The Selling of a DI New England Regional
by Dr. Mark J. Ellis

Here’s the question: Who has the power to bring a Division I regional to New England?

The answer: The young and the many.

Wayne Burrow, NCAA Assistant Director of Baseball Championships, offers encouragement for this monumental task

"The conference or a collection of schools could be the host," said Burrow. "We would like to have it done this year. Last year, we tried, but we didn't get much response. People wanted to see how well we would do with the new format of 16 Regionals and 8 Super Regionals. But we're now getting a few calls from some areas to look at us."

The process is lengthy and tedious for those who wish to tackle it. UConn head baseball coach Andy Baylock tackled it in 1990 when it was hosted by a plethora of conferences.

"Big East, ECAC, Ivy, etc., ... and you need a consortium to do it," said Baylock. "The Big East (as a whole) will not sponsor it, but any of its teams can. [But] who's gonna bring in 35K at the gate?"

According to last year's bid package, $35,000 is the NCAA's asking price for a DI Regional, but Harvard baseball head coach Joe Walsh believes the $35,000 entry tag is not the largest hurdle.

"The NCAA needs to be guaranteed $35,000 — and Harvard can do this — but the manpower needed is huge.” said Walsh, before proceeding to list the ticket sellers, ushers, security, 15 cars, and police required to host such an event.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Last year's bid package required the host to secure "facility rental, maintenance, insurance, printing of tickets, maintenance personnel, minor officials, promotion, publicity, advertising, meetings, banquets, hospitality staff, medical staff, press areas, hospitality areas and any other expenses approved by the NCAA. All the standard things for those who are familiar with the standard.

"We're looking for schools with a pretty strong record for at least an at-large bid,” continued the NCAA’s Burrow. “A traditional powerhouse would be best suited. A place that seats 2,500 and lights is most desired."

Who are the "traditional powerhouses" of New England? UMaine in the '80's, UConn in the early '90's with Harvard in the late '90's. As for the venue, Lowell's LeLacheur fits the bill — lights and 5,000 seats. Lowell Spinners general manager Sean Smith expressed interest in a conversation last summer.

"These are the types of games we're looking to host here," he said. In addition, UConn's Baylock adds that the professional team in New Britain may have interest, while Harvard’s Walsh adds, “How 'bout the Norwich Navigators? They're a great host for the NEIBA All-Stars."

The NCAA has no preference concerning who gets it done. According to the bid package, under “Community Involvement,” it says: "Subject to approval by the NCAA, [SPONSORING AGENCY] shall enlist the aid of service clubs, community groups and interested individuals to promote the sale of tickets to the regionals."

"The community could be the automatic site," said Burrow.

But before you go off enlisting the Rotary and the Lions Clubs, the NCAA takes care of its own even though the “said amount [$35,000] is guaranteed and shall be paid even if the regional receipts are insufficient to fund said payment."

This could be a problem for some as evidenced a few years ago.

"A few years ago, part of a tournament was rained out,” said one New England coach. “It cost $60,000 to host the tournament and because of the rain, they only raised $5,000. On Monday morning, the school's athletic director called in the head baseball coach and informed him, ‘Coach, we lost $55,000 last weekend. I'm giving you two weeks to raise the money to repay our school.'"

But tickets sales ain't ev'rythin'! Walsh predicted that "half of the $35,000 could be raised with concessions and the sale of pennants." And what about television rights? Concerning concessions, the NCAA writes, "All revenue derived from food and beverage concessions and from parking shall be retained by [SPONSORING AGENCY] or as may be provided by contract between [SPONSORING AGENCY] AND [CITY, IF APPROPRIATE]."

But watch out for those pennant sale coaches: "[SPONSORING AGENCY] may sell merchandise that features an institutional mark or logo only if [SPONSORING AGENCY] has GUARANTEED A SELLOUT of the NCAA merchandise at [SITE OF COMPETITION] and has agreed to provide the NCAA regional 25 PERCENT OF GROSS SALES (after sales taxes) of ALL NON-NCAA REGIONAL MERCHANDISE" (emphasis added).

And TV?

"[SPONSORING AGENCY] shall waive any television rights fees normally charged for events staged in [FACILITY]. All revenue derived from television rights fees, radio rights fees, program advertising, program sales ... shall be retained by the NCAA."

Would ESPN cover the regional? Mike Humes, Senior Publicist of ESPN, is looking into it. ESPN covers the finals for the East Regional Little League in Bristol, why wouldn't they cover a DI regional in Norwich? But seeing no immediate remuneration from television rights, would a prospective host pursue this avenue?

What other obstacles are there?

"Courtesy cars," said coach Walsh. "I've been to several regionals. In Oklahoma, they get 15 cars from the local dealers to give out for tournament use. The community goes all out for these guys. Imagine what the dealers would say around here if I asked, 'Hey, I need 15 cars for the regional'?"

Also, housing. "[SPONSORING AGENCY] shall assist the NCAA in obtaining the best rates available and make tentative arrangements to house the four participating teams. A minimum of 25 rooms for each team shall be reserved."

Burrow of NCAA stated the sites would be determined by May 15. Do you have the nerve to call the Boston area hotels, reserve 75-100 rooms for Memorial Day Weekend, and then tell them that the reservations are tentative based upon our school getting the approval for the NCAA regional nod?

Who can, rather, who will step up to the plate? Who can afford the manpower, the discouragement, and the risk of rejection? The answer lies in the hands of the young and the many. College Sports Management majors could be the resource. Schools such as UConn, Sacred Heart University, and UMass offer degrees in Sports Management. As for the other DI schools, if your school offers a management degree and you enjoy sports, think about the above as a senior research project. UMass offers an Internship Track as a means of combining academic and experiential education. Recent internships have been with the Celtics, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and the Philadelphia Phillies. The minimum length of the internship is thirteen weeks with AT LEAST forty hours of work per week. Is there a student or a "consortium" of students who can entertain the development of an NCAA New England regional? Give the Navigators a call. Or the Spinners, Rock Cats, or Portland Sea Dogs. Wouldn't they love to hear your proposal!

Burrow says there will be 120 letters going out in April to schools for prospective regional and super regional sites. They expect only 40 schools will answer their plea and only those 40 will receive bid packages.

So who has the power to get this done? Someone with initiative. Someone with guts. Someone who understands that the word 'No' in the business world really means try again … and again.