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NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 17, 2011

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

THE MODERATOR: This is our state of baseball press conference. We'll introduce the folks. Ty Halpin from the NCAA, the rules guru, Dave Keilitz from the NCAA, Tim Wesier from the Big 12, chairman for baseball, Dennis Poppe, the Pope of baseball, and Dr. Lloyd Smith, from Washington State.
Dennis, I'm going to turn it over to you to make sure you know how the format works here.
DENNIS POPPE: We don't have a format. We have a gathering that we've taken advantage of several years ago. We decided to have a so-called State of the Union for college baseball and provide you with an opportunity to visit with key stake holders and people that have had an impact on college baseball, and I think on the panel today we certainly have people that I think will provide you with information as you need it.
First of all, thanks for coming. It's always nice to throw a party and have somebody show up. You hate to have a party and have nobody come listen to you. So we appreciate your attendance.
Just a few opening comments, and then I think we'll just open it up for questions. I don't think we'll waste your time and ours, but I think we're just very excited about this year's tournament. It's pretty obvious. You know we're home for the College World Series.
As I've said often, we've had a great run at Rosenblatt. Lot of tradition, lot of memories. And you've got the Series started off for the first 60 years at a great facility, and now we're beginning a new era here at a new ballpark at TD Ameritrade Ballpark.
We hope you're impressed with the stadium. Some of the members sitting up on the panel there with me served as consultants. I knew enough to be dangerous about baseball, so I needed to get some real baseball folks involved. And we have key members of the committee as coaches and sort of consultants to the point of advising how high the line was to be in the outfield.
So there are always a few tweaks that we're looking at, and it's very reassuring to hear the reactions and see the reactions for the men who came to practice today, and their first reactions to the ballpark.
I want to say one thing, get out of the way and open it up for discussion. The topic of interest seems to be flooding in this neighborhood, and unfortunately not just in Omaha, it's up and down the Missouri River. I would like to remind you is that obviously it's a concern here, but we all need to keep in mind those up and down the Missouri who are facing significant issues.
Let's not worry just about our little world here, but hope and pray for all of those who have facing loss of property, loss of livelihood and so forth.
I've met with city officials and city engineers since I've been here, and, again, having no idea what they were talking about, I had to listen to them and what they were saying and I walked away from those meetings very confident that we were capable and understood what the issues were and to make sure that all the precautions are being taken to avoid an impact on the series, and most importantly an impact on the City of Omaha.
So their primary emphasis is to protect their homeland, the facilities and houses, and we just happen to be here and we appreciate the efforts that are being put forth. We never know what mother nature's going to to do, but at this point we're in very good shape of all the precautions that are being taken to make sure the drainage, sewers and whatever are clear, and pumps are available if we get to that point. We're not at that point.
Some of you may have heard about (Indiscernible) which is north of the center there where there was water standing. We found out one of the pipes had busted and that's been fixed and we only lost a few hundred parking spaces. We're actually getting some of those back, and hopefully by Monday we'll have all of them back after we deal with ground testing and the integrity of the cement.
So long story short, we're playing ball. I've heard all kinds of rumors about this and that, and I tell everybody check your source before you write anything about what's happening and those are the city engineers and people who are watching, the Corps of Engineers and so forth. So that being said, let's play ball. We'll open it up to questions.

