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By BRIAN LANDMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 15, 2001
If the spoils truly belong to the victors, then it shouldn't surprise anyone that the Division I committee Monday named Miami and Florida State as region tournament hosts.
The Hurricanes (41-12) make their 29th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and host a region for the ninth time in 12 years and 18th time overall. The Seminoles (40-15) are in the field for the 24th consecutive time and begin the road to Omaha, Neb., and the College World Series at home for the 10th time in the past 11 years and 20th time in all.
"In 1996 we had to go to Texas, but that's the only time since I've been here we had to leave this place for a region," Miami coach Jim Morris said, "which to me is a huge advantage."
The 'Canes have advanced to the CWS 14 of the previous 17 times they have been a host. Starting at the friendly confines of Dick Howser Stadium has propelled the Seminoles to the CWS 11 times.
"I'm very excited for our baseball team," FSU coach Mike Martin said. "Our administration did a great job. They always give us tremendous support."
The other 14 region hosts are defending national champion LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Clemson, Stanford, Southern California, Cal State Fullerton, Rice, Notre Dame, Ohio State, East Carolina, Nebraska and Tulane. The latter three and Georgia are first time hosts.
The top eight seeds will be set when the NCAA announces the 64-team field and the tournament bracket at 3 p.m. Monday. The four-team double-elimination region tournaments begin May 25. "The No. 1 criterion is that teams play themselves into this opportunity to host, and (UM and FSU) both have great records and deserve to host," baseball committee chairman Wally Groff said.
But the numbers in the won-loss column aren't the only important ones in the selection process. Those after a dollar sign continue to loom large. In 1998 the NCAA lost about $227,000 on the tournament. Last year it generated more than $500,000.
Expanding from 48 teams in 1999 has helped the bottom line. But so have more lucrative guarantees from host schools. The NCAA requires a minimum $35,000 guarantee. The highest this year from the 32 bidding schools was $330,000, Groff said. He did not name the school.
FSU dramatically upped its guarantee, from $54,000 to $75,000. It also increased its guarantee as a Super Region host from $69,000 to $90,000.
"We've looked around the country at what other schools have done, and a lot of schools have increased their bids significantly. And we felt it was time to increase," FSU assistant athletic director/business manager Greg Phillips said. "It's always our goal to put our team in the best position to get to Omaha, and obviously, playing at home is one step in that."
AWARD: FSU junior outfielder John-Ford Griffin, who was 7-for-12 with three home runs, 12 RBI and six runs scored in a weekend series at Duke, was named ACC co-player of the week.