NCBA & Education

I know most of you have never heard of the NCBA, but I wanted to make it known. Many students will pick a college/university this spring and, believe it or not, baseball won't play any part in their decision. Perhaps they have lower-level D1 talent or are great HS players, but just can't "walk-on" at the school that they are planning to attend. They are going to college in order to get an education primarily but LOVE baseball. Here is a rapidly growing option.

NCBA stands for National Club Baseball Association. It's the Club version of College Baseball.

The NCBA was born out of two needs.

#1. Some smaller schools baseball programs had falled victim to Title IX.
#2. Some large Universities attracted former HS ball players that could have played at small institutions.

What started as (seemingly) a whim back in 2000 has grown to about 86 teams covering the entire United States with it's own World Series played each year in May down in Florida. Two "Club" players have now been drafted by MLB at the end of their playing days.

The Carolina's are divided now into two "Conferences", East and West. Teams that are participating in the East: NC State, UNC-W, Chapel Hill, Elon and Craven Community College. Teams that are participating in the West: Clemson, Furman, Wake Forest, UNC-Charlotte & Davidson. There is a conference in Virginia (The Mid-Atlantic South: Virginia Tech, James Madison, Richmond, William-Mary, Univ of Virginia) and a Dixie Conference (Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Univ of Georgia, Emory, Middle Tenn State).

Here's whats really different:
#1. The clubs are run by the student organizations.
#2. It costs $500 for a club to join the NCBA
#3. The annual dues for participation are $1000
#4. The home team gets the Umps (HS or Legion Umps Ok).
#5. Insurance is available through the NCBA.

This has grown from 30+ colleges participating to what is expected to be over 100 colleges/universities by the end of 2005. The Top clubs are said to be near the level of the Top level D2's in the nation. Obviously, you have tryouts, etc.

If you just love baseball, but think primarily of your education, this may be an option. The list of colleges is growing every year, and there is no reason you couldn't help start it yourself at the college you are attending.

Here's the 2004 List (with the new colleges for 2005 that have already committed).

Ball State University
Baylor University
Boise State University
Bowling Green State University
Bucknell University
Cal State Monterey Bay
Central Michigan University
Central Oregon Community College
Clemson University
Colorado State University
Cornell University
Craven Community College
Davidson College
Eastern Washington University
Elon University
Emory University
Evergreen State College
Ferris State University
Fort Lewis College
Furman University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Tech
Idaho State University
Iowa State University
James Madison University
John Brown University
Johnson & Wales University
Kent State University
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Louisiana State University
Loyola College
Loyola University - Chicago
Marquette University
Miami University
Michigan State University
Middle Tennessee State University
New York University
North Carolina State University
Ohio State University
Ohio University
Penn State University
Princeton University
Rider University
Robert Morris University
Rutgers University
Sam Houston State University
SIU - Carbondale
SIU - Edwardsville
SUNY - Albany
SUNY - Buffalo
SUNY - Cortland
SUNY - Geneseo
Texas A&M - Commerce
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University
Tulane University
U.C. Davis
U.C. Santa Cruz
UNC Chapel Hill
UNC Charlotte
UNC Wilmington
University of Colorado - Boulder
University of Colorado - Colorado Springs
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Georgia
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Mary Washington
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts
University of Michigan
University of Nebraska
University of North Texas
University of Northern Colorado
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond
University of South Dakota
University of Texas
University of Virginia
University of Wyoming
Utah State University
UW - Eau Claire
UW - Madison
UW - Whitewater
Virginia Tech University
Wake Forest University
Weber State University
Western Michigan University
Western State College of Colorado
Western Washington University
Wright State University
Xavier University

 

2004 NCBA World Series Results

Conferences and Representatives:

Rocky Mountain Conference
Colorado State University

Carolina Conference
North Carolina State University

Great Lakes North Conference
Central Michigan University

Mid Atlantic South Conference
James Madison University

Western Lakes Conference
UW - Eau Claire

New Penn Conference
Penn State University

Gulf Coast South Conference
Texas A&M University

Pacific Mountain Conference
University of Oregon

Games and Results:
Game 1, Colorado State University 10 vs University of Oregon 1
Game 2, Penn State University 8 vs James Madison University 4
Game 3, North Carolina State University 4 vs UW - Eau Claire 5
Game 4, Central Michigan University 2 vs Texas A&M University 6
Game 5, North Carolina State University 3 vs James Madison University 2
Game 6, Central Michigan University 9 vs University of Oregon 6
Game 7, Colorado State University 8 vs Texas A&M University 0
Game 8, Penn State University 8 vs UW - Eau Claire 4
Game 9, Central Michigan University 5 vs Texas A&M University 9
Game 10, North Carolina State University 14 vs UW - Eau Claire 3
Game 11, Colorado State University 3 vs Texas A&M University 4
Game 12, Penn State University 1 vs North Carolina State University 7
Game 13, Texas A&M University 0 vs Colorado State University 6
Game 14, North Carolina State University 5 vs Penn State University 4
Game 15, Colorado State University 8 vs North Carolina State University 1

NC State had to come out of the losers bracket in the east in the double-elimination format after dropping their first game. Colorado State was the western bracket winner.

 

:xyzthumbs Great post. This actually makes alot of sense for students with rigorous majors. Games are mostly confined to weekends and travel is minimal for teams in the Atlantic seaboard. According to UNC's club prez, they had 38 try out this fall and 11 made the team, so it must be pretty competitive.