BB: Regionals (Midwest) Oshkosh '08, '09, Whitewater '10, '11

[Just Bill]

For baseball, I like the predetermined site. If you are going to have anywhere from five to eight visiting teams playing up to 15 games, in town for a three to five day period, in a sport that is subjected to outside weather, you need more time to prepare and more staff to be available.

Getting notice that you are hosting on Monday morning and expecting schools to run a well-staffed, smooth tournament that begins on Wednesday is not reasonable. (I'm not even sure the NCAA could ship the banners to decorate the field that fast). Yes, you could probably get it done, but there's no way it will have the "championship feel" and organization that an NCAA Regional site should have.

Basketball is far easier to pull off on short notice. There's only three visiting teams playing a total of three games, it's only two days, it's not subject to bad weather (unless it's icy driving), it's in a facility that the school likely has complete control over and a facility that is likely fully wired for internet, video, radio and live stats.

[Dagger]

what I'm saying is that no team  in the regional should play at their home field, #1 seed or not.  If you're school is predetermined to host then you need to play somewhere else if you qualify for regionals.   for any team that earns a #1 seed, it is a huge disadvantage to them to play against a lower seed that is at home.  Anyone who disagrees must either A) have not played competitive athletics or B) never advanced to regionals had they played competitively.

I understand that not all schools have the amenities to host, that's not my quip!  Point did not put in an bid for that very reason, and my whole topic has nothing to do with point or WW, I just put that disclaimer in there because I figured some would feel like I was upset that point lost and was looking for excuses...that's not at all the case here. 

The game should be played on a neutral site period.  Wisconsin has countless stadiums that could host regionals, any of the northwoods teams facilities would surely suffice...and I'm pretty sure that other regions could find over a dozen facilities each that could be held on a neutral site as well. 

[Dagger]

If point would have advanced I would have posted the same topic!  I was already discussing it with numerous individuals before the games even started last week.  Like  I said I'm glad that WW moved on, at least the WIAC is representing the region again...

[Dagger]

worst case scenario I think only a #1 seed should be able to play at home, if they were indeed selected before the season to host and then were able to make it into the regional as a the #1 seed...otherwise you ship them out for somebody else.  I honestly cant see how you could look me in the eye and argue that the way it is now is fair!

[Just Bill]

worst case scenario I think only a #1 seed should be able to play at home, if they were indeed selected before the season to host and then were able to make it into the regional as a the #1 seed...otherwise you ship them out for somebody else.  I honestly cant see how you could look me in the eye and argue that the way it is now is fair!

Schools won't bid to host if they aren't guaranteed to play at home. When it's been suggested in the past, that's exactly what they say.

[Just Bill]

Neutral sites would be nice, but even a neutral site needs a host school and staff to put in the work. From experience I'll tell you that hosting at a neutral site is much harder. Less control of the facility, volunteers have to drive further so they are harder to get, split concessions and profits with stadium owner, etc.

I don't buy the argument that any Northwoods park is adequate either. Have you seen what they've done to Warner Park in Madison? The new grandstand is awesome, but they've brought the fences in 15-20 feet down the lines. It's 297 feet down each line, no exaggeration.

[MIACLUV]

How about at a place like Carson Park in Eau Claire. At least it would be a neutral site and a few teams could probably host from that location.

http://www.eauclaireexpress.com/carson_park/

Distance from 2011 Midwest Regional Participants: (approx)
St. Thomas - 85 miles
Hamline - 93 miles
St. Scholastica - 155 miles
Stevens Point - 110 miles
Whitewater - 213 miles
Aurora - 307

It would actually be nice to have a regional in MN for a change. Hamline could be a perfect host with Midway stadium.

Regional Sites since 2000 & Champion & #1 seed
2011 - Whitewater: UW Whitewater (#1 seed UW Stevens Point)
2010 - Whitewater: UW Stevens Point (#1 seed UW Whitewater)
2009 - Oshkosh: St. Thomas (#1 seed St. Olaf)
2008 - Oshkosh: UW Whitewater (#1 seed St. Thomas)
2007 - Stevens Point (Wisc Rapids): UW Stevens Point (#1 seed UW Stevens Point)
2006 - Stevens Point (Wisc Rapids) UW Stevens Point (#1 seed Ripon)
2005 - Whitewater: UW Whitewater (#1 seed UW Stevens Point)
2004 - Whitewater: UW Whitewater (#1 seed UW Whitewater)
2003 - Oshkosh: UW Oshkosh (#1 seed UW Whitewater)
2002 - Oshkosh: Lakeland College (#1 seed UW Stevens Point)  
2001 - Oshkosh: St. Thomas (#1 seed St. Thomas)
2000 - Oshkosh: St. Thomas (#1 seed St. Olaf)

Have to agree a little with the home field advantage. The chart above shows a number of regionals in Oshkosh, but actually for quite a few of those Oshkosh did not even make the tourney.

