D1Baseball has an article right now that highlights a couple of things that might change in college baseball. The ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) is meeting Thursday, and they will discuss with the leaders of NCAA D1 baseball to discuss some of the changes.
Pending Legislation:
As of right now, each school is allowed to have 35 man rosters, and of those 35, only 27 players (called counters) are allowed to be on scholarship. Those 27 players are required to split 11.7 scholarships, and a minimum of 25% is required for each person on scholarship; 65.4% of coaches were in favor of abolashing the 25% requirement of a scholarship, if a player received one. A vote of 59-41 was cast, in favor of abolishing the counter rule, allowing, up to, all 35 men on the team to receive some type of scholarship. Currently, the 8 players who are walk-ons, can receive financial aid from the school, such as academic or financial aid (this is where Vandy, DBU, Rice are able to have 8 additional quality players, because they have the financial means to put a player on "academic scholarship").
As of 2008, players were not allowed to freely transfer, and they were required to sit out 1 year of eligibility. That is on the table, but does not look like that will be passed
Future Legislation:
1) The addition of four (4) fall ball exhibition games that will not count against a team's 56 game limit in the spring. If you decide to play the 4 fall games, you can only play 52 games in the spring. Currently, 88% of coaches support this change. Currently, softball is allowed to play eight (8) fall games that don't count against their
2) Allowing college teams to add a fourth (4th) full time, paid assistant. At this time, teams can only have a head coach and two assistants. A volunteer coach is allowed, but it is not easy to volunteer and, potentially, hold down another job to help support the family. 86% of coaches voted in favor of this rule, but it's unlikely to pass, because athletic directors vote on these issues, and they don't want to spend the extra money.
Pace of play committee:
Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin leads this committee, and they are looking at ways to speed up the game to improve fan appeal. One of the ideas that has been tossed around, is putting a speaker inside the catcher's mask, so the coaches can verbally relay the next pitch, instead of having to signal and the catcher being required to look over after each pitch, to get the next one.
Additional ways to shorten the game:
- Defensive timeouts (infield meetings)
- Pitching change during an inning
- Keeping hitters in the batter's box
Other notes:
- TCU's Jim Schlossnagle was selected as Division 1 chair leader.
- TCU's AD, Chris Del Conte will serve on the selection committee for the 64-team field.
- Teams hosting regionals will no longer be required to use the visitor's dugout.
Pending Legislation:
As of right now, each school is allowed to have 35 man rosters, and of those 35, only 27 players (called counters) are allowed to be on scholarship. Those 27 players are required to split 11.7 scholarships, and a minimum of 25% is required for each person on scholarship; 65.4% of coaches were in favor of abolashing the 25% requirement of a scholarship, if a player received one. A vote of 59-41 was cast, in favor of abolishing the counter rule, allowing, up to, all 35 men on the team to receive some type of scholarship. Currently, the 8 players who are walk-ons, can receive financial aid from the school, such as academic or financial aid (this is where Vandy, DBU, Rice are able to have 8 additional quality players, because they have the financial means to put a player on "academic scholarship").
As of 2008, players were not allowed to freely transfer, and they were required to sit out 1 year of eligibility. That is on the table, but does not look like that will be passed
Future Legislation:
1) The addition of four (4) fall ball exhibition games that will not count against a team's 56 game limit in the spring. If you decide to play the 4 fall games, you can only play 52 games in the spring. Currently, 88% of coaches support this change. Currently, softball is allowed to play eight (8) fall games that don't count against their
2) Allowing college teams to add a fourth (4th) full time, paid assistant. At this time, teams can only have a head coach and two assistants. A volunteer coach is allowed, but it is not easy to volunteer and, potentially, hold down another job to help support the family. 86% of coaches voted in favor of this rule, but it's unlikely to pass, because athletic directors vote on these issues, and they don't want to spend the extra money.
Pace of play committee:
Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin leads this committee, and they are looking at ways to speed up the game to improve fan appeal. One of the ideas that has been tossed around, is putting a speaker inside the catcher's mask, so the coaches can verbally relay the next pitch, instead of having to signal and the catcher being required to look over after each pitch, to get the next one.
Additional ways to shorten the game:
- Defensive timeouts (infield meetings)
- Pitching change during an inning
- Keeping hitters in the batter's box
Other notes:
- TCU's Jim Schlossnagle was selected as Division 1 chair leader.
- TCU's AD, Chris Del Conte will serve on the selection committee for the 64-team field.
- Teams hosting regionals will no longer be required to use the visitor's dugout.
