BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[CrashDavisD3]

Common sense; NCAA - now that is an Oxymoron. It is my understanding that the NCAA in all their wisdom booked Trinity to fly out of Austin (real bright when SAT is 5 minutes from campus).  Nothing like getting up at 3AM to drive to school, to get on a bus, drive for an hour, check in for a 6 hour flight, get on a bus, drive an hour and a half to Mcminnville, practice, go to the hotel and then have to play the first game against a very tough Chapman.

Common sense; NCAA - not in our lifetime.

Just about as much sense as playing in the cold and rain. NCAA does not use logic it's decisions...reminds of politicians in Washington.

[tigerfan_2001]

Common sense; NCAA - now that is an Oxymoron. It is my understanding that the NCAA in all their wisdom booked Trinity to fly out of Austin (real bright when SAT is 5 minutes from campus).  Nothing like getting up at 3AM to drive to school, to get on a bus, drive for an hour, check in for a 6 hour flight, get on a bus, drive an hour and a half to Mcminnville, practice, go to the hotel and then have to play the first game against a very tough Chapman.

Common sense; NCAA - not in our lifetime.

Just about as much sense as playing in the cold and rain. NCAA does not use logic it's decisions...reminds of politicians in Washington.

what do you mean Crash....it is going to be wonderful weather in Oregon, the place that only the host team can easily get to.....wonderful weather, if you are from Alaska.....

[historymajor]

Well, the cluster that was Trinity's post season ended quickly....  Kind of like accounting ... first in, first out...  after sitting on ther 'hands' for 23 days, the TU Tigers were bused to Austin, flown (with a stop) to Portland and got to practice at a middle school in McMinnville....  UTT and MC were flown on a charter,,,,  23 days to pre-buy airline tickets with a 21 day advance purchase and NO,,, the NCAA waits til the last minute and flys TU out of Austin...  Whisky Tango Foxtrot?  When did they qualify???

[casual_observer]

Not to take anything away from Linfield who I'm sure is a terrific club, but it makes it a whole lot easier when you play the regional tournament at home. They should have never decided that a perennial Top 25 team should host a regional. The facilities are really nice at Linfield I know, but can you imagine how UT-Tyler would play if Regionals were at their home park? Linfield played very well and deserves a spot in the championsip, but I think things might have been easier for them.

[ILVBB]

Any team will have a "home field" advantage; that is just the way it is. However, when the NCAA creates such a disadvantage for the other teams then you question the wisdom of providing a home field advantage.

The people at Linfield were terrific; they did their best, however their best in my book was not good enough and it wasn't their fault.

The west as a region doesn't make sense in the first place; the logistics makes it impossible for real regional competition both in season and post season. Then you put the NCAA in charge their ability to spend as little as possible on D3 you have a formula for failure.

With teams in 3 time zones; having a regional in the NW doesn't make sense. Add to it bad weather; horrible planning by the NCAA and you have a formula that clearly favors the home team.  In my mind I can't imagine the NCAA awarding Linfield the regional when they have to bus teams an hour each way to and from hotels. Then you add in the logistics of 3 teams having to travel half way across the country and then the term "home field advantage" takes on a new meaning.

Given the nature of the west region it is time that the NCAA start looking to a neutral site somewhere between the teams on the west coast and the teams in Texas/Mississippi.

[golden_dome]

Given the nature of the west region it is time that the NCAA start looking to a neutral site somewhere between the teams on the west coast and the teams in Texas/Mississippi.

I know McMurry hosted a couple years ago. But, Mississippi College and Millsaps can't host because of the state flag. I was told that UT-Tyler hasn't gotten a regional because they don't have an enclosed press box. I'm not familiar with SCAC facilities, but McMurry has a great place. Concordia is building a facility that will rival any in the nation. Those are probably the two best ASC options.

[Ralph Turner]

Given the nature of the west region it is time that the NCAA start looking to a neutral site somewhere between the teams on the west coast and the teams in Texas/Mississippi.

I know McMurry hosted a couple years ago. But, Mississippi College and Millsaps can't host because of the state flag. I was told that UT-Tyler hasn't gotten a regional because they don't have an enclosed press box. I'm not familiar with SCAC facilities, but McMurry has a great place. Concordia is building a facility that will rival any in the nation. Those are probably the two best ASC options.