[Just Bill]

I think a Midway Stadium regional would be awesome (TRAIN!!!). Tell Hamline to get on that and make a bid.

[MNbaseball]

Midway Stadium is an average at best facility.  Yes they have locker rooms and a grand stand, but the field itself is average.  The infield is decent, but the outfield has rolling hills that keep getting bigger as they go.  If the CF plays in the right spot, you can't see his feet or shins from the dugout.  Eau Claire or another Northwoods facility is an interesting idea though.  It would give Northwoods league GM's and front staff an up close look at some of the top D3 kids in the area who are often overlooked for D1 and D2 kids.  Any D3 kid should appreciate and play their hearts out for a chance in the Northwoods League or other top collegiate summer league, and many of these individuals are just as if not more talented than some of the players teams have.  Being a Minnesota guy, an option that intrigues me is Putz and Faber fields in St. Cloud.  They have hosted numerous NSIC/NCC championships as well has this year's D2 central regional.  How about a push for St. Johns to host the regional tournament in near by St. Cloud?

[BoBo]

Those on the wrong end of the final score will always find something wrong with the process and want to change the status quo. With only one winner, they can attempt to, for they are in the majority.

This discussion reminds me of poet John Lydgate's famous line, "you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time."

These D3 players are playing their hearts out when their teams get to regional play. They are playing for a chance to win a national championship - something only a small number of kids can ever say. I'm not sure 10 or 11 games of a D3 Regional in a home ballpark of a Northwood League team would make them play their hearts out any more (is that possible?) - even if it's a pseudo-audition for a summer league, collegiate wood bat league.


Imagine, EC hosting a regional when their own school doesn't even sponsor the sport. That really doesn't make any sense. The NCAA moves in mysterious ways, but that seems to be an extreme long-shot. The nearest possible sponsoring institution would be, according to MIACLUV's numbers approx. 85 or more miles away, in another state.  Setting up the infrastructure to host when it's in your park is one thing; the logistics of doing it under this scenario would be daunting to say the least. One that I bet no D3 school would even get within sniffing distance.

My point of all this, the current set-up, even with a few flaws, is probably the best thing we have going until a better on-campus solution comes forward.

[Just Bill]

St. Cloud would be a fine site too.

The sad truth is that most schools just don't want to host a baseball regional. It comes after school is out so it's a chore to get student workers and most athletic staff are looking to be done for the year. Because it's predetermined there's no guarantee your team will be participating. And like I said in my other post, it's just a bigger committment than a basketball pod or some other sport. This past year, the NCAA was practically begging for someone to host the South regional, until Rhodes begrundingly offered to host in Millington.

There's a very good reason why some regionals rarely or never move around. There's a very limited number of schools interested in the first place.

[BigPoppa]

Placing the Midwest in Southern Wisconsin allows the NCAA to move teams from toher regions into that one with busses. Moving it to Eau Claire or the Twin Cities (my top choice) limits the flexibiltiy the NCAA has with teams from the MidEast region. If they are over 500 miles, it costs more to send them with a flight.

[02 Warhawk]

worst case scenario I think only a #1 seed should be able to play at home, if they were indeed selected before the season to host and then were able to make it into the regional as a the #1 seed...otherwise you ship them out for somebody else.  I honestly cant see how you could look me in the eye and argue that the way it is now is fair!

I've been reading this board the past few days, and I haven't read anywhere that suggests UWW didn't have an advantage. I think everyone agrees with you that there is a such thing as home-field advantage.

Not sure who you're trying to convince here.

[badgerwarhawk]

I'm probably in the minority but in my opinion these events belong on campus.

[OshDude]

I'm probably in the minority but in my opinion these events belong on campus.

I'm in your camp. Countless reasons why, but I'll just say I agree with you.