Is college baseball big in your burg?

[ousooner_85]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

super regional time. all 8 series will be on espn networks.
will be at LSU series against oklahoma

I've never been to a baseball game in the bayou but did attend the BCS championship game in New Orleans when OU played LSU. I will say, the tiger bait fans are pretty wild and crazy!

[tiger7171]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

super regional time. all 8 series will be on espn networks.
will be at LSU series against oklahoma

[coxfan]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

To see the best of college baseball excitement, I suggest tuning in to ESPN2 now. Last night's win in the NCAA Regional by South Carolina was on ESPN2, and I understand tonight's game (June 1) will be also. When you see over 8,000 fans getting into every pitch and play, you can see how the partisan excitement of college sports can come into a baseball program.

[Jags Fan Dan]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Here at the U of South Carolina, college baseball is big-time. We averaged over 7,000 fans per home game last year, which was 3rd in the US. Our fabulous stadium, which has a wrap-around concourse that allows one to see the game from every angle except right behind the batter's eye, seats 8,242 and is often sold out. Paul LoDuca, in commenting for an ESPN game here, said it was better than 90% of the minor-league stadiums he had seen.

But it seems like most college baseball teams have tiny turnouts, with attendances in the hundreds at best. That's surprising, since many MLB players starred in college: eg David Price, Tim Hudson, Buster Posey, Robin Ventura, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and hundreds of others going back to Lou Gehrig. (As late as the 1970's, even U of SC and UGA had only about 50 fans/game; UGA now is in the low thousands.)

So what's baseball like at your favorite college?

It's not college, but a summer team plays right up the road from me called the Midland Redskins. You have probably never heard of them, but if you look up their past teams, it is impressive to see how many big leaguers played there. The games are free to go to. I saw Eric Hosmer, Cameron Maybin, etc. play there. It is a pretty well kept secret though, as attendance on tournament days might hit a couple hundred and for regular games I doubt there are more than 100.

[warheel]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Yeah, I'd say so..we are currently #1.
ACC baseball has come a long way..5 of the top 15 teams are ACC.
The Bosh is a nice place to watch a game.

[gingi79]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Long Island/NYC we have a few colleges that play but very small scale and I've never heard of anyone attending a game.

[BamaHater]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

At LSU baseball is huge for us. It is the 2nd biggest sport at our school besides Football. Last year we averaged 10,736 people a game and have led the nation in attendance since 1996. LSU baseball is not just a game in Louisiana it is much more. Come Friday in Baton Rouge, the RV's roll in and set up shop at it lets you know the party is just beginning and won't end till end of day on Sunday.

[coxfan]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Baseball America has today announced that ALL games of the 2013 baseball NCAA tournament will be televised: potentially 153 games. Add that to the record crowds this weekend at LSU (vs South Carolina), with one official crowd of over 12,000; and attendance of over 20,000 at the UGA vs Ga Tech game at Turner Field, and it looks like college baseball is continuing to grow in a lot of ways. Can the sale of college game-used baseball memorabilia continue to lag behind?

[TBTwinsFan]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

The school I attend, I don't know. Haven't been able to make a game and I won't be able to this year.

My favorite college team is the Gophers though. They draw in 5-600 on a regular game, a couple thousand if they give away tickets, and 20,000+ if they open a brand new ballpark.

It's real good quality baseball though. The Texas Longhorns are coming up in March with 4 former USA kids, so I assume that game will have a few more attendees. I'll be there graphing the Texas team.

[jtrinaldi]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Given the cold-weather problem Kellsox noted, it's remarkable that northern teams did as well as they did over the decades with college seasons starting in February. For example, Yale finished second at the first-ever College World Series in 1947, with future President Bush (the older) playing first and making the last out. And there were many other examples of successful college baseball programs in the North, though there's much less of that today.

The competition between college and minor-league clubs can indeed be a problem. Here in Columbia, SC we had a strong minor-league program with the Mets' Class-A affiliate. But when the U of South Carolina went to the College World Series for three straight years, (2002-04) with national finishes of #2, #5-6, and #3 respectively, attendance at the minor-league park only a half-mile from the Gamecocks' stadium dropped so much the minor leagues had to leave. It didn't help that the University refused to let the Minors share in their projected new baseball stadium, saying they thought ties to pro sports hurt the college athletics. By the time the fabulous new college stadium was built, the minors were long gone.

I did a roadtrip 2 years ago to watch SEC baseball, and it was an amazing experience. Went to the Vandy vs USC game where Vandy went through 4 pitchers in an inning, and USC rallied to win. Definitely an experience I won't forget, the Stadium is AMAZING...and that is an understatement. Also went into nashville for Vandy vs. LSU and watched Sunny Grey pitch a gem.

[coxfan]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Given the cold-weather problem Kellsox noted, it's remarkable that northern teams did as well as they did over the decades with college seasons starting in February. For example, Yale finished second at the first-ever College World Series in 1947, with future President Bush (the older) playing first and making the last out. And there were many other examples of successful college baseball programs in the North, though there's much less of that today.

The competition between college and minor-league clubs can indeed be a problem. Here in Columbia, SC we had a strong minor-league program with the Mets' Class-A affiliate. But when the U of South Carolina went to the College World Series for three straight years, (2002-04) with national finishes of #2, #5-6, and #3 respectively, attendance at the minor-league park only a half-mile from the Gamecocks' stadium dropped so much the minor leagues had to leave. It didn't help that the University refused to let the Minors share in their projected new baseball stadium, saying they thought ties to pro sports hurt the college athletics. By the time the fabulous new college stadium was built, the minors were long gone.

[kellsox]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Only friend and families in the northeast. Sitting out in the cold watching college kids play with metal bats isn't exactly appealing to many. Plus plenty of minor/major league teams to follow and attend games of.

[coxfan]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

Thanks for the replies, but they were overwhelmingly from big-time programs. Does that mean that small-time college baseball programs have so few fans that they're not on GUU?

College baseball has a long history going back to the 1850's. But through the 1970's it had very little fan interest except for a handful of places. When my wife and I walked to UGA baseball games in the 70's, it was the same field as today, but no stadium; only a couple of bleachers with 25-40 fans at most. ( My wife and I both recall that home plate was about where the first-base dugout is today.) I'm told it was the same at South Carolina until ex-Yankee All-Star Bobby Richardson came in as head coach and demanded permanent seats, and took the Gamecocks to a # 2 national finish. Today with ESPN, etc., college baseball crowds are as loud and partisan as they are at basketball games, in the places where baseball's big.

[mdube16]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

The Miami Hurricanes are big here in baseball. Ive been going to games since 1986 and its a big deal locally, although not as much interest in football (or this years basketball team.) I would say I enjoy going to college baseball more than any other sporting event. Its very family oriented.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Is college baseball big in your burg?

You mean college baseball exists in the Chicago area?

Dave Miedema