A proposed shift in college baseball is getting support from coaches outside the Sunbelt. The change would put in place solid dates for the start of preseason practice and for the season. UNI coach Rick Heller says it would be a big help to those teams in snow-bound states. Heller says preseason practice could not start until February 1st with the regular season starting March 1st and running about two weeks later than it currently does. Heller says it will be a great help on and off the field for baseball programs to have a regulated time-frame to the start of a season. He says if they have warm weather, they will draw fans, and he says if they keep pushing the season back, they can become self-sufficient. He says playing on cool days is not bad for the players who’re moving around, but he says fans don’t like to come out when it’s cool and they have to sit in it. Heller’s club started their 2004 season the last weekend in February. In contrast, College World Series qualifier Texas started their regular season the last weekend in January.
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