November 27, 2008

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

Coaches from different regions may not always get what they want, but there's a potential compromise in every situation.

Last season the uniform start date and transfer rule were the most debated issues in college baseball. Most coaches approved of the uniform start date, but many had issues with its timing. The transfer rule, meanwhile, essentially ended the free agency era and is allowing more coaches to sleep well at night.

While previous rules changes caused many coaches to vent with few ears listening, times certainly have changed. As a result of the criticism surrounding those rules changes, the ABCA and NCAA recently had their first Division I head coaches meeting.

Though many West Coast coaches were unable to make the event because of fall workouts, the event was a resounding success. Coaches from every region voiced their concerns and opinions. Some agreed and disagreed, but everyone listened.

Issues discussed at the meeting in Indianapolis include adding a week to the season, giving northern programs RPI relief, increasing the scholarship total and adding four games during fall workouts without cutting down on the 56-game regular-season schedule.

"I don't think we've done something like this as an organization, so it was nice to sit down and discuss each issue, then move on to the next issue," said Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, who serves as a coaching representative for the ABCA. "I'm not saying this because I was involved, but this probably is the best event we've had as coaches."

We probably should've seen this coming a long time ago, but when the uniform start date passed and the condensed schedule caused issues last season, coaches went back to the drawing board.

At the recent meeting, many coaches proposed the uniform start date stay put and a week be added to the front or back end of the season.

With inclement weather early in the season such a huge issue in the northern half of the country, Michigan coach Rich Maloney and many northern coaches favor the idea of adding a week to the end. That move, Maloney said, definitely would increase attendance and his program's popularity in the state of Michigan.

"If we add a week to the back end of the season, I think it makes our sport that much more inclusive," Maloney said. "We don't get many home dates early in the season, so a week at the end of the season may allow us to have more home dates and attract good teams."

Maloney also made me aware of an interesting statistic. When the Wolverines hosted Arizona and Kentucky in last season's Ann Arbor regional, it was the first time in program history they played host to an SEC or Pac-10 program.

Maloney hopes more big-time programs choose to travel to Ann Arbor in the near future. The Wolverines would like to schedule several high-level opponents each season but currently are in talks with only Vanderbilt about a home-and-home series, which likely would take place late in the season.

Vanderbilt's Corbin is in favor of adding a week to the season.

"If I had my say, I'd add a week to the back end of the season," Corbin said. "An additional week would allow us to take some of the heat off our pitching staff during the mid-week."

Other coaches I spoke with said they preferred to add the week to the beginning of the season, but Corbin said either scenario likely wouldn't become reality for a couple of seasons.

College baseball attendance and postseason television ratings continue to increase, but the sport still is underfunded.

While many programs have renovated their stadiums in recent years, much still needs to be done for the sport to become a bigger deal. It starts with increasing scholarships.

The current scholarship total is 11.7, but there are many smaller programs with as few as four scholarships. Increasing scholarship totals from 11.7 to 14 likely would cause even more harm to programs already not fully funded, but is necessary for the sport to take another huge step forward.

Though he understands many northern programs aren't fully funded, Maloney believes increasing scholarships to 14 is a good idea for everyone involved.

"I'm definitely for increasing scholarships because if you look around the country, the cost of attending college continues to increase," Maloney said. "I really think there are many kids around the country that don't get the opportunity because they can't afford college. Taking care of the scholarship situation definitely would help that."

Most of the other coaches I spoke with also are in favor of increasing the scholarship total. That panel includes Corbin.

"I certainly understand there are still programs that don't even have 11.7 scholarships, but I think increasing the total would be good for the game," Corbin said. "Our school costs over $40,000 a year to attend, so it definitely would help us and probably everyone else."

In perhaps the most debated topic the past few seasons, northern programs continue to run into the same scheduling problems each season.

Because of cold and inclement weather, many programs are forced to head south for the first 10 to 15 games of the regular season. These teams obviously are a step behind their southern counterparts, which enjoy home games early in the season.

To help combat the fact many programs head south for so long early in the season, there now is a strong movement to update the RPI formula to give extra points to teams winning road games. Basketball already does this, so baseball making the switch wouldn't be a surprise. It also wouldn't be difficult.

"I've done a lot of thinking about the RPI issue, and I think it's only fair to also reward teams that have to play so many road games early in the season," Maloney said. "We certainly would like to play home games early in the season, but that's not going to happen."

Corbin also supports the measure to give more RPI points to teams that win road games.

"You have to think about the situation like the shoe is on the other foot. And if you do that, it's easy to see why coaches are so adamant to get some help in the RPI department," Corbin said. "Schools in the north certainly have trouble scheduling quality opponents, so it's important to think in their shoes."

Adding to the RPI drama, Maloney also said he probably has won more than 70 percent of his home games at Michigan and at his previous stop, Ball State. He also believes that most teams making the NCAA tournament are winning a majority of their home games with many more home contests than most northern schools.

"I don't think there's any question it's easier to win games at home, so if a team is playing a ton of home games, it makes sense they're probably going to have a high winning percentage," he said. "I think if you tweak the RPI a bit for road contests, it will give teams more of an opportunity to reach an NCAA regional."

While Maloney and Corbin are champions of the cause to tweak the RPI system, they aren't alone. West Virginia coach Greg VanZant also has submitted a proposal to change the way the RPI formula is put together. The list of supporters likely will grow larger.

With the way the system currently is set up, if teams play an exhibition game in the fall, it counts against their 56-game schedule limit in the spring.

If most of the head coaches have their way, those days will be long gone in the near future. According to a majority of head coaches, it makes sense to have four fall exhibition games that don't count against the spring schedule.

"I tend to think the idea of having four fall scrimmages and not having it count against your 56-game total is a good one," Rice coach Wayne Graham said. "It definitely would be good for development."

Though Michigan's Maloney is much more worried about amending the RPI formula and adding a week to the regular season, he, too, loves the idea of having four fall exhibition games.

"I'm not in favor of us losing games in the spring because we play games in the fall, so that would be a nice luxury to have," Maloney said. "It certainly would be good for college baseball."

For those wondering about the 56-game schedule, NCAA president Myles Brand dropped by the meeting and said he and the NCAA have absolutely no intention to decrease the number of games played in the spring. He also doesn't see that as a viable option.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.