OT: The Elmar Bolowich Era is Over

[Five Two]

Baseball team better not get swept by vcu this weekend or I'm going to have somebody's a**

already down 4-0 in the second, but its nice to hear The Voice of The Patriots on the call today

 

[EXpatriot13]

One of my guilty pleasures is to flip around ESPN+ to drop in on USC-Upstate at Furman (or pick any random DI school) to see what their baseball facilities look like, then compare it to the Hap. Its a frustrating exercise.

Does anyone have updates on where things stand with Hap renovations? I remember there being grand plans revealed several years ago about what they were going to do in each phase (dugouts being Phase 1?), but it seems to have completely stalled. Just no donations/money?

 

[GMUgemini]

Does anyone have updates on where things stand with Hap renovations? I remember there being grand plans revealed several years ago about what they were going to do in each phase (dugouts being Phase 1?), but it seems to have completely stalled. Just no donations/money?

Who knows. But good luck to the next soccer coach who is surrounded by about 10 schools with better programs.

 

[Five Two]

One of my guilty pleasures is to flip around ESPN+ to drop in on USC-Upstate at Furman (or pick any random DI school) to see what their baseball facilities look like, then compare it to the Hap. Its a frustrating exercise.

If you look at the 13 DI baseball schools in Virginia (Hampton doesn't offer baseball), its not pretty. Here is my unofficial facility rankings. This isnt just about the grandstand, field, lights, etc but also includes team rooms and training/practice facilities.

1. UVA: https://virginiasports.com/davenport-field-at-disharoon-park/ minor league-type stadium
2. VT: https://hokiesports.com/facilities/english-field-at-atlantic-union-bank-park/1 another minor league-type stadium
3. Liberty: https://www.liberty.edu/flames/athletics-facilities/worthington-field-liberty-baseball-stadium/ this might be better than VA Tech, not sure
4. vcu: https://vcuathletics.com/sports/2020/5/20/facilities-diamond.aspx since this isnt really theirs, I'm putting them at #4
5. JMU: https://jmusports.com/facilities/eagle-field-at-veterans-memorial-park/14
6. ODU: https://odusports.com/facilities/bud-metheny-baseball-stadium/4 I think its just below JMU, but
7. Radford: https://radfordathletics.com/facilities/sherman-carter-memorial-stadium/118
8. W&M: https://tribeathletics.com/facilities/plumeri-park/4
9. VMI: https://vmikeydets.com/sports/2007/12/31/1357394.aspx
10. Longwood: https://longwoodlancers.com/sports/2006/9/8/lancerstadium.aspx it has lights so its better than the Hap
11. Richmond: https://richmondspiders.com/facilities/pitt-field/8 slightly better than the Hap, but barely
12. Norfolk St: https://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/marty-l-miller-field-s2347/

At best, we are 11th. At worst, 13th.

I would build a baseball-softball training facility adjacent to the softball field's first base dugout. Facility to include team locker rooms, meeting rooms, sports medicine, turf infields for both teams, batting cages for both teams and bullpens for both teams. Add whatever else is required these days. The softball team can walk directly from their locker room to the dugout.

Then on the others side of the facility build a new baseball stadium in the JMU-Radford range. Baseball team can go directly from their locker room to the third base dugout. putting a new stadium there eliminates all the sh*t from the home owners across the street in the current location. They don't want lights on the baseball field.

But its probably $50M to do all that. I know what Binghamton University did for their baseball program with $40M so I'm adding $10M for cost-of-living in Fairfax.......

Can you tell I'm already bored by the offseason??

 

[GMU1983]

Even go to DII Look at Tusculums field :

 

[Patriot8]

Even go to DII Look at Tusculums field : View attachment 1316

This was built for a Minor League team. Greeneville Astros/Reds.

 

[JimP]

Even go to DII Look at Tusculums field : View attachment 1316

I've been there for an Appy League game. Used to be the rookie affiliate of the Astros. Not sure if an affiliated team plays there anymore after MLB's greedy takeover of the minor leagues. Anyway, Tusculum is located right next to the field. Fortunate for them.

 

[GMU1983]

Yes Tusculum plays there

 

[GMU1983]

Niswonger their big donor built it for TU and at the minor league team. Regardless it is on the campus and the pioneers play on it. My kid played Lacrosse there beautiful school. Also their football, soccer, lacrosse stadium blows our crappy facilities away.

 

[Pablo]

D-II Angelo State's baseball stadium - https://angelosports.com/sports/2011/5/12/BB_0512113724.aspx?id=157

"The Rams baseball team plays in Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.The stadium received major renovations including field turf, new blue chair backs and a new outfield fence to improve one of the top NCAA Division II facilities in the nation.

The field features 4,200 permanent seats, a Triple A lighting system and a Spectrum inning-by-inning scoreboard with video display. In addition, the facility has a large press box area, major-league style dugouts and a complete training and locker room facility.

The field also has state-of-the-art bullpens and batting cages for practice and warmup. Concession and restroom areas as well as special clubhouse style seating areas for entertaining corporate sponsors are located on either side of the press box.

Dimensions are 325 down the lines, 370 to the gaps and 395 to deep center.

Opened in 2011 adjacent to the northwest corner of Foster Field, the 1,874-square-foot Norris Baseball Clubhouse is home for the Angelo State University Rams baseball team. The $436,000 clubhouse ranks among the best such facilities in all of NCAA Division II baseball.

The club house features a locker room complete with oak lockers for the players, offices for the baseball coaching staff, a players’ lounge and two indoor batting cages, among other amenities. Additionally, the facility features a Pro Batter PX2 pitching machine that is a virtual pitching simulator. At the time of the purchase, ASU was the only college in Texas and the only Division II school in the nation to have this sophisticated pitching machine."

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

already down 4-0 in the second, but its nice to hear The Voice of The Patriots on the call today

Rally baby!!

Win

 

[Pablo]

George Mason University

jobs.gmu.edu

 

[GMU1983]

I am blocked what is the salary??

 

[GMUgemini]

I am blocked what is the salary??

Bolowich made $115,000.

As a point of comparison, Sasho Cirovski, UMD's men's soccer coach, makes $210,000. UMD is one of the top 10 jobs in men's college soccer (maybe top 5).

Everyone with an A coaching license should apply for the job. I can't imagine anyone could do much worse than Bolowich did.

 

[GMU1983]

That is chump change...

 

[MasonFanatic]

Baseball is truly my favorite sport, not basketball. I wish we had a better facility, and more than anything I wish we had lights so we could have evening games. I'd be able to make it a lot more often.

I think covid messed up our finances for the non-revenue sports, no one is donating to facilities projects when the programs need every dollar just to stay afloat. They did replace the outfield walls at both the baseball and softball stadiums recently. I know that's not a big change, but it's always better to be moving forward, no matter how slowly, than to be stagnant.

 

[gmutom]

I know Ted Lasso is already under contract abroad, but maybe we can hire the football coach who replaced him at Wichita State.

 

[GMUgemini]

I know Ted Lasso is already under contract abroad, but maybe we can hire the football coach who replaced him at Wichita State.

Coach Beard is the obvious choice here.

 

[gmubrian]

I know Ted Lasso is already under contract abroad, but maybe we can hire the football coach who replaced him at Wichita State.

Jollay seems like a perfect fit

 

[Petey Buckets]

Any soccer people have better insight into what's wrong with the program? Seemed like people in the know thought the last two hires (Andrulis and Bolowich, I think) were home runs.