This isn’t the old Rutgers where things got leaked daily. Hobbs keeps a tight lid on his searches.
Rutgers baseball coaching search: 11 potential candidates, including an early favorite
- Thread starter Tango Two
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I really hope we have a real search. It would be beyond a joke if the job is given to cundari. Yet we have fans on this board and the main mod seems to be good with it. Hoping that there isnt a real search and that cundari is just made full time. Richie, I am sorry that makes no sense. zThere are enough top quality coaches with actual head coach experience. The fact that blankmeyer is even remotely interested means he should have a administrative staff member outside his house. He actually could keep cundari as pitching coach. It is almost impossible to find someone who isnt massively better than litterio. It is like the ash potential replacement. That still doesnt mean we shouldnt be with a full search.
Since Ash our HC searches, under Hobbs, have been as good as can be expected given resources at the time. Some of you need to relax. If this was ONLY a “local search” it would’ve been over last week. Use your brains people.
I agree. I am hopeful that the Ash thing was a product of timing and having to conduct that search being so new to the job.
I think having to wait until these other contract expire before changing coaches will also make Hobbs that much better with the next FB coach contract, whether it's Ash earning another contract or a new coach.
I agree with you. My concern was more from the mods responding to comments about cundari basically having been selected. I dont think it has anything to do with hobbs. He definitely has been great contolling the press with coaching searches. Basically I am juust afraid we are goign to make a mistake with this hire.
The blame here needs to lay at the feet of prior ADs. Softball had changed the tide quickly, at least for a year, but the condition of both of these programs is an utter joke. The level of neglect for any sort of facilities/complex plan is an embarrassment. That portion of Livingston campus should be dedicated to a baseball/softball complex. We don’t need huge stadiums, we need a complex. (Lights / Press areas / concessions/ state of the art sound and scoring / practice field for each team and obviously nice grandstands). Putting the actual teams aside for a minute, we need to bring the HS championships to this complex. Move the summer championships like the American Legion districts and finals to this complex. Yesterday they played All four group championships for baseball in Toms River I believe. That should all be hosted by us.
It’s not about the people on this board or the fretting over who we hire as a coach. If you want to generate interest or buzz for the program etc, a complex is the absolute undisputed priority. You need to put people in the stands for more than five or six weekends a year for some Big Ten home matchups.
Agree with you, and we ALL know this, but (FYI) any “complex” must include 2 stadiums are a MUST as softball dimensions are a tad different and kinda specific. 2500/1000 seats would likely be perfect.
Agree, but sadly it isn’t happening in the near future. Ahead of it are: endowing more sports scholarships, Hale Center renovation and a new indoor facility for football. (And these are not even ready to be introduced)
Agreed. Unfortunately people on here think a coach will be the solution to all our problems. Without this, the ceiling on this program will be painfully low.
I actually don’t think everyone knows this. Many folks here think lipstick Will change everything. In reality that’s exactly what got us here. It’s important and critical to invest in these two programs. Do what it takes to get this done. Like I said in an earlier post, start by rattling the cage is the alumni with a sensually done nothing for either of these two programs.
this is college baseball. Our facilities our a joke. You are still talking about a partial scholarship sport. Is a top coach going to be taking us to college world series with these facilities, likely not. However you are drastically underestimating the difference between a good head coach and the joke of a coach we had. A good head coach with thease facilities we are absolutely back competing for big ten tournament crowns and ncaa bids. Blankmeyer has us in the ncaa within three seasons. First of all we could alwaus plau our games at the somerset stadium.
To the point about the stadium or stadiums having to wait, that is absurd. That is why it needs to be a simultaneous raise. Get the half dozen baseball alumni who have made 25mil plus in the major leagues. I looked at the recently built stadiums. For a decent d1 facility even in nj it is not that much 4-6 millions gets us a real grand stand lights scorboard, press box. Even a clubhouse and players lounge at that level is possible.
I'm watching the Regional game with Duke playing at Vandy. Vandy is loaded and won 50 some games this year. Do you know what their facilities are like?
Their baseball stadium is right up against their football stadium and their basketball arena.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N...a1e9daa0!8m2!3d36.1626638!4d-86.7816016?hl=en
I tried to find their softball field but couldn't. That's because they don't have Softball as a sport.
Their 9 Women's sports are: Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis and Track & Field.
They only have 6 Men's sports. Football, Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Tennis and Golf.
We have 9 Men's sports and 13 Women's sports.
