In little more than a month, Ball State University expects to travel to the University of Arkansas to begin their season in the warmth of the South. That is unless a rule extending the baseball season to 14 weeks is overturned at the NCAA convention this week in Atlanta.
After instituting a uniform start date to the season two years ago, the NCAA voted last spring to add a week to the beginning of the season. The uniform start date was seen as a victory for northern schools who can't start practice as soon as their southern counterparts, but the latest move is distinctly pro-southern.
56 schools formally submitted votes to override the legislation, forcing the matter to a vote Friday at the convention. For the veto to pass, five-eighths of the more than 300 Division I baseball-playing schools must vote for it.
Ball State coach Greg Beals said he is skeptical that will happen.
"Like many issues in college baseball, there's a big split," Beals said. "There's the northern-southern schools and the haves and have nots that keep things split. It's very hard to get a five-eighths vote on a lot of these issues."
Beals said Ball State will vote for the 13-week schedule, but he is concerned about the possibility of the number of games being decreased as well.
"The only thing that scares me is possibility of losing some games because of the season being shortened," Beals said. "You don't want to lose games as coach. You want as many opportunities to compete as you can."
Schools supporting the earlier start date argue their players miss too much class with the compact schedule. By decreasing the number of games from 56 to 52, players would be able to make more classes and schools that don't play complete schedules because of finances would be appeased.
Beals is hopeful that in the long run the 14th week would be added to the schedule, only at the end of the season when northern teams like Ball State could host a series.
"Those of us that are serious about college baseball want to move the season back," Beals said. "But then you run into issues with contracts with Omaha and the College World Series contract with ESPN and the TV rights to the World Series."
NCAA Director for Baseball and Football Damani Leach told rivals.com that if the override vote passed, the NCAA would either allow teams to play games they had scheduled or rework the contracts. The Cardinals may open their season against the Razorbacks on Feb. 19, regardless of the override's outcome.
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