College World Series Final Being Played Before Tiny Crowd, and ESPN Couldn't Get It Moved to Primetime
By Jason Lisk
Game 3 between Arizona and Coastal Carolina was postponed last night due to rain. The winner-take-all contest for the national championship has been moved to today as a result.
Early indications are that few fans stuck around to go see some afternoon baseball, as the NCAA scheduled it to start at 1 pm ET, noon local time in Omaha.
Several factors conspired to reduce the demand for tickets. Coastal Carolina, a very good team obviously since they have reached the Final, are not a traditional power and are located in South Carolina. The opponent is from the West Coast. The SEC took it on the chin in the NCAA Tournament even before getting to Omaha, with only Florida advancing (and going 0-2). The Big 12 teams in the field, who have fans that could make the trip for a title game on short notice, were eliminated in the games to advance to the Final.
The game is also being played before a smaller television audience as a result of the start time. John Ourand provided the following statement from ESPN on when the game is being played.
“We offered a primetime window on ESPN as a preferred rescheduling option for Game 3 of the NCAA College World Series Finals. The NCAA made the decision to play the game at 1 p.m. ET. ESPN and ESPN2 have previously scheduled Wimbledon and Euro games airing this afternoon. We were able to find a window on ESPNU and look forward to televising the matchup.”