The Beast : Stuck Living In 2001

I love Hurricane Nation. I think this fan base is just as passionate about the Miami program as any other fan base out there.

I love the desire to see every respective team go out and kick butt every year. I love the loyalty to the student athletes, as well as the admiration and appreciation for what they’re doing on the professional level.

I love the bond between fans when crossing paths somewhere other than inside a stadium on game day. The simple tossing up of “The U” and nothing else needs to be said.

With all those pluses there’s bound to be a minus and there’s one thing that’s oft bothered me about this fan base; a propensity to live in the past.

Miami is no different than any other fan base that’s had a ton of success in prior decades. Just as UCLA basketball not only battles internal strife and that annual thing we hear about, “The Bubble”, Bruin Nation is always guaranteed to be thinking back to the eras of John Wooden, Bill Walton or even Tyus Edney. Cane fans are no different.

While fretting about the play of current teams, it’s easy to settle back into a mental bliss, marinating on the play of an Ed Reed, Michael Irvin, Greg Ellena or Charlton Jimerson – and while it’s great to reminisce about the past, it can also be self-destructive when you live there, or use it as a measuring stick, which unfortunately we all tend to do.

I know we’re a week removed from Miami getting swept by top-ranked Florida at A-Rod Park, but there was – and still is – plenty of fodder going around regarding head coach Jim Morris and whether his job is or isn’t on the line. Those calling for him to be replaced, you people are out of your minds. Honestly, let’s for a moment actually live in the reality that is the current world of Miami baseball.

As with football, the move to the ACC has made the road to Omaha and the College World Series exponentially harder. In this week’s baseball poll, including Miami, there are five ACC teams in the Top 25. Six if you take the Top 30.

When Miami was an Independent, the schedule could be crafted to make it just tough enough that the RPI stayed high, while at the same time not too difficult to reach the post-season and to host a regional.

Furthermore, during the four championship seasons – 1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001 – Miami averaged just seven games (usually two series) outside the state of Florida.

Look at this year’s schedule. There are twelve games outside the state, compared to say, ’82, where the Canes played 34-of-36 straight games at Mark Light Stadium. In ’85, there was a stretch of thirty-two straight games at home and in ’01 there was only one trip outside the Sunshine State during the regular season.

In an effort to point out hypocrisy or a double-standard, let’s say we were talking about football and the schedule of a rival like Florida, fans would be burning up talk radio, complaining that the schedule was weak, slated and unfair.

Anyone refusing to admit that Miami had an advantage as an Independent, you’re out to lunch. Plain and simple.

Another major factor in the inability to have as much recent success as expected? The economy.

Let’s number crunch for a minute here. The cost of tuition to attend the University of Miami, including room and board, is somewhere around $54,000 annually. That’s up at least $20,000 since Coach Morris took over this program in the mid-nineties.

The cost of attending the University of Florida or Florida State University, for in-state students? Somewhere around $19,000 including room and board.

Another important number – 11.5 – which is the number of scholarships a baseball program can offer – which are normally split up with many members of a team receiving half, or even a quarter, of a full scholarship. The rest of the tuition has to be made up by academic scholarships, financial aid or parents simply finding a way to foot the bill.

All of this means that in many cases, baseball players’ families have to take out loans to pay for their sons’ educations, just like the rest of us.

For the family of a player that attends UF or FSU, they may only have to come up with $10,000 annually, whereas the parent of a UM player could have to come up with over $30,000 per year.

The obvious sales pitch from Coach Morris is one that points out what a kid will make in the MLB Draft and the money being recouped there, but in this day and age, with the economy where it is, are people as willing and able to take that chance anymore?

Add it all up and you’ll see that these factors considerably reduce the pool of players that are legitimate targets for the University of Miami, as opposed to in-state options.

Unless the NCAA changes the amount of scholarships that are awarded in baseball – and do know that both trustee Paul DiMare and president Donna Shalala are working to get this change – ‘The U’ will continue to have a huge disadvantage in this area.

This also affects the program on the back-end, as well. Think about it. Why does it seem Miami players all seem to leave early when other schools are consistently welcoming returning upperclassmen with leadership skills, as well as maturity and experience?

If you’re at a state school, it might be a no-brainer, but leaving a private school early means one less year of paying back student loans.

Another part of the story – in many cases the cost of tuition goes up from year-to-year, but the loan amount stays the same, meaning that the loan covers a lesser percentage of the tuition.

It’s all about The U … but it’s also all about the economics of the game.

I know some of you still aren’t buying the argument, so let’s take it a step further. These days a major league team will not only give guaranteed contracts to players drafted as low as the tenth round, in many cases, but part of the deal is that the respective team will pay for all, or part, of a kid’s college education once he’s done with baseball.

With that as the case, again, do the math. Play professional baseball now and get paid for it, know that college tuition will be covered when done with the game. Or, go to college, stay in college, take out loans, put family at risk, hope to get drafted higher, get paid more and then pay off loans.

Ten years ago, kids went to college. It was the obvious play. But in this day and age, with the economy still in the tank, it makes a whole lot of sense to sign on the dotted line as soon as you can.

Back in the day you’d have one or two of your recruits choosing Major League Baseball over the college experience. Nowadays there could be half a dozen guys easily signing before stepping foot on campus.

Look back at the Alex Rodriguez story. Surefire top pick from nearby Westminster Christian and still the shortstop was literally hours away from spending at least three years in Coral Gables, rather than signing with the Seattle Mariners as number one. You’re talking about one of the top five players of all-time and ht was thisclose to playing college ball.

Times have absolutely changed and while I’m not saying other schools don’t have to put up with the draft effecting their signing classes, the problem definitely seems to hurt Miami more than the others. Economy aside, another reason has to do with such a large percentage of kids in this region being pro-ready when getting out of high school.

Before going knee-jerk and simply reverting back to the easy answer of calling for the head of coaches on a platter, at least attempt to understand the obstacles that are now in their way.

Some more simple math. The College World Series is the equivalent of the Elite Eight in college basketball. North Carolina, one of the top five programs on the hardwood, has been to the Elite Eight, or further (Final Four or Championship Game), nine times since 1994, and the Tar Heels have won the whole thing twice. Over that same span, the Canes have made it to Omaha eleven times, winning it twice – all under Coach Morris.

Sometimes you have to look at the big picture, before you start demanding change.

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