There seems to be an inordinate number of spring sports postponement.

[Class of 67]

Home baseball got cancelled/postponed again today because of winter weather, while 3 1/2 hours south in Virginia it was 70 deg. I recently heard a proposal to play baseball later and into the summer for northern schools. Makes sense factoring weather alone, but there are many challenges to overcome to make this possible.

 

[fairgambit]

Originally posted by Class of 67:
Home baseball got cancelled/postponed again today because of winter weather, while 3 1/2 hours south in Virginia it was 70 deg. I recently heard a proposal to play baseball later and into the summer for northern schools. Makes sense factoring weather alone, but there are many challenges to overcome to make this possible.

To me this is one of the primary reasons we will never have a great baseball team. The best players want to play in good weather. Even when we get games in, they are often played in less than ideal conditions.

 

[NorCalcLion]

The last northern team to win a college world series was Ohio State in 1966

Quick math says that was 50 seasons ago !

 

[fairgambit]

Re: The last northern team to win a college world series was Ohio State in 1966

Originally posted by NorCalcLion:
Quick math says that was 50 seasons ago !

And the last time we played in the CWS was 1973...43 years ago. I don't care who the coach is, or how much money we spend, we will never have a consistently good baseball team.

 

[NorCalcLion]

Only 6 years longer than our beloved Pirates **


nm

 

[fairgambit]

Good point, but the Bucs will be there this year! *****

********

 

[kgilbert78]

A buddy of mine was stuck on i-80 in snow today for at least 5 hours. Eeek.

 

[UncleLar]

Oregon State won in 2006 and 2007

They aren't exactly a southern school.

 

[Evan Ceg]

Re: The last northern team to win a college world series was Ohio State in 1966

Originally posted by fairgambit: And the last time we played in the CWS was 1973...43 years ago. I don't care who the coach is, or how much money we spend, we will never have a consistently good baseball team.

We may never compete for a national championship in baseball. But, there's no reason why we can't compete most years for a B1G championship in baseball (or softball or other spring sports). Indiana went to the CWS two years ago. Is the only valid measure for success competing for a national championship?

 

[fairgambit]

Re: Oregon State won in 2006 and 2007

Originally posted by UncleLar:
They aren't exactly a southern school.

No, they are an aberration. Southern schools simply dominate the CWS and we have neither the climate or the money to play "big boy" baseball.

 

[fairgambit]

Re: The last northern team to win a college world series was Ohio State in 1966

Originally posted by Evan Ceg:

Originally posted by fairgambit: And the last time we played in the CWS was 1973...43 years ago. I don't care who the coach is, or how much money we spend, we will never have a consistently good baseball team.

We may never compete for a national championship in baseball. But, there's no reason why we can't compete most years for a B1G championship in baseball (or softball or other spring sports). Indiana went to the CWS two years ago. Is the only valid measure for success competing for a national championship?

No, but Penn State has had virtually no success in baseball. One College World Series appearance in the past 50 years and one BigTen Championship since we joined the conference. We upgraded the baseball facilities and have a beautiful stadium, but we cannot change the climate and there appears to be little desire in the Athletic Department to get serious about the program.