Q. Can you assess the first season with the new bats and what you've heard from coaches and players around the country?
SPEAKER: I'll address that. When the BBCOR came into effect, whenever I talk to a coach, starting back to last fall, I'd ask them about the bats. Some really liked it, and some did not like it.
But I thought that in most cases it had it to do with coaching philosophy. It appeared to me that the coaches that like to play for the three-run homer in the big inning didn't care for it as much. And those that like to manufacture runs and believed in pitching and defense and stealing bases and hit-and-run and bunt for hits and sacrifice bunts. They liked it. So we followed it throughout the year, and I've read a lot of different comments on it.
I did survey our coaches. Sent out a survey on the bat to all of our Division I, II and III coaches because it affects all of those divisions. And I gave a little explanation of it, the BBCOR, and reasons and so forth. Then I asked their opinion on -- I gave them three options. I like the bat. The bat is acceptable, or I don't like the bat.
We got a 73% return on it from our Division I, II, and III coaches, and only 13% of our NCAA coaches said they did not like the bat. The majority said they liked it and the next day they said they found it acceptable, but a very few number, very few said they didn't like it. In Division I only, there is a little bit more that didn't like the bat, 16%. 42% said they liked it, and 41% said that it's acceptable.
So I think overall it's been well accepted. The coaches feel that they know it's here to stay, and they're going to adapt to that.
I also think just observing that those that didn't like it at first as the season went on and they got used to it became more acceptable to them. I would dare say in another year we won't hear anything about it at all.

Q. (Inaudible).
SPEAKER: Well, I think the vast majority of comments that I have received from coaches have been positive. Some of them don't like the change, but most of the coaches have been positive. As you look at how the game has evolved this year, and certainly in regional and super regionals we've seen some pretty exciting baseball. But i think this year we've had some really entertaining games. Some of that I would certainly attribute to the new bat.

Q. Dr. Smith, it's really been a revolution that's happened this year. I don't see numbers decline like this in college baseball, like 140 home runs, there's only one team that has only over 47 in this World Series, with Florida with 67. Can we go over how the new specifications were developed and can you go over how the bats are acting almost identical to where we are at?
DR. LLOYD SMITH: There were two things that were changed in what we're calling the BBCOR standard. One was the measure that's being determined, one was called a BESR Standard to a BBCOR. It's simply a different formula. It's a different kind of number to measure performance. We chose this number out of convenience. The aim of the NCAA is to regulate bat performance relative to what bats, and there were a number of tests done on what bats of various designs and lengths.
We observed that the BBCOR bats were constant. So that gave us a constant number to be able to compare bat performance to. So that was a switch from BESR to BBCOR. That was really just a system of convenience, and being practical before using a wood bat.
The next decision was to decide what level of performance to select on this new scale. And the NCAA picked point 5 because that would be the lowest value that would allow all wood bats to pass. So this means that the metal bats are much closer to their performance. It's still not identical, but it is much closer than it has been.

Q. One follow-up question. Because of the golf and performance that you've seen this year, have you done anything where any teams are trying to cheat and trying to somehow doctor the bats? Has that happened this year at all or is it possible?
DR. LLOYD SMITH: Well, altering of equipment is always a concern, and that's always a possibility. We have not seen any reports of that yet, but it is something that we're being diligent with and keeping an eye on.

Q. What jumps off the page the drop in production there's been offensively. What are some of the numbers that jump off the page at you?
SPEAKER: I think certainly the power numbers are the first number that's dramatic. The home run numbers are down considerably from previous seasons. Part of the reason, as Lou asked, part of the reason we made the change is we saw the teams got better and better used to the bats that we were allowing the manufacturers better ways to make the bats, so you kept seeing these peaks and valleys. The BBCOR standard was a much better way to regulate. I guess the number that jumps out is obviously home runs.
But the number of runs per game is actually at the end of the regular season was last year was 7.01 per team. And this year was 5.62. So that doesn't include the tournaments and the rest of it.
That's still not that big a difference compared to previous years, so my feeling is that the teams that adjusted pretty well to the new bat. Hearing from the coaches and certainly the Rules Committee, they believe this was kind of the intended result, though pretty dramatic numbers?

