Vols passed over as Super Regional hosts, will travel to Hattiesburg
For those Tennessee fans who believe the NCAA has a thing against the Vols, this probably won't go over well. The hosting site for the Tennessee – Southern Miss Super Regional was announced Tuesday morning, and the NCAA selected Hattiesburg over Knoxville. The Vols will, once again, be on the road with something to prove. […]
For those Tennessee fans who believe the NCAA has a thing against the Vols, this probably won't go over well.
The hosting site for the Tennessee – Southern Miss Super Regional was announced Tuesday morning, and the NCAA selected Hattiesburg over Knoxville. The Vols will, once again, be on the road with something to prove.
As of the posting of this article, the reasoning for the decision has yet to be released. The announcement was as simple as the post above and the foregoing announcement. In the event the decision came down to the school's respective bids, and USM's was bigger, then UT would have no one but itself to blame.
However, if it wasn't, then based on the merits, the decision is largely and objectively unsupportable. Tennessee's path to the Super Regionals was far more difficult, having to vanquish the #4 national seed to get there. The Vols took the regional with a three-game sweep of Charlotte and Clemson. Conversely, Southern Miss had to scramble after losing to Samford 4-2 and win three straight games to win the regional at #13 seed Auburn. The Vols held a higher RPI going into the tournament, and they hold a higher one now (12) over the Golden Eagles (17). Tennessee also has a higher strength of schedule (19) than Southern Miss (44), per WarrenNolan.com.
There's zero doubt the travel and lodging factors sharply favor Knoxville, with a bigger airport and countless more lodging options both in the city of Knoxville and surrounding areas.
For those that would argue that the Golden Eagles' attendance was higher (and it was), Lindsey Nelson Stadium has a smaller capacity (4045, per UTSports.com), and the Vols' attendance averaged above capacity for the season. UT also showed in 2022 what it could do as far as adding additional seating and creating a worthy playoff baseball environment.
And for the tin foil hat wearing folks, it's worth mentioning that Casey Artigues, the son of Jay Artigues – a member of the NCAA baseball selection committee – plays for the Golden Eagles. Bill McGillis, another committee member, was the Golden Eagles' former athletic director.
So, for those who feel this was biased and unfair, unless UT was legitimately outbid, then there's little to dissuade you from that conclusion.
Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
