VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

News Nuggets, 03.07.05
 —  —  —  —  —
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

Previous Day Nuggets...             Next Day Nuggets...

Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

ACC membership no boon for Miami baseball

CORAL GABLES — Forgive Coach Jim Morris if he's not quite as ecstatic as everyone else on campus about Miami's move into the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Sure, basketball attendance has never been better and the football team can finally develop some conference rivalries that don't require a three-hour plane ride.

Baseball, however, has flourished while playing a home-heavy, independent schedule — even when the school's other teams were in the Big East. But those days are now gone, meaning Miami's annual pursuit of a College World Series berth in Omaha just got tougher.

``It's not going to make it any easier for us in particular, because the system we've had the last 40 years has worked pretty good,'' Morris said. ``We've been in the World Series a lot.

``I don't think it's anything that's going to be an advantage for the baseball program, but I think it's an advantage for the athletic department.''

After 60 seasons as college baseball's most prominent independent powerhouse, the Hurricanes played their first conference series over the weekend, taking two of three from visiting North Carolina State.

With that, the independent era formally ended.

Miami had unparalleled success as an independent: four national championships, 21 College World Series berths and a record 32 straight NCAA regional appearances.

But gone are the days when the Hurricanes could schedule 43 home games and 12 on the road — just three outside the state (those were in Georgia) — as they did last season. Now there will be four or five road series against ACC foes to deal with.

So long, New York Tech. Hello, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Former coach Ron Fraser led Miami during most of its independent era, acting as a one-man PR machine, luring fans by any means. That allowed the team to bring in revenues most programs couldn't approach.

``Nobody talked about it,'' Fraser said. ``Nobody was asking to get us in (a league). ... We couldn't get anything better than what we had. We were making money.''

College baseball, even for big conferences, was never a money sport, but Fraser made Miami the exception. Morris continued that tradition when he took over in 1994.

``I think Miami could have always been an independent in baseball,'' he said. ``Because as long as we stayed one of the top teams in the country, people always wanted a chance to knock us off.

``We always have the best weather, people wanted to come down early and play. It wouldn't have been a problem.''

And the respect level is already there: Miami was picked to win the ACC this season.

``I don't think you will see any drop-off whatsoever,'' Florida State coach Mike Martin said. ``In fact, you'll probably see them move it up a notch because they've always been a program that was able to move up a notch when they had to.''

Morris wasn't dismayed with the move to the ACC; he was one of the school's main proponents for league inclusion. A North Carolina native, Morris coached Georgia Tech from 1982-93, leading the Yellow Jackets to four straight ACC titles.

``I always wanted to (join the ACC) because I thought it was a great conference and something that would be good for all of us,'' Morris said. ``I think playing in a conference adds some extra excitement.''

Morris' connection to the ACC is so strong, Miami had been scheduled to play a full ACC slate in 2004 before the ACC expanded, said Dee Todd, an assistant ACC commissioner who oversees baseball.

``We were already set to have Miami scheduled into our 2005 season to play all the schools,'' said Todd, who knows Morris from her days as a track coach at Georgia Tech. ``That was going to help them a lot, because it was becoming difficult to schedule games.''

Miami's entry is also good news for the ACC, which has not had a College World Series winner since Wake Forest in 1955.

``It's a home run, literally,'' Todd said. ``When we were talking about expansion, the secret was that it made us so much better in baseball — even though it wasn't a priority. ... The addition of Miami, it separates us from the other conferences.''

C-USA Tournament brackets and TV lineup

2005 Kelly Tires Conference USA Basketball Tournament
Site: FedExForum, Memphis, TN
Dates: Wednesday-Saturday, March 9-12

Wednesday, March 9:

Game One – (8) TCU vs. (9) Marquette (ESPN 2) 1:00 p.m.
Game Two – (5) DePaul vs. (12) Tulane (ESPN 2) 1:30 p.m.
Game Three – (7) Memphis vs. (10) Saint Louis (ESPN+) 5:00 p.m.
Game Four – (6) Houston vs. (11) USF (ESPN+) 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 10:

Game One – TCU/MAR winner vs. (1) Louisville (ESPN+) 11:00 a.m.
Game Two – DPU/TUL winner vs. (4) UAB (ESPN+) 1:30 p.m.
Game Three – MEM/SLU winner vs. (2) Charlotte (ESPN+) 5:00 p.m.
Game Four – HOU/USF winner vs. (3) Cincinnati (ESPN+) 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 11:

Game Nine – Semifinal No. 1 (ESPN) 2:30 p.m.
Game 10 - Semifinal No. 2 (ESPN Plus) 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 12:

Game 11 – Championship Game (CBS) 9:35 a.m.

All Times Eastern

C-USA Final Regular Season Hoops Standings

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:21 PM