2022 NCAA Tournament

[1972Shocker]

In the 1st game of their super-regional against #2 Stanford, UConn jumped on Stanford's #1 guy and put up 1 in the 1at and 8 in the second. UConn still lead by 9 at 13-4 heading in to the bottom of the 7th and then hung on for a 13-12 win despite being out-homered by Stanford 8-2.

Stanford bounces back to win Game 2 on Sunday 8-2. In today's deciding Game 3 UConn jumped out to a 3-0 lead as the 1st four Huskies reached safely capped by a bases loaded 3-run double to start the game that knocked out the Stanford starter.

Stanford got 2 of their own in the bottom of the 1st before opening up a 5 run lead at 8-3 with a 6 spot in the bottom of the 4th on their way to a 10-5 win and a spot in the Final 8.

#2 Stanford advances.

[WuDrWu]

UCONN hit into an inning ending double play ground ball on a 1-0 count by the #9 hitter with the bases loaded and 3 already scored in the top of the 1st.

I knew right then that the Huskies were in a heap of trouble. Should have been 4-0 at least and every chance to break it wide open.

[MoValley John]

Texas sucks. Period.

[1972Shocker]

The 4 first round games were all matchups of seeded teams vs unseeded teams.

The unseeded team won all 4 games including Arkansas beating #2 Stanford, the highest seed left in the Tournament, 17-2.

[Shockerman]

I attended the Arkansas vs Ole Miss game tonight and I wanted to pass on a couple thoughts. The first is that the last CWS game I attended was in 1996. It took me years to get to the point of even being able to watch the CWS on TV due to the pain of us not being able to get back let alone attend. I got back on board during Fresno State's run and then later Coastal's run. The game tonight was fantastic and I can finally say that I am at peace with it.

The second observation is that our fan base is no where near capable of being able to roll into Omaha and take over the stadium like we used to. The Arkansas and Ole Miss fans were energized and lived and died on every pitch. They made the game atmosphere top notch. We just aren't there anymore. Eck is a lifeless concrete tomb and I would hate to even ask what the average age of our ticket holders is. It was refreshing to see what college baseball is supposed to be like and it was a great reminder of what we used to have.

[SubGod22]

I attended the Arkansas vs Ole Miss game tonight and I wanted to pass on a couple thoughts. The first is that the last CWS game I attended was in 1996. It took me years to get to the point of even being able to watch the CWS on TV due to the pain of us not being able to get back let alone attend. I got back on board during Fresno State's run and then later Coastal's run. The game tonight was fantastic and I can finally say that I am at peace with it.

The second observation is that our fan base is no where near capable of being able to roll into Omaha and take over the stadium like we used to. The Arkansas and Ole Miss fans were energized and lived and died on every pitch. They made the game atmosphere top notch. We just aren't there anymore. Eck is a lifeless concrete tomb and I would hate to even ask what the average age of our ticket holders is. It was refreshing to see what college baseball is supposed to be like and it was a great reminder of what we used to have.

Years of poor performance and underwhelming results have a lot to do with that. Should things return to form, I have little doubt you'll see a much more lively fan base. I don't follow near close enough to know much of anything about the baseball program, but I hope it gets back to competing soon. I've gone to a few games over the years with friends and it was always fun.

[ShockerFever]

I attended the Arkansas vs Ole Miss game tonight and I wanted to pass on a couple thoughts. The first is that the last CWS game I attended was in 1996. It took me years to get to the point of even being able to watch the CWS on TV due to the pain of us not being able to get back let alone attend. I got back on board during Fresno State's run and then later Coastal's run. The game tonight was fantastic and I can finally say that I am at peace with it.

The second observation is that our fan base is no where near capable of being able to roll into Omaha and take over the stadium like we used to. The Arkansas and Ole Miss fans were energized and lived and died on every pitch. They made the game atmosphere top notch. We just aren't there anymore. Eck is a lifeless concrete tomb and I would hate to even ask what the average age of our ticket holders is. It was refreshing to see what college baseball is supposed to be like and it was a great reminder of what we used to have.

Its hard to have life and passion at the stadium when you see the performance that has been put on in the last decade.

[Shockerman]

Its hard to have life and passion at the stadium when you see the performance that has been put on in the last decade.

Agreed, but even during the darkest Cohen years in the 90's, 4500 we're showing up at Henry Levitt to a rock out for a Saturday game against Drake. The baseball program is in dire straights. This isn't the thread to talk about it, but the "new Eck" was a giant step backward in atmosphere. It's been a morgue regardless of crowd size since day 1.

[Shockm]

Its hard to have life and passion at the stadium when you see the performance that has been put on in the last decade.

I was excited after the last two years. The first one was a Covid year (2020), and Incomplete (that didn't help us at all), but things were going our way when the year was abruptly ended, and the opposite of this year (although the talent level wasn't great), we had momentum going for us when everything shut down overnight. Then last year (2021), we made some tangible improvements (steps up) over an entire season that had the peaks and valleys that usually are expected with a growing program, and ended in 3rd place, although it was a tenuous third at the end of the year (we weren't playing well).

Then 2022 happened, and what a disappointment. Well, on the good side, Houston went from last place in 2021 to 3rd in 2022. I would like to see us go back to the Tournament again, but we need to get back up to the top of our conference for sure. My point is that Shocker fans are still here when the program gets back up to where it used to be with wins. And then we will get attendance back up to 4,000 per game again, and if we get back to Omaha, the fans will respond imo.

As an aside, they need to change the party in the outfield policy back to what it used to be. That hurt attendance too.

