Feb. 24, 2011

The State of College Baseball - Part 4
By Sean Ryan and Phil Stanton
CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founders
 

In 2008, CollegeBaseballInsider.com conducted its first State of College Baseball. Back then, hot topics included new scholarship rules, the APR and an aging Rosenblatt Stadium.

Over the next few days, CBI will unveil the 2011 State of College Baseball. We surveyed 40 percent (121) of Division-I's 300 head coaches on a variety of topics concerning the game.

Today, CBI takes a look at the NCAA college baseball tournament, steroids and other odds and ends...

College Baseball Coaches Split on NCAA Postseason

By Sean Ryan

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

RICHMOND, Va. - College baseball coaches across the country are split on the size and format of the NCAA tournament according to the CollegeBaseballInsider.com State of College Baseball.

In a survey of 40 percent of Division-I college baseball coaches, just more than half of the 121 coaches who participated in the survey said the NCAA should expand the tournament field from the current 64 teams. Of note, 73 percent of coaches were against the idea of expanding the tournament in CBI's 2008 State of College Baseball.

And 50 percent favored a tournament format different from the current format used for Regionals, Super Regionals and the College World Series. A quarter of the coaches like the idea of a best-of-three Regionals followed by a four-team, double-elimination Super Regionals leading up to the College World Series. Twenty-six percent prefer three best-of-three series before the College World Series. About 45 percent prefer the current format.

"There have been several tournament formats tossed around over the past few years, and it's evident there is some interest in altering the current format," said Phil Stanton, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

The vast majority of coaches (81 percent) agreed it was a good move to shift the College World Series from Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium to the new downtown stadium, TD Ameritrade Park. In 2008, 63 percent of coaches thought the College World Series should stay at Rosenblatt rather than move downtown.

Coaches also were surveyed on two other questions from the 2008 State of College Baseball.

*         85 percent of coaches did not believe college baseball has a problem with steroids/performing enhancing drugs, up from 75 percent in 2008.

*         62 percent of coaches don't think base coaches in college baseball should be required to wear batting helmets, down from 89 percent in 2008 when the rule was introduced.

CollegeBaseballInsider.com State of College Baseball Survey Results - 121 Division I Coaches

Base coaches should wear helmets

*         Yes 46 (38 percent)

*         No 75 (62 percent)

College baseball has a problem with steroids/PEDs

*         Yes 18 (15 percent)

*         No 103 (85 percent)

The NCAA should expand the tournament field

*         Yes 57 (47 percent)

*         No  64 (53 percent)

Which NCAA postseason format do you prefer?

*         Keep it the same 55 (45 percent)

*         Best-of-three Regionals, then four-team (double elimination) Super Regionals 30 (25 percent)

*         Three best-of-three series prior to the College World Series 32 (26 percent)

*         Other 4 (3 percent)

The CWS should have stayed at Rosenblatt Stadium instead of moving to a new downtown stadium

*         Yes 22 (18 percent)

*         No 99 (82 percent)