Q. At the end of the day, can I get your thoughts on Cal here and your appreciation for what California's gone through the last few years?
DAVE KEILITZ: I think as a community we're always excited to see some other team than we expect coming to Omaha. As I told you earlier, we could have spent two weeks deliberating and would not have predicted that Cal would have been in Omaha, and I think that's part of the beauty of what this event provides for these story lines. Certainly what Cal has had to overcome and where they are now I think speaks for itself. And I think that's good for this event, good for college baseball, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to talk about them. I don't know if you have anything further.
SPEAKER: No, over the years when I first started coming here many years ago there were four or five teams you could almost always count on being here. While there are still maybe one or two, there are a lot of others that are making it now that you never would have dreamed would have made it a few years ago, and this is good for college baseball.
In my 50 years of being involved in college baseball as a player, coach, administrator and in this position, there's never been more good teams than what there are right now. And the state of the game has never been better. I don't see getting anything but better and better, and there are going to be more and more teams like California coming here in the future.
It was a great concern when it happened, not only for when they dropped it. Not only my feeling towards the loss of their program. One of my biggest concerns was they can drop it, how many others are looking at dropping it, and that's what was really scary about it. But I'm glad that it's back, and I'm glad that they're here, and it's a real story.
SPEAKER: I think you couldn't miss the Cinderella story either way. I think Dallas Baptist is a story in itself, the Division II program with a Division I baseball program. And the Cal story speaks for itself. I look through the years and probably the more exciting and interesting series that we've had has been Creighton, and Georgia Southern.
At that time Creighton was just unbelievable to make it, and Georgia Southern to make it here. Teams without a considered baseball power, but at that time -- or at least competitive teams. At that time we said, who is this team?
And the all time great story was Fresno State. They wouldn't have been selected, to be honest with you, and they won the Championship and got here. That is the beauty of college baseball. I tell everybody, one of the great things about college baseball and the College World Series is these kids play like it's their last game. For many of them it is their last game.
So I think it's a great Cinderella story. A real testament to -- just think that the program's gone, and what they've done to get to the College World Series. We all know how difficult it is. For them to go through all of that, those are the life lessons they've learned, more than just baseball, I can tell you that.

Q. Dennis a couple months ago you said you would see how players reacted (Inaudible). You've had a chance to do that, and is there any reaction that jumps out to you?
DENNIS POPPE: Unfortunately, the last day or so I have been doing too many interviews about floods and too many dedications and too many speeches here and there, so I was unable.
But I got it secondhand with the director, Damani Leech said that North Carolina came into the clubhouse. And you always know when the young man is impressed because they pulled out their cell phones and started taking pictures of the clubhouse, and so forth.
So it's hard to impress a young man like that, so when we can do that, that's pretty cool.
I just loved it when they came to Rosenblatt. It was almost like they stepped in the dugout and stopped before they took that first step on the ground, the hollowed grounds or field of dreams, whatever you want to call it.
In this case I talked to Mike Fox, the head coach of North Carolina and he was very complimentary. It makes all the rest of us that had input on it very proud, obviously, very proud. A lot of attention to detail was made. We all had the image that we can build a palace. But if we don't have the best playing field, we've failed our mission.
I think Tim and Dave and those of you on the field can hear that you may find a bump here or whatever, but I think it's in pretty good shape. If you go out and look at that grass, my son was here by the way, the first time he looked at it, he thought it was artificial. If you look at it again, it almost does look artificial. And Dan Blank, the groundskeeper, he's from Buffalo. If you can grow grass in Buffalo, you can grow grass in Omaha. So he's pretty good.