There are many Universities that don't have the # of teams we have and they don't have the expense of having to pay for those facilities and scholarships.
Their baseball stadium is right up against their football stadium and their basketball arena.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N...a1e9daa0!8m2!3d36.1626638!4d-86.7816016?hl=en
I tried to find their softball field but couldn't. That's because they don't have Softball as a sport.
Their 9 Women's sports are: Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis and Track & Field.
They only have 6 Men's sports. Football, Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Tennis and Golf.
We have 9 Men's sports and 13 Women's sports.
There are many Universities that don't have the # of teams we have and they don't have the expense of having to pay for those facilities and scholarships.
Sweet dreams that our future coach might be on the staff of a College World Series team ... perhaps Vanderbilt or Auburn or Michigan.
No more parochialism. Hire the best available coach who WANTS to be at RU. Period!
I also agree with the prior post about including facility upgrades in the contract. I trust Hobbs. The Ash hire appears to be an anomolie...and slightly understandable, given the timing, constraints, and conditions under which the hire was made.
Hobbs will get 'er done!
I also agree with the prior post about including facility upgrades in the contract. I trust Hobbs. The Ash hire appears to be an anomolie...and slightly understandable, given the timing, constraints, and conditions under which the hire was made.
Hobbs will get 'er done!
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I’m almost convinced at this point that the position - THANKFULLY - will not be kept in-house.
Haven’t heard anything; pure assumption on my behalf. Would’ve hired the guy/made the announcement by now if so IMHO.
Really pulling for the Virginia assistant. He seems to have the chops to get the job done. Hell as long as it's not in house I'll probably be behind the choice.
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Just a "heads up:"
I was talk to expect "good news soon" on baseball.
FINGERS CROSSED!!!
I was talk to expect "good news soon" on baseball.
FINGERS CROSSED!!!
Honestly the feeling I’m getting. If they hired from within they would’ve announced it by now (is my best guess). No need to delay. They wouldn’t have even announced a search OTHER THAN for semantics and Wouldn’t have had to wait this long
Dude from Virginia, I hope. Seems to have the same pedigree as our women's lax hire. Someone who's been the top assistant at a championship caliber team for a while and is ready for their own shot at it. I also believe he already has some inroads to NJ recruiting.
Would be an excellent hire! My thinking is, based on the email I got, that the pick has been made and they’re just negotiating things at this time.
I hope it has major facilities aspects tied to it. I dont know women's lacrosse, virtually anything about evaluating a coach. In baseball I would say it is far less of a concern to hire a high profile associate head coach. There is a reason those guys stay for so long as top assistants. The impact of connections to travel teams and other major aspects of reputation travel with the coach a ton in baseball. Hopbefully the hire has a top notch recruiting connection base and track record of getting players drafted. That will almost immediately change things from who we previously had. It would be nice if maryland could stop dominating in nj. There arguably inferior, even in the acc,, I dont think it is even a huge debate. Then they hire the coach who is now at michigan and start taking a bunch of top nj players and make super regionals.
The weather is freaking horrible in the Northeast in the winter and spring. Any decent high school player with options is crazy to stay in the Northeast for college .
Michigan’s team this year is an outlier, maybe once a decade one Northern team make some noise at the College World Series .
Build a nice stadium, but with this awful weather, nobody is coming to watch for the majority of the season .
IMO, Hobbs should make modest improvements like Stadium seating behind home plate, a small press box and lights for the few nights late in the season it’s warm enough to play at night.
Same for Softball .
Michigan’s team this year is an outlier, maybe once a decade one Northern team make some noise at the College World Series .
Build a nice stadium, but with this awful weather, nobody is coming to watch for the majority of the season .
IMO, Hobbs should make modest improvements like Stadium seating behind home plate, a small press box and lights for the few nights late in the season it’s warm enough to play at night.
Same for Softball .
You are simply wrong on this. The michigan coach is an elite coach. Firstly, we dont have a baseball stadium. A press box would require us to change our hs field to a small stadium. It isnt about attendence. It is about players thinking they are going somewhere that seriously cares about baseball. Look at any mac team, american east. You simply cannot find anything worse which is a joke.
And while it may be true that the college world series would be infrequent for a north east there is no reason we cannot get to the point where we are competing for conference titles and bids to the regionals. - we used to. How many more ncaa bids did we have then programs that are now looked at as far suprerior, nebraska maryland... it also remains that many top players stay in the north east or how about michigan or minnesota doesnt get much colder than that. We dont need every top player, we would legitimately go to the college world series every season in that case. With consistently 3-4 of the top 10-20 we get back to being a tournment contender and big ten contender.
