Coach Lemonis spoke at a University Club luncheon today. Came across as very enthusiastic and a lot more sure-footed than when he first arrived. He acknowledged the players lost to the MLB draft but still feels good about the pitching staff; at least Kelzer and Hart are coming back despite being drafted. Catching, though, is big question mark.
Right now the team is in their 3rd week of practice, with afternoon practice sessions and scrimmages five days a week, open to the public. The only intercollegiate game of the Fall is against Xavier, October 8 at 4:30; there will be an Alumni game on October 17. We'll see who's available, not involved in MLB post-season play.
It turns out that the reason for few-to-none Fall games is that the NCAA sets a limit of 56 games for the academic year. Any game you use up in Fall is subtracted, and the stats don't even count for national purposes. As IU is now in the national championship mix on a regular basis, Coach wants to make every possible game count.
Coach showed great pride in the players' academic progress; recent grads who aren't in pro ball have gotten good jobs in business (Kelley School's reputation is one of his big recruiting advantages). He reminded us that IU is up to the NCAA limit on scholarships--11.7. The average players gets only 41% of his costs covered; no-one is on a "full ride." Hence they focus on in-state recruits, to make the scholarship money stretch a little further.
Good presentation, appreciative crowd, looking forward to watching some of the practice sessions.
Right now the team is in their 3rd week of practice, with afternoon practice sessions and scrimmages five days a week, open to the public. The only intercollegiate game of the Fall is against Xavier, October 8 at 4:30; there will be an Alumni game on October 17. We'll see who's available, not involved in MLB post-season play.
It turns out that the reason for few-to-none Fall games is that the NCAA sets a limit of 56 games for the academic year. Any game you use up in Fall is subtracted, and the stats don't even count for national purposes. As IU is now in the national championship mix on a regular basis, Coach wants to make every possible game count.
Coach showed great pride in the players' academic progress; recent grads who aren't in pro ball have gotten good jobs in business (Kelley School's reputation is one of his big recruiting advantages). He reminded us that IU is up to the NCAA limit on scholarships--11.7. The average players gets only 41% of his costs covered; no-one is on a "full ride." Hence they focus on in-state recruits, to make the scholarship money stretch a little further.
Good presentation, appreciative crowd, looking forward to watching some of the practice sessions.
