UNC baseball team aims for a return to the glory days

College baseball has never been a really big deal around these parts. There was a time when the University of Colorado had a pretty decent program, featuring players like John Stearns and Jay Howell. CSU had some good moments, and even Denver U was okay. And there was a time when the University of Northern Colorado was very VERY good. Ten trips to the College World Series good. That was a long time ago.

Since the early ‘80’s, when Chuck Fairbanks came along to wreck the CU football program while taking wrestling and baseball down too, college baseball has suffered in the state. Fairbanks’ football spending spree in Boulder led to the Buffs baseball program folding after the 1980 season. CSU held on until the early 1990’s, with DU dropping the sport in the late 1990’s. UNC held on, but dropped their once proud program down to Division II status for a time.

In 2004, UNC decided to give baseball a boost, and elevated the sport back to D1 status. Since then, it’s been a quest to find a conference home. Last spring, I suggested the Mountain West Conference, which has seven baseball playing members, take UNC in as an affiliate member. The Bears play numerous MWC teams during each season already, so it would’ve been easy for everyone. The idea was rebuffed by the MWC, which does not accept affiliate members in any sport, no matter how much sense the idea made for all concerned.

Undaunted, the UNC people have kept plugging away, and last week, the Bears were accepted into the Great Western Conference as a baseball member, starting in 2010. The other sports at UNC compete in the Big Sky Conference, a nice league…that doesn’t do baseball. The Great West, featuring programs like Houston Baptist and Texas Pan-American, works out nicely.

"This is a great fit for Northern Colorado baseball," said UNC head coach Kevin Smallcomb. "I’m elated we are joining the Great West. We’re already competing against the majority of teams in the league and feel we will immediately be competitive for a conference title. I appreciate the diligence with which our administration worked to get us into a conference and I think this is very appealing for Colorado athletes who wish to stay in state."

The major benefit of being in this kind of a conference is that the Bears now have a legitimate chance to play in the post season and someday, eventually even get back to the College World Series. Last season, the Bears posted a 7-3 record against teams in the Great West Conference, so winning the league title in the coming years is a very real possibility. Win your league, and it’s off to the NCAA tournament.

It might sound like a pipe dream, but it’s not. The NCAA has evened the playing field in baseball, so to speak, by no longer allowing the warm weather schools to begin play a month ahead of everyone else. Now, every team starts their season at the same time, plays the same number of games, and so on. Given the fact that Colorado produces a lot of young baseball talent – players that most often opt to go to out of state schools to play – it’s not that big a stretch to envision the day when enough of those players, who want a chance to play in the CWS, opt to stay closer to home to make UNC a baseball power once again. It could happen. Remember, the 2008 College World Series champion was Western Athletic Conference member Fresno State.

This is what it’s really about, isn’t it? No guarantees, just the opportunity. Every student athlete who wants a chance to play intercollegiate sports wants a chance to play for a championship. Being an independent in baseball did not give UNC players that chance. Now they’re going to get it. That’s all they’ve been asking for.

Maybe resurgence by UNC will lead to bigger and better days for college baseball throughout the Colorado.
 

(Justin Wilson and lightly regarded Fresno State won the 2008 CWS. AP photo)