Erik Bakich is a good coach, no doubt, but the best players still go south. This year is Bakich's first year going to the CWS in his entire 20 years of being a Head Coach. Why? Not because he isn't a good coach....but because of the friggen bad weather in the North and Northeast all the best players go South !!!! lol
By the way, in his 20 years at Maryland and Michigan, Bakich never won a Conference championship, although he got Michigan to 2 Regionals.
Some College Baseball Attendance info:
5/22/18 - THROUGH END OF REGULAR SEASON
CONFERENCE AVERAGE
4,715 - SEC
2,475 - Big 12
1,913 - ACC
1,559 - Pac 12
1,362 - AAC
1,129 - Big Ten
BIG TEN
12. Nebraska (25) - 4,203
37. Indiana (26) - 1,902
57. Purdue (20) - 1,150
64. Michigan State (23) - 1,018
65. Illinois (22) - 1,009
78. Ohio State (23) - 836
79. Iowa (26) - 834
80. Michigan (21) - 815
82. Minnesota (24) - 813
92. Maryland (26) - 691
111. Penn State (21) - 569
130. Northwestern (20) - 449
137. Rutgers (21) - 384
PS- Wisconsin wound up dropping baseball, lol
What e-mail do you speak of? I'm also hearing that the process is winding down and it's a matter of a couple days, if that, for an announcement. However I'm not sure who's in the running
A personal one from someone involved; My connections aren’t what they used to be but I still have one or two.
Excellent
Please post a copy of the email below
TIA
-Your friends on Scarlet Nation
I am saying attendance is not only the point in having a stadium. Having a decent stadium as described would be fine. I am not saying we need an sec stadium. I am saying that to not have lights a press box a real grandstand tells recruits that they and the sport are meaningless here. That makes recruiting more difficult. There is enough talent in nj that with a real coach we can get back to being top 50 type program contending for bids and big ten championships. I am not saying we are going to realistically start regularlyl making the college world series. We dont have to. However there is zero reason for us to not be a very good north east team. We arent currently and havent been for a while.
Having a real stadium for Rutgers Baseball is not just for the team and fans, but it is for The Rutgers Baseball Program. This facility needs to be for recruiting potential players and fans at as early an age as possible. From late March to early November, this stadium needs to have as many baseball games as possible from 9 in the morning until 10 at night. Obviously, after Rutgers Baseball, high school games including state playoff games are the priority. Beyond that, the stadium needs to be a place where every kid from Cape May to Sussex counties wants to play, long before they become high school juniors and seniors. You name the tournament, Rutgers needs to host it. Once a full size field is needed, we need to get teams and kids to their state university—little league, Cal Ripken, Babe Ruth, USABL, other travel leagues. In between games, open up the indoor facility and have real concession stands. See if an operator would be interested in running a baseball equipment store on weekends. Is there a New Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame? If not, create one at Rutgers. This stadium would be yet another way to get kids to the campus of THEIR university long before the end of high school. Rutgers Baseball Stadium should be a place that EVERY kid in N.J. dreams of playing—from an average Johnny Smith to the next star from the state—a Todd Frazier, David DeJesus, Mike Trout,Larry Doby, Eric Young,etc.
HAHAHAHA nooo I don’t do that but think I’ve earned enough trust over the years. Here’s the entire TEXT of the email, however, just to be fair:
“Thanks, XXXX! We are really excited about the new additions to our Head Coaching family. We are writing the great chapter!!! More to come soon on baseball.”
...again, just my “gut,” BUT the choice has been made.
Nebraska - 4203
This goes beyond baseball, but Nebraska seems to get big attendance for virtually all their sports. Ever seen their sold out arena for woman's volleyball on the B1G Channel ? Of course football is a huge generator of revenue, but these other sports get turnouts that minimize their need for subsidies.
You shared more than I thought (which was nothing!)
Yes, you have earned board credibility. Like reading your posts and insights.
Here’s hoping to good news!
this should be NJ field not just RUTGERS field With events there during the year. Used for HS championship, Camps all year around and tons of other stuff to get the kids there If wrestling can do it so can baseball Need to have someone that believe in his plan, just like how schiano believed in his plan. Time to win a National Championship in baseball LETS GO