Concordia may want to work the kinks out of the park in the next 2 years and then bid to host in 2013-14.

[CrashDavisD3]

Any team will have a "home field" advantage; that is just the way it is. However, when the NCAA creates such a disadvantage for the other teams then you question the wisdom of providing a home field advantage.

The people at Linfield were terrific; they did their best, however their best in my book was not good enough and it wasn't their fault.

The west as a region doesn't make sense in the first place; the logistics makes it impossible for real regional competition both in season and post season. Then you put the NCAA in charge their ability to spend as little as possible on D3 you have a formula for failure.

With teams in 3 time zones; having a regional in the NW doesn't make sense. Add to it bad weather; horrible planning by the NCAA and you have a formula that clearly favors the home team.  In my mind I can't imagine the NCAA awarding Linfield the regional when they have to bus teams an hour each way to and from hotels. Then you add in the logistics of 3 teams having to travel half way across the country and then the term "home field advantage" takes on a new meaning.

Given the nature of the west region it is time that the NCAA start looking to a neutral site somewhere between the teams on the west coast and the teams in Texas/Mississippi.

Linfield was a great host, great team that deserved to win, with great staff running the tournament.

In 2009 great weather but in 2010 horrible, miserable, cold, windy rain with many games played in rain that would normally would have games stopped in most places. Also I am not sure of how many team stayed outside of McMinnville but some were 45 minutes to 1 hour away. Travel arrangements also caused many teams to travel times taking twice the amount of time to get there to save money would be my guess. These factors
subtracted from a great event.

This was a disservice to the city since money was spent outside the city by team and fans instead in McMinnville due to the distances where the teams/fans stayed.

A site that would be a great future site could be Cal Lutheran in SoCal if they added lights. Concordia-Texas is also a possible future site, along with McMurray who hosted in 2008 and was rained out from hosting in 2007. Chapman in SoCal has also hosted numerous times in the past. Weather is too big a factor to consider the Northwest in the future when sites which have better weather should be used.

Alsp Trinity had too long of layoff from their last game until their first game in the Regional. This is major scheduling flaw....

[infielddad]

This did a disservice to the city since money was spent outside the city by team and fans.

Crash,
The issue isn't being fair or doing a disservice to the City.
The issue is being fair to each team.
The NCAA has total control of the travel and lodging and chose to house teams up to an hour away by all credible reports.
There is no NCAA excuse that is acceptable.  When you combine that with travel issues and teams not even practicing on the Regional field before playing the first games, the issues are obvious.

[Ralph Turner]

Tirnity's schedule is under Trinity's control.  If they want to hold one of the 40 dates for a post-SCAC tourney game, then they can do that.  That is a common practice in the USA South and Capital AC.

Shenandoah's last game was Stevenson on April 22nd.

Trinity's last game was April 25th in the conference final.

[frank_ezelle]

Speaking for Millsaps, it's really not practical to talk about playing games after the SCAC Tournament.  The week following the tournament was exam week at Millsaps so that's out for games.  That means you would be keeping players on campus after school has ended to play regular season games that might very well be meaningless if you aren't the SCAC AQ or a potential NCAA at-large team.

Even if you wanted to keep the players on campus after the end of the school year, who would you play?  Most potential opponents are in conference playoffs like the ASC teams, or they have concluded their season.  Plus, my understanding is that there's a 15 week limit on the length of the regular season, so playing games two weeks after the SCAC Tournament would mean going into the season with two less weeks of practice, or being two weeks behind all of your early season opponents if you start playing games in late February.

The reality is that a long layoff in unavoidable and the SCAC West teams just have to deal with it the best they can.  There's really no practical solution available to the schools or the NCAA to avoid that situation. 

[CrashDavisD3]

Speaking for Millsaps, it's really not practical to talk about playing games after the SCAC Tournament.  The week following the tournament was exam week at Millsaps so that's out for games.  That means you would be keeping players on campus after school has ended to play regular season games that might very well be meaningless if you aren't the SCAC AQ or a potential NCAA at-large team.

Even if you wanted to keep the players on campus after the end of the school year, who would you play?  Most potential opponents are in conference playoffs like the ASC teams, or they have concluded their season.  Plus, my understanding is that there's a 15 week limit on the length of the regular season, so playing games two weeks after the SCAC Tournament would mean going into the season with two less weeks of practice, or being two weeks behind all of your early season opponents if you start playing games in late February.

