Two of my favorite things are college and baseball.  College was one of the best experiences of my life.  Baseball has long been my favorite sport, watching and playing.  A combination of college and baseball would be utopia.  Too bad that is not the case.  College baseball is closer in popularity to women’s beach volleyball and professional bowling than it is to college football, college basketball or major league baseball.  College baseball is the ignored national pastime.

 College baseball has several hindrances that prevent it from being a mainstream sport.  Those hindrances are a season affected by imperfect weather, no television viewership, aluminum bats and the baseball draft.  I think the biggest problem is the weather between February and late May.  It is too cold, too windy and rains too much.  The weather keeps fans away and cancels too many games.  Cute girls don’t brave weather, and when they stay away, the fellas do the same.  College baseball has never been able to attract a television audience.  They can’t even get ESPN to broadcast their games.  They can’t even get ESPN to show highlights or scores of their games.  In today’s society, if you can’t get your sport on ESPN you are not an attractive sport.  Aluminum bats and the major league draft harm the sport.  People associate wooden bats’ “crack,” instead of the “ping” of aluminum.  Every June, the major league draft takes the best high school players and puts them in towns such as Peoria and Surprise, instead of on the campuses in Austin, Gainesville, Baton Rouge or Tucson.

This season, the NCAA moved college baseball’s start date back to late February.  They did this to help the schools in the North.  The North schools were at a disadvantage to the schools in the South because of the weather.  This change should help.  Hopefully, the NCAA will take steps to get college baseball on television more often so more fans will have access to their product.  If that happens, it will be hard to ignore.