Hopes of limiting 21-14 championship-game scores to one per century received a boost recently when the Division I Baseball Committee discussed renovations scheduled for Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

Those talks occurred during semiannual meetings held November 6-8 in Indianapolis, where representatives of the Omaha local organizing committee unveiled improvement ideas for the venerable ballpark. Chief topic: plans to increase field dimensions to 370 feet in the power alleys and the height of the outfield wall to eight feet.

"These changes continue to show commitment by the city of Omaha to hosting a first-class series," said Dennis L. Poppe, NCAA senior director of baseball and football. "They emphasize Omaha's assurance of a superior facility in that the increased power alleys will make for a more competitive playing field."

Stadium improvements would be ready for the 2002 College World Series.

Site of the CWS since 1950, Rosenblatt Stadium underwent field-level seating additions during the early part of the last decade that resulted in home plate being moved toward the outfield fence. Before 1992, the outfield distances were 343 feet from home plate down the lines, 370 feet in the alleys and 420 feet in straightaway center.

Those lengths decreased after the renovations to 332 down the lines and 408 in center -- both still respectable yardsticks for measuring home runs. But the 360 mark in the power alleys has proved too easy a target for today's power hitters.

"It's a great place to play our national championship, but the ballpark has become a little small in the power alleys the last few years," said Wally Groff, chair of the Division I Baseball Committee and director of athletics at Texas A&M University, College Station. "They're going to bow out the fences, which should make a difference. And I think you'll see a difference when they raise the height (of the fence) from six to eight feet."

Home-run numbers before 1992 never topped 26 for an entire CWS. The last six years, however, 30 has been the low-water mark. And an incredible 62 round-trippers were hit during the 1998 series that ended with the University of Southern California defeating Arizona State University, 21-14, in the title game.

Other improvements scheduled for Rosenblatt include replacement of all current bleachers -- resulting in 902 additional seats -- and of the outfield light standards. A plan to include new permanent seating along the right-field line also was discussed, with expectations of another 500 seats being added to the stadium total.

Capacity for Rosenblatt Stadium stands at 22,700, although a record 24,859 attended a 1999 session doubleheader.

"We'll be taking out the old bleachers, replacing them with new ones, and putting an awning onto the outside that will give it a clean, crisp look," said Greg Peterson, assistant director of Omaha's planning department. "From inside the park, the outfield seats will match those now along the right- and left-field lines. And when looking up the hill from the freeway on the outside, it will be visually the same look as we now have at the main entrance."

Umpire selections

The committee also agreed to several changes in the structure and activities of the NCAA Baseball Umpire Improvement Program, specifically in the way officials are selected for the championship. Beginning this year, the four national advisors reporting to Dave Yeast, national coordinator of umpires, have been eliminated and replaced by a subcommittee of four members from the 10-member baseball committee.

Those serving for 2001 are Charles Carr, Florida State University; Chris Monasch, America East Conference; Robert Steitz, Atlantic 10 Conference; and Mitch Barnhart, Oregon State University.

"Because more conferences have coordinators of umpires, there is less of a need for national advisors," Yeast said. "I will present the recommendations I have gathered from the conferences to the subcommittee, and the 96 officials will be chosen from there."

Yeast related how reassuring it was to see conference lists for the first time last year and recognize almost all of the names as umpires who had worked previous NCAA tournaments.

"I think just about every umpire we've assigned the past few years was on one conference list or another. That tells me we're pretty much on the same page regarding who the quality officials are."

The umpire subcommittee and Yeast will conduct periodic conference calls with representatives of the 30 Division I leagues to gather information and review potential names for the championship.

"This will get the conferences more involved in the umpire selection process," Groff said. "The conferences will send in names and our subcommittee, along with Dave Yeast, will work directly with the conference umpire coordinators to make the selections."

The committee also discussed the Rawlings Home-Run Challenge, which took place for the first time last year, with representatives of Rawlings, CWS Inc., and ESPN. Those groups are working to schedule the opening ceremonies format so the cable sports network may broadcast the home-run activity live. The home run challenge involves eight of the top long-ball hitters from all three NCAA divisions and is slated this year for June 7.

"The purpose of the opening ceremonies is to recognize the eight teams," Groff said. "And the home-run hitting contest was so popular with fans, we're thrilled ESPN is now interested. It can only help present the College World Series as a super championship event."

Other highlights

Division I Baseball Committee
November 6-8/Indianapolis

Adjusted the pregame schedule for NCAA championship contests to allot 10 minutes for each team's infield practice instead of eight.

Approved a change in the formula for determining the home team by flip-flopping (3)a. and (3)b. on Page 34 of the 2000 NCAA Baseball Championship Handbook. All other determinations being equal, if two teams have met previously in a tournament, the visitor in the previous game now shall be the home team in the game in question.

Agreed to continue naming regional sites the Monday before the entire bracket is announced, although it would continue studying the feasibility of announcing both on the same day.

Heard a report on the number of teams with losing conference records that have been selected the past 11 years. The committee did not recommend any changes to the selection criteria to specify at least a .500 conference record.

Agreed to continue satellite uplink of video highlights from regional and super regional sites.

Reviewed an alternate championship format that calls for 32 two-team regionals and eight four-team super regionals. The committee retained the present format, however, noting its success in only two years of existence.

Heard a report from Dave Keilitz, executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association. Keilitz informed the committee that amateurism deregulation, baseball transfer rules and the recruiting calendar will be the topics of interest during the January 2001 coaches' convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

Approved a recommendation to increase team ticket allotments for CWS games and approved a new pricing structure for reserved tickets.

Learned that Bill Jensen will replace Jack Payne as Rosenblatt's public address announcer. Payne retired following last season after 50 years of working with the CWS, including the last 24 as public address announcer.