As spring draws nearer, so does the beginning of the baseball and softball season for NCAA student-athletes across the country. With both sports having a majority of their seasons canceled last year due to COVID-19, players and coaches are eager to be competing again.
However, I would like to argue that these seasons should be pushed back until March for weather concerns. This is a change that has nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, but only common sense. One that many coaches have talked about for several years, including Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich.
The NC State softball team was scheduled to begin its season this past weekend against Longwood, but all three games were canceled due to rain. Even if there was no rain, the girls would have been playing in 35-degree weather, which is not fun or safe for the student-athletes. The NC State baseball team is set to begin this coming weekend at home against VMI.
In fact, Raleigh was not the only place that experienced extremely cold weather this past weekend. Cities across the country experienced freezing temperatures the weekend college softball began.
Temperature is a big argument for this proposal, but it’s not the only reason it makes sense to move the season back a month. Many northern schools have to play the first 15 games or so down south. All this travel creates a huge expense for these athletic departments. If the season were moved back a few weeks, this would create less travel and save a lot of money for schools like Boston College and Notre Dame in the ACC.
There has also been scientific proof that pitching in colder weather does more harm to the arm than pitching in warmer weather. You will often see coaches pull their No. 1 guys a lot earlier in the first few weeks of the season than they normally would. This is a direct result of the cold weather that February brings around the country.
Obviously moving back the season a month would move the end of the season back a few weeks as well. This is perfectly fine in the grand scheme of things. College baseball and softball players miss a lot of class during the season. Moving the season back to March means less class missed for the student-athletes trying to gain a good education.
Another big reason why the season should be moved back a few more weeks is that athletic departments sell more tickets when the weather is nice. Even though this really would not affect anything this year due to COVID-19 attendance restrictions, in future seasons, it does make lots of sense.
Even though this proposal cannot change anything this year, the NCAA should be smart in the future. If it wants to create a better product, make more money and keep its student-athletes safer, push the season back until March.