The reality is that a long layoff in unavoidable and the SCAC West teams just have to deal with it the best they can.  There's really no practical solution available to the schools or the NCAA to avoid that situation.  

As far as Finals go I know for a fact a team has taken their finals in Hotel, at the field, on the bus etc after teams return.....since there were not on campus for Finals. Not sure how other schools handle this. Also the SCAC tourney could be held later in the year a week before selection day or the weekend of selection day like other conferences do.

[frank_ezelle]

Crash, you know more about this than me so let me ask you a question.  These conferences that hold tournaments on the last weekend, are they made up of schools that are already 2-3 weeks into summer vacation?  The Millsaps exams were over at the end of April, or maybe the first day or two of May.  Graduation ceremonies were held May 11.  I can't imagine the SCAC scheduling a tournament that would come so late after school has already ended.

Obviously, the NCAA can't move the baseball playoffs to any time sooner, and just as obviously, it's not practical for the SCAC to move their tournament to later.  As stated in an earlier post, that's just the reality of the situation and teams like Millsaps and Trinity have to make that adjustment. 

Let me add that personally, I think the break has some advantages to go along with the disadvantages.  Players with nagging injuries get a few weeks to let those injuries heal.  Players are through with classes and exams so they aren't dealing with those responsibilities while trying to play baseball.  To quote a million and one coaches, "it is what it is" and SCAC teams just have to deal with it and turn a potential negative into a positive.

[CrashDavisD3]

Crash, you know more about this than me so let me ask you a question.  These conferences that hold tournaments on the last weekend, are they made up of schools that are already 2-3 weeks into summer vacation?  The Millsaps exams were over at the end of April, or maybe the first day or two of May.  Graduation ceremonies were held May 11.  I can't imagine the SCAC scheduling a tournament that would come so late after school has already ended.

Obviously, the NCAA can't move the baseball playoffs to any time sooner, and just as obviously, it's not practical for the SCAC to move their tournament to later.  As stated in an earlier post, that's just the reality of the situation and teams like Millsaps and Trinity have to make that adjustment. 

Let me add that personally, I think the break has some advantages to go along with the disadvantages.  Players with nagging injuries get a few weeks to let those injuries heal.  Players are through with classes and exams so they aren't dealing with those responsibilities while trying to play baseball.  To quote a million and one coaches, "it is what it is" and SCAC teams just have to deal with it and turn a potential negative into a positive.

I am not sure how other schools handle this but I know of a school the past 5 years missed finals, seniors missed graduation ceremonies and players had to move out of the on campus dorms before they left and school was out while the team was on the road during the Regionals and World Series. Several players had to take finals at hotels, at the field or on their return in June after school was out since some instructors would not allow them taken while the player/student was not on campus.  A large number of schools have conference tourneys the weekend before or selection weekend and would be in a better position to provide informaiton.

[infielddad]

When they play the SCAC tournament, in my view, is a bit of a red herring when you look historically at the performance of Trinity and Millsaps in the Regionals.  While I don't know how, Coach Scannell and Coach Page have each had their teams ready to play and compete. The fact that TU reached the championship games in 2004, 06, and 08 and Millsaps was only a few innings away from the CWS in 2007(???Frank, is that the right year) shows the coaches know how to use that time to prepare their players.
What is the issue this year, in my view, wasn't whether Trinity was ready to play.
It was leaving SAT at 3am(so the players were up even before then), taking a bus to Austin, flying to Portland, the bus from there and not being able to even practice at the field on Tuesday. They then have bus rides up to 2 hours to get to and from the field.
Coach Scannell will never make an excuse. He believes you mentally challenge yourself and block out every distraction. His players competed. They got too many runners to 3B and left them there.
With all this said, it seems pretty difficult to advocate Linfield not having to spend all day Tuesday from 3am traveling by bus, by air, by bus, being able to be on their field, not having to bus 2 hours to and from each game and the like, was dealt same hand and provided an equal base from which to compete in the Regional.
Linfield still had to perform on the field.
They did and won.
There just was nothing equal about what occurred off the field beginning last Tuesday morning at 3am.
Linfield did not cause what occurred off the field.
That is an NCAA issue for sure.