World Series / Creighton Bluejays
Like many traditionalists, we were dismayed with Omaha officials announced plans to build a new downtown ballpark for the College World Series, abandoning Rosenblatt Stadium in the process. With TD Ameritrade Park now open and hosting a handful of CWS games, it’s easy to see the ballpark’s many strengths – and some high-profile weaknesses. FAST […]
NCAA announces host sites for tourney regionals
The South and the Atlantic Coast Conference were the big winners as the NCAA announced the 16 Regional hosts for the 65th annual NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, capped by the College World Series. Here are the cities and the host teams: Atlanta — Georgia Tech (40-19) Austin, Texas — Texas (43-15) Fullerton, Calif. — […]
NCAA debates revamping baseball tourney
The NCAA is looking into an overhaul of the playoffs leading up to the College World Series by expanding the number of first-round host ballparks to 32 from the present 16, though the number of teams in the tourney would remain the same. The rationale behind the move: by increasing the number of host ballparks, […]
Minneapolis proposes new Vikings stadium, demolition of Metrodome
In a move that could impact hundreds of college-baseball games annually, the city of Minneapolis will be unveiling a plan today to build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium on the current Metrodome site, leaving local universities without a warm place to play during the mean months of March and April. The Dome is best known […]
New ballpark boon for Creighton
The move to TD Ameritrade Park by the Creighton Blue Jays has been a boon when it comes to attracting fans to games, as the team is drawing 8,170 fans a game this season. Of course, that number is a little skewed: it includes the 22,197 buying tickets for the opening of the ballpark. Take […]
Cleveland State drops baseball
No more college baseball at Cleveland State University after this season, as the school announces it will drop the sport in order to cover shortfalls in the athletic budgets in upcoming years. It’s a borderline sport for the school, anyway: there’s no on-campus ballpark to call home, so the Vikings play at All Pro Freight […]
TD Ameritrade Park opens with no issues
Bad weather dampened the open-night crowd at Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park to less than the anticipated sellout, but the game between Creighton and Nebraska found everything in the ballpark in good working order in plenty of time before the College World Series. The temperatures were in the 30s with a nasty wind. A crowd of […]
Cal baseball lives to play another day
After months of fundraising by program supporters, the Cal baseball program escaped elimination after University of California-Berkeley officials decided that $9 million in donations was enough to save the sport. University officials had placed a goal of $10 million for private fundraising. Fundraisers had come close to that figure in recent days, but a reduction […]
Metrodome repairs to begin today
Repairs to the roof of the Metrodome, normally the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball team, will begin today — appropriately enough, in a drizzle. The repairs should take the rest of the spring and a chunk of the summer, as three large panels will be replaced before the roof is reinflated. Then comes […]