Man, I feel like we keep saying this year after year for many of our men's sports, but I'll say it again....."Let's prove them wrong."
http://bgsufalcons.cstv.com/sports/m-ba ... 08aad.html
BG baseball picked last in the MAC East
It is very interesting that the four best baseball facilities in the MAC are picked at the top and the six at the bottom are the poorer facilities. It is very obvious in the east, and CMU has easily the best facility in the west. BG used to at least have a good playing surface, but both the outfield and infield surfaces are in relativly poor shape now. It is very hard to recruit the best kids in Ohio and Michigan when the facilities are inferior to those you compete against, and in some cases (locker room) non existent. It is a very frustrating thing for those of us that follow the baseball program very closely, and it is time for the university to step up to the plate. This isn't a $30-40 million solution like some sports, but a couple million could bring our baseball facility inline with most of our competition.
I completely agree in more ways than one. What I saw happen for myself at the University of Virginia about five years ago reinforces those exact thoughts. UVa was a bottom-tier, run-of-the-mill program in the ACC for many years. It had some successful years scattered throughout its history that were few and far between and its facility at the time was worse than what BG is playing in right now. UVa had all wooden bleachers, a plywood press box with seating for about four, dugouts that resembled a fallout shelter, and batting cages that looked liked fishing nets retrieved from the bottom of the Atlantic that were strung across poles. There were no locker rooms, no concessions stands, no lights and one portable toilet for everyone (players, coaches and fas included) to use. Admission was free and hardly anyone would show up. This was what Virginia was using going up against the likes of national powers such as Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, etc., who had venues that surpass some minor league facilities. Things looked so bleak at this point in time that Virginia actually proposed a tier system that would have eliminated any scholarship assistance to the baseball program, making it essentially a glorified club program set to continue competition in the ACC. Shortly after the proposed announcement, a fundraising effort was made, donors and alums made a push, and the program was saved and ground was broken on a new facility within months - leading to one of the top collegiate baseball facilities in the country. No one could have imagined this happening at the time at UVa - not the facility, not the success, not the competitiveness. A new coaching staff was also hired the following year, but without a doubt the facility was the key part in turning the program around 180 degrees. After going from a program that had never hosted a NCAA Regional before and had only played in a few in its existence, UVa has since become a fixture in the Top-25 the past four seasons, it has competed in an NCAA Regional each of the past four years (including hosting one three times), and is already making plans to expand the capacity already. It is amazing to see how much things have progressed in so short of time, but it’s also a reminder of how far support (primarily financial) can go. Many of the players Virginia attracts now come to UVa because of the facility and the newly-found success. Despite being the #1 or #2 (depending on the year) public institution in the country, despite its beautiful campus and despite the wonderful Charlottesville community, UVa used to lose out on many players to other programs across the Commonwealth. Those days are now history.factman wrote:It is very interesting that the four best baseball facilities in the MAC are picked at the top and the six at the bottom are the poorer facilities. It is very obvious in the east, and CMU has easily the best facility in the west. BG used to at least have a good playing surface, but both the outfield and infield surfaces are in relativly poor shape now. It is very hard to recruit the best kids in Ohio and Michigan when the facilities are inferior to those you compete against, and in some cases (locker room) non existent. It is a very frustrating thing for those of us that follow the baseball program very closely, and it is time for the university to step up to the plate. This isn't a $30-40 million solution like some sports, but a couple million could bring our baseball facility inline with most of our competition.
Now I am not saying building a new facility is going to vault us into the Top-25 and that we’re going to play in and host NCAA Regionals ever year because of it. But our program, players and coaches need a better facility. I know this is not news to anyone, but when you look at the baseball facilities in the MAC, by far the top three are at Ohio, Miami and CMU, and Kent State has made a significant renovation to its facility as well. It is also no coincidence that these schools attract some of the better baseball talent in the MAC. Sadly, we’ve been surpassed by many MAC schools in facilities after years of doing nothing or very little to improve our situation. Thankfully, that is changing under the guidance of our current administration. While we’ve improved our footing in football, in sports such as basketball and hockey (which we are now addressing) we’ve been lagging for years, and in sports like baseball, we are right near the bottom and it needs to be addressed and soon as well.
GO BG!!!