[WuDrWu]

Agreed, but even during the darkest Cohen years in the 90's, 4500 we're showing up at Henry Levitt to a rock out for a Saturday game against Drake. The baseball program is in dire straights. This isn't the thread to talk about it, but the "new Eck" was a giant step backward in atmosphere. It's been a morgue regardless of crowd size since day 1.

You didn't attend the Cal Irvine Super, clearly.



Everybody looks good when the bright lights are on. Yes, Arkansas is a special place for baseball. 20 years of consistent success, guided by a life long cheater, will do that to a fan base. There's no arguing that. Also, tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars, fueled by incredibly profitable football deals (for a VERY FEW programs) have driven excitement for these programs. Would Eck be better with instead a 4-5K capacity stadium and multiple fan engagement zones? I don't think anyone doubts that. Surprisingly, hindsight is almost always 20/20. Gene (essentially by himself) did incredible things 25-35 years ago. And, yes, it's time to update. But there isn't the money, and there won't be the excitement until the product is better.

I'm sure I'm not alone in the hopes that the new AD will immediately begin working on a plan to improve, renew, refresh and re-engage the baseball facilities. There's opportunity there, and a product (albeit underperforming in the current climate).

My point is simply it IS doable, now. It's not building a state of the art soccer or volleyball facility. It's not redesigning an existing basketball facility. A kids zone could be designed in the right field beyond the visitor bullpen. Luxury boxes and open air beer gardens could replace the top 10-20 rows of seating that are almost never used. High end box seat areas could be redesigned. Seating could be updated. The outfield pavilions could be re-arranged and re-configured for more fan engagement (with area food trucks bidding for game opportunities). The hill could be enlarged to accommodate more casual fans. A portion of the parking lot could be sectioned off for BBQ cooking(for safety). Seriously, in one day this board alone could come up with 20+ various ideas to engage more fans and improve the stadium. Some admittedly more costly than others, but all doable to some extent.

Many of these things can be promoted PRIOR to the season (not necessarily eliminating the need for marketing close to the times) so that it's not just a last minute hope and prayer that we've seen WAY too many times recently. The schedule is basically done for next year. Planning can happen.

The same could be said for softball on a smaller scale.


BUT, it's going to take some vision, some dedication and some new blood willing to think out of the box and take a few chances. I'm hoping ADKS will not only live up to his early words and visions, but exceed them.

[Shockerman]

You didn't attend the Cal Irvine Super, clearly.



Everybody looks good when the bright lights are on. Yes, Arkansas is a special place for baseball. 20 years of consistent success, guided by a life long cheater, will do that to a fan base. There's no arguing that. Also, tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars, fueled by incredibly profitable football deals (for a VERY FEW programs) have driven excitement for these programs. Would Eck be better with instead a 4-5K capacity stadium and multiple fan engagement zones? I don't think anyone doubts that. Surprisingly, hindsight is almost always 20/20. Gene (essentially by himself) did incredible things 25-35 years ago. And, yes, it's time to update. But there isn't the money, and there won't be the excitement until the product is better.

I'm sure I'm not alone in the hopes that the new AD will immediately begin working on a plan to improve, renew, refresh and re-engage the baseball facilities. There's opportunity there, and a product (albeit underperforming in the current climate).

My point is simply it IS doable, now. It's not building a state of the art soccer or volleyball facility. It's not redesigning an existing basketball facility. A kids zone could be designed in the right field beyond the visitor bullpen. Luxury boxes and open air beer gardens could replace the top 10-20 rows of seating that are almost never used. High end box seat areas could be redesigned. Seating could be updated. The outfield pavilions could be re-arranged and re-configured for more fan engagement (with area food trucks bidding for game opportunities). The hill could be enlarged to accommodate more casual fans. A portion of the parking lot could be sectioned off for BBQ cooking(for safety). Seriously, in one day this board alone could come up with 20+ various ideas to engage more fans and improve the stadium. Some admittedly more costly than others, but all doable to some extent.

Many of these things can be promoted PRIOR to the season (not necessarily eliminating the need for marketing close to the times) so that it's not just a last minute hope and prayer that we've seen WAY too many times recently. The schedule is basically done for next year. Planning can happen.

The same could be said for softball on a smaller scale.


BUT, it's going to take some vision, some dedication and some new blood willing to think out of the box and take a few chances. I'm hoping ADKS will not only live up to his early words and visions, but exceed them.

I was not at the UCI game but was at the Schemerhorn Arizona game in 2007. Eck can get rocking but it takes a full house to do it. Capacity wise we need 7000 plus seats to host a super regional. My beef with the "new Eck" design is that is that just doesn't lend itself to a good atmosphere with 4500 people and just feels frigid and lifeless. Again, it's a design issue, not a fan base issue.

All this talk is irrelevant without a reason for fans to come back though. I do like your ideas on things that can be done to make the place more fan friendly. My whole point of the earlier post is that the Arkansas and Ole Miss fans reminded me of what we used to be, our fan support in Omaha was second to none.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

We do not need 7,000 to host a Super Regional. ECU hosted in its 5,000 seat stadium and with standing room/outfield stretched to almost 5,800.

[Shockerman]

We do not need 7,000 to host a Super Regional. ECU hosted in its 5,000 seat stadium and with standing room/outfield stretched to almost 5,800.

We don't need that capacity to host, we need the capacity to fulfill the demand for tickets. Again, it's been 15 years since we've even we had a big enough game that would warrant 8000 plus.