Q. With another great performance, academic performance rate that I read, is there a possibility of getting more scholarships for baseball or is the economy just never going to allow that?
SPEAKER: Well, if I could be king for a day, Lou, and have one wish in this position, it would be to get more scholarships for baseball. But with the economy the way it is and so forth, that is one thing that we keep on the front burner, but yet being realistic, it's probably not going to happen for a while. But it is something that we continue to keep working towards and would like to see accomplished some time.
One of the problems as you're familiar with are the 292 Division I programs, we have a lot of programs that are not even 11.7. So they themselves are not excited about increasing because they know they're not going to increase. And there are others that are going to increase that are 11.7 now, and say you go to 14, are they going to be able to find the money at their school to do that? So there are a lot of issues involved.
But in fairness to the sport and student-athletes that are playing it and to our game, I would love some day to see that happen.
SPEAKER: I'm going to tout the success of academics in baseball. By the way, Kevin Lennon, the Vice President for Academics and Membership Affairs is available if you have more specific questions.
I think this is a testament to the kind of young men that we have playing college baseball. Since we took our first APR score, baseball has increased 32 points in 7 years. I'll leave that for Kevin to explain how significant that was. But that's a very, very good showing for the student-athletes that we have playing college baseball.
More importantly, we have a 70% graduation rate in baseball. Division I male student-athletes are 72%. We all know that baseball for a while had a reputation of three and gone, but somehow that's changed. So we should pat everyone on the back, administrators and coaches, and more importantly the young men who did it. That's why they're there. They've met the challenge. We have probably the most restrictive rules. If you don't meet academic success in baseball, you'd lose a whole season. That should be a real plus for college baseball that these are very capable young men.

Q. Reflecting on the Committee setting up the regionals and the 64 teams in the bracket and the games are not an easy task. Reflecting back, how has it played out getting all the schools down, and how has that played out?
THE MODERATOR: Let me introduce Larry Gallo from the University of North Carolina, associate athletic director, and also Dennis Farrell, the commissioner of the Big West Conference. They joined our process this year for the first time. I suppose they may have thoughts different than mine about it.
But I will tell you that I think once again it was a difficult process. I know you've heard me say before it's more of an art than it is a science. And I think every year you're going to see surprises. Like I said earlier, I don't think Cal is a team you could have predicted going to Omaha. I don't think that's a bad thing. I don't think having 6 of 8, 3 of 8, whatever it was maybe, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing for this event and for college baseball.
But I do think our committee took very seriously and worked very hard to make sure we had the time this year to step back and rethink what we had done and even made changes on that last day as to the team being in or out or switching seeds or regionals.
It is, I think, the single most difficult process that I think I've ever been involved in whether it's as an athletic director, a player, whatever the case may be. But it's also one of the most gratifying.
When we finished up, it is a lot of work, but we also felt very good about what we had accomplished and what this meant for the event, and hopefully we're going to have some great games, which we obviously did. I think there were a lot of great story lines where it was Cal or Dallas Baptist, or whatever the case. There were just a lot of great stories there.
Now we have a team that's never been to Omaha or to the College World Series. We talked with Tim a little bit last night at our meeting, and of course what it meant for them and their kids is equally important as it does for Cal and their program.
I think it's a long way of saying that I felt good about it. It will continue to be a process that gets refined as we go through it every year, and I wish the Committee well as they refine it going forward next year. But it's never going to be an exact process. We'll leave teams out that could have made a case for being in or having a team seated in some category that perhaps they shouldn't have been.

Q. You kind of talked about an advisor situation. Is there any movement on that here in the last six or seven months?
DR. LLOYD SMITH: Yes, the final answer is we haven't arrived at that yet. But I think there is maybe an appreciation for a unique aspect of baseball. And the uniqueness is the fact that a young man doesn't opt for the draft. He just gets drafted.
So it's a little different scenario than it is in football and basketball. It does create some issues particularly from the high school student-athlete perspective.
I've made a statement on it, and I'll make it again. My son was a little taller and I would have made sure he had a chance to figure out what his life was before he moved to college. That's fair. I've been in college baseball a lot longer than some of you, and I don't feel qualified to make that judgment for his career.
So that being said, we still have amateur rules across the board. What is the ramification if we allow one sport to do it? In other words, can we regulate such rules? Some argue, why not? And some say it's still the collegiate model and we need to protect that at all costs.
I would say there is a little more flexibility and looking at where we are, the decision has not been made there, but it's still being debated. Kevin Lennon can also speak to that as well. He's worked very hard on that, and I would commend his group. It is a difficult time of saying no an awful lot, and trying to find a way in the best interest of these young men.

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