What's the deal with ESPN, Sports ILL. and College Baseball???

I would guess the lack of interest by local outlets also causes the national media to put it on the backburner.

 

Everything is $. ESPN didn't become the power they are by catering to incredibly small audiences.

I would love for them to cover college baseball, but that focus would turn away as many people from the north as hockey coverage does to people in the south.

 

Remember how much more they covered CB when Hockey was on strike. That was a great season to watch CB.

 

Yahoo! Sports does have a college baseball section. It's hardly an encompassing site but you can keep up with major stories.

Also, try this link for college baseball. You can get stories, scores, stats, etc.

http://www.boydsworld.com/

 

I guess I'm just out of tune with the average Sports fan in the US but I would much rather SC cover college baseball than hockey, soccer, or nascar.

 

The hockey strike was the greatest thing to ever happen to my viewing of sports. No hockey on Sportscenter. No Fox Saturday Hockey...mmm, I loved it.

 

www.ncaa-baseball.com

 

khounba's got it exactly right. I mean just look at whats happened to NASCAR. Last year, SC would have maybe one day of full bore Daytona coverage and the rest of the season would just be highlights. Now, almost overnight, it's the 4th sport, it has its own daily half-hour show, and on race days it has a much bigger presence on SC. The Difference? $$$ ABC signed a new deal with NASCAR and suddenly its all over the espns.

The real shame is that ESPNU, a network seemingly designed to give college baseball a home, is to often filled with gymnastics, lacrosse, or wrestling, sports which have very small followings and even worse participation in the D-1 ranks (last I heard there are only 40 or so D-1 schools that even have a wrestling team)

 

I don't necessarily agree with that being the reason. Of course college sports will be behind in the ranks when it comes to pro sports, there is no question about that. I mean come on... college football and pro football aren't on the same page either and yet college fball is EXTREMELY popular. The reason college baseball isn't more popular, in my opinion, is that there is still disparity in the sport. Of course it's getting more even, but the southern and western teams are where it's at. The west may be a huge market, but there are tons of MLB teams (along with minors) out that way, so it doesn't get that much exposure (still more than over in these parts.) In the South, however, it's pretty big as compared with the rest of the country because of (in my opinion) the lack of MLB franchises and coverage in the area. Of course Florida is a HUGE baseball state and is the MAJOR anomaly to my point. Georgia has the Braves, but even in Texas where there are the Astros and Rangers, college ball reigns superior with teams like Rice, Houston, Texas being competitive (not saying that they're followed more than MLB, just more than compared to other states.)

Basbeball, due to its nature, is a monotonous and banal sport. There is an extreme lack of action when it is compared to football and basketball. But, so is golf...

I still point the finger at the major media outlets for ignoring such a great sport. They obviously try to cash in during the CWS and a few bigger games during the season, but it's nothing compared to basketball or football. ESPN and the like have the power to MAKE
baseball profitable and on the same level as basketball and football, why don't they do it?

Like I said, I think it's the disparity. I'm sure there are some people in the northeast wondering why lacrosse isn't getting more coverage. Same with soccer. However, with baseball being AMERICA'S sport and with the insurgence of latinos, I still wonder why it's being neglected.

 

No but they have the power and money to MAKE it profitable.