Oh, give me a break!
Despite winning the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship, the Tarleton State baseball program was nixed from the NCAA Tournament, and the reasoning is due to an outright stupid rule that’s related to their switch to Division I.
Recently, the Texans reclassified from Division II to Division I, and via NCAA rules per BroBible, the team isn’t allowed to compete in the postseason for the first four campaigns.
In the regular season, Tarleton State placed fifth in the WAC, ultimately getting hot to eventually win the conference championship in the tournament. In six games, the Texans raked in five victories, even defeating both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to win the Western Athletic Conference. And on top of that, their remarkable run made history, as the Texans are the first program in DI to win their conference in their first season after reclassification.
But instead of getting glory, they’re being punished for it … all because of a dumb little rule from the NCAA.
In light of @TarletonBase winning its conference tournament, we are submitting a request to the @NCAA asking that they reevaluate their postseason ban for reclassifying institutions.
Our student-athletes and coaches deserve to keep their season going.
Our full statement 👇 pic.twitter.com/Z3J7NsqkoL
— Tarleton Athletics (@TarletonSports) May 26, 2024
This is such a “that’s so typical” story that you hear out of the NCAA. And what is the reasoning of this rule?
I dig a little digging, and here’s what I found from a New York Times article:
“’Originally, N.C.A.A. members in Division I instituted a two-year process for reclassification, but that was doubled when teams began to make the jump and were unable to sustain Division I membership because they made the move too soon and could not keep up financially,’ the spokeswoman, Meghan Durham, said. ‘It’s meant to protect universities from taking on more expense than they can handle.'” (RELATED: Get Your Popcorn Ready! The Field For The 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament Is Officially Set)
Okay, that makes sense, but what if Tarleton State can afford the expenses? What if they can make a killing from their tournament appearance (because they would)?
This is one of those instances where the NCAA needs to make an exception and let the Texans do their thing.
