An Arkansas-Texas Super Regional would be absolute bonkers. Would easily shatter attendance records. Probably 13K somehow.
This is something I have dreamed of since we built Baum. I remember the Conference and NCAA Tournaments we had to play in Austin. Just once, I’d like to get them on our turf. And if it isn’t now, it will be more difficult in the future since - as a fellow SEC team - the committee will not put them in our Regional and will attempt to avoid having them come in for a Super. Although, as we have seen in recent years, a Super matchup sometimes can’t be avoided because so many SEC teams survive Regionals.
Then again, I’m haunted by just what happened last year when Softball hosted the lady Longhorns in a Super. Talk about mega-disappointment.
If there are more than 8 SEC teams in the field, which there are most years (looking like 10 this year), you can’t avoid a possible Super matchup with an SEC team. There are only 8 Supers, and as you noted, SEC teams are quite good at winning regionals. That’s not gonna change with OU and EOE in the league.
If there are 7 or fewer SEC teams, it’s possible to avoid an all-SEC super just by spacing out the teams, but they’re not going to drastically change, say, South Carolina’s seed to avoid an all-SEC matchup even then. As BA showed by pairing the Baton Rouge regional with the Columbia regional.
You think Okie Lite wouldn’t like to come in here and pay us back for beating them last year in Stillwater?
We did get them on our turf in 1985, in the SWCT. And we won it on the way to Omaha. Beat the Fallopians two straight times to do it.
I’m in favor of playing Texas only if we beat them. The problem, of course, is that I can’t know the outcome ahead of time. Nothing would make me sicker than them coming into Baum & then going to Omaha. Nothing would tickle me more than them coming into Baum & us going to Omaha after two straight wins over them.
I know, Jeff. That’s why I posted:
“Although, as we have seen in recent years, a Super matchup sometimes can’t be avoided because so many SEC teams survive Regionals.”
Many of the times those SEC vs. SEC Supers occur, it’s because a non-hosting SEC team went on the road and won a Regional matched against another Regional hosted by an SEC team. You just can’t always keep it from happening.
But in the case of Texas, it’s MORE likely we would see them in Fayetteville as a non-SEC team than we will in the future, when they are in the same conference. How much more likely, is hard to say.
Before my time, in a manner of speaking.
Did I know we played Baseball then? Yes, I did. But I had very little knowledge beyond that.
Living in Dallas, you saw the Hogs maybe once or twice a year on TV. Pre-internet, so no radio of the games. I didn’t know any of the players. Wasn’t able to follow the team.
I’m sure I was aware there was a Conference Tournament, but I don’t believe it was televised. Probably just looked up the score in small print of the Dallas Morning News, and probably didn’t even realize it was being played at our field.
I do remember the game was televised
At least in Arkansas
Don’t remember if Channel 7 did it or who
But I remember watching it at my family’s lake house in Hot Springs
ain’t no way in Hades that EoE=K is not in the regional host field. Serendipitously or for whatever reason, Tony V has them steam rolling. They got pitching and are hitting. I think FL is the #1 current team the way they are playing and laughed at Warren Nolan and all the Gators getting swept in Ky I actually would prefer to be #2 seed in Hoover the way the bracket is gonna shape up to not face a Bama v. UT winner in second game. Hoover fits power which UT has in spades.
Hoover is almost irrelevant to me. I want to win the regular season title, but if we do that and go 0-2 in Hoover, I’m happy. It’s what happens after Hoover that matters.
I agree with you on Hoover Chip. Just keep everyone healthy and don’t use up pitching. Means little other than bragging rights. CWS is the goal.
I agree with both of you.
I DO like winning the regular season title, but the Tournament title is much less important and - in fact - can cause an issue if it burns out your pitching on the way…and that’s our biggest challenge moving forward. Especially since we finally got that SECT monkey off of our back in 2021.
The only thing worse than burning up a lot of your pitching on the way to the SECT championship is getting into the Championship game, then losing. We’ve done a lot of that over the years.