Interesting letter from Miss. State coach

[RoyalShock]

Stumbled on this due to a link from the recruiting board. MSU coach Ron Polk wrote a letter (a VERY, VERY lengthy one) to, well, just about everyone associated with the NCAA regarding what he perceives to be a threat to NCAA baseball.

http://wichitastate.scout.com/a.z?s=469&p=2&c=681418

I thought it might spark some discussion.

[shockersigep921]

Dear Coach Polk,
Thank you for sticking your neck out for the sport I love, college baseball. I applaud you for your stand for the betterment of not only your sport, but also for the millions of players, family members, and fans of this great sport. I hope that your efforts are the start of overwhelming reform in the way college baseball is thought of and governed. Your are a hero among men.

Thank you,
College Baseball Fans Everywhere

[SpanglerFan316]

Very soon I will turn 64 years of age. I think it is important for you all to know that there are very few NCAA-I college baseball coaches presently employed at my age. Why? Very simply it is a most difficult profession for many reasons I will not bore you with, but as you read this letter, I firmly believe you will understand what I am talking about.

How old is Gene?

[Cdizzle]

http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=648628&Q_SEASON=2007

62

[rrshock]

Now that was a long letter.

[Cdizzle]

Now that was a long letter.

It would have been half as long if he would have quit apologizing for how long it was.

[WstateU]

Now that was a long letter.

It would have been half as long if he would have quit apologizing for how long it was.

Whew! Too bad he didn't consult a proof reader for a few suggestions. I grew a full beard reading the novel. Nonetheless, he made some great points and showed his passion for the sport. I believe his letter will get some attention... especially when he receives the Genus Book award for the longest letter of all time.

:yahoo:

[CharlieHog]

The length is what got it noticed. I've always liked Polk, because he cares about college baseball and he's fun to watch when he brings his teams to Baum.

[dregn]

I think an arguement could be made that the partial scholarship deligation teams need to go through is what keeps it a fairly even playing field. It might spread out the good players who are drawn to money.

[biggoldshocker]

I think Polk makes several great points. 11.7 scholarships delegated out to 28 members of a team is not a lot. I think the NCAA should raise the amount of alloted scholarships. I also think that not having a Graduate Assistant stinks. For a young kid who wants to get into coaching what better way to go about it than getting their master's degree paid for and getting the experience it takes to become a coach all at the same time. Now baseball has Volunteer Assistant who dont get paid much, sometimes not at all, and they don't get their school paid for. I believe that the NCAA has some work to do or there will be quite a few ticked off coaches around the country. Just when this great sport of college baseball is starting to bloom and the numbers expanding, the NCAA is making rules to regulate growth. :cry:

[haysdb]

WSU has lived with a 35-man roster for years and years. I feel no guilt whatsoever is seeing every program be limited to the same number.

But limiting the roster to 27 scholarship players is absolutely insane. I had no idea this was happening.

The 11.7 scholarships is also crazy. We've lived with this for a long time, but although Ron Polk refuses to go there, this is pure Title IX bullshit. He does say, and it's true, it's now the men who are being discriminated against.

I have been in favor of the rule requiring players to sit out a year because I thought it would steer some players away from schools known to over-recruit. But I have to agree with Mr Polk, that in combination with the 27 player limit, this will be a bad thing. Some kids are going to be left with no scholarship and unable to play. That's not fair in any way, shape, or form.

I hope his letter draws the attention it deserves and that something can be done to fix some of this.

[CharlieHog]

I don't think the NCAA fully looked into what the effects of these new rules would be. I found this section of his letter particularly interesting (both the point that the NCAA knows jack about baseball, and the APR stuff)

Would you believe I was in a media conference room in Omaha at the College World Series where they were having a press conference entitled "The State of College Baseball." There was not one single baseball coach involved in this press conference. Yes, there were several officials of the NCAA present and speaking to the press. I was in the back of the room, because after this press conference, the head coaches of the eight participating schools were to meet with the media.

I could not believe what one NCAA official said when asked about the APR of college baseball. He basically said, "Can you all believe that college baseball players do not take the same number of credit hours per calendar year as football or basketball players?" What a misleading statement to make when these football and basketball players are all on full athletic scholarships and are, for the most part, required by their coaches to attend summer school where they can earn up to 12 credit hours if they attend both sessions of summer school.

Our kids have to basically pay for their summer school and are not required by their coaches to attend summer school unless the boy has some credit hour concerns. And.... yes they have the opportunity to play summer baseball after being in school for an entire fall and spring semester.

Of course, after I talked about my Mississippi State baseball team along with the other seven coaches visiting with the press about their teams, I lashed out at this statement and other statements I had to endure basically saying our kids are underachieving in the classroom. And.... our APR for baseball players was hanging real close to that for football and basketball.

Now, if the NCAA wants our boys to attend summer school, then they are going to have to provide them with the same financial benefits that football, basketball, and just about all the women sports' participants receive. I will not hold my breath for that to happen, even though we are the second leading producer of revenue for the NCAA championships.

You talk about educating the non-educated when it comes to college baseball. At one point in time the APR (structured and designed over a three year period) was going to penalize those baseball players who after their junior season of eligibility were drafted by one of the 30 professional baseball teams and opted to sign a pro baseball contract without completing their eligibility. In all actuality, the penalty affected the college baseball program's APR.

Via our Executive Director of the American Baseball Coaches Association, he quickly informed those that were not informed that each of the 30 professional baseball teams has 50 rounds in the draft (1500 young men in high school, junior college, or college) where professional football's draft only went eight rounds and professional basketball's draft only goes two rounds.

[CharlieHog]

I hope his letter draws the attention it deserves and that something can be done to fix some of this.

It has gotten attention. Polk has the amount of signatures he needs and the NCAA has to look at all this again.

[RoyalShock]

The scholarship issues is always going to be the touchy one. Someone mentioned this in an earlier reply, but if the scholarships are raised I can see one or both of the following things happen.

1) BCS/power programs will be able to attract a higher percentage of top talent. Say goodbye to whatever parity currently exists.

2) Smaller schools could scrap their baseball program as a Title IX casualty. It could make a good excuse for some schools to restart their football programs. (Admittedly, I dion't know how many schools are in this position.)

The problem is that he's right that the sport needs more scholarships. But how do you do it without the potential negative effects?

[CharlieHog]

2) Smaller schools could scrap their baseball program as a Title IX casualty. It could make a good excuse for some schools to restart their football programs. (Admittedly, I dion't know how many schools are in this position.)

Anybody scrapping anything for Title IX isn't going to be starting a football program.