The American Collegiate Baseball Association

[luckymann]

In the middle of 1945, the Committee of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) convened at their headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana to discuss how best to proceed with College Baseball, which until then had played a very weak third fiddle behind football and basketball. The Presidents, Provosts and Sporting Directors of 162 American universities were invited to make submissions for the Committee’s consideration.

​The product of this colloquium was the creation of a new organisation falling under the auspices of the NCAA to be known as the American Collegiate Baseball Association, or ACBA, which would thenceforth take control of administering the sport at the collegiate level.

This is its story.

[luckymann]

I want to put this out there right from the start. If you are a purist and hold the NCAA, its structure, and the rivalries that have grown out of it dear to your heart, you may not want to read any further. This league is derived from the NCAA from the point when it started taking baseball more seriously with the introduction of the CWS in 1950.

However, it is not the NCAA.

I have tried as much as possible to keep conferences together. But trust me, as there have been months of my life that I’m never getting back spent on trying to, the constraints of OOTP make it impossible to mirror them precisely. The construction and evolution of this league is as close as I could figure it, and I have planned it out from beginning to end with the finished product in fact the starting point for the whole venture. But again, that finished product can only go so far to juggle the OOTP requirements and IRL elements, so compromises have had to be made with regard to the constituency of the conferences. And let’s be honest here, the organisation and its participants don’t seem to be too concerned about all that, moving schools about like pawns on a chessboard over the past 70 years and changing names like nobody’s business.

All I can do is assure you that every decision I have made has tried to be as respectful as possible of the traditions of this great association, its members and followers. I hope that is evident throughout.

I also want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to all of the various mods who have provided the graphics that I will be using in this league. I especially want to thank davwms for his superb work on the ACBA and BRL logos and unis, Ruwisc for his help with the intricate scheduling requirements, and ALB123 for being my beta tester as I've been readying this for public consumption. This has been a true labour of love that would not have been even remotely possible without their involvement.

[luckymann]

I have been a busy boy over the past few months. The fruits of my labour - in addition to working on all of the requirements of this new league - are now on full view with my new website, Out of My League (OOML), which will host all of my various OOTP (ad)ventures.

I will be posting an excerpt (or teaser, or whatever you want to call it) on here, with a link to the full post as it appears on OOML. The site is also linked to a fantastic service some of you may be familiar with called Stats+, allowing you to go into the league as deeply as you want: teams / players / stats / whatever.

Some of you might have been following my Footnote League over in the Historical Simulations forum. It has also been added to OOML and will from this point be run in the same fashion.

It's all pretty new and fairly intricate, and I'm no IT guru. So I'll apologise in advance for any glitches that might pop up from time to time.

Anyway I hope you enjoy all of this - happy to have feedback and comments on all aspects.

[luckymann]

Part of the ACBA universe is the Major League of Baseball, into which the ACBA will feed. This league (mainly because of concerns about the size of the enterprise, given the plan is for the ACBA to max out at 280 teams) began with 2 subs / 8 teams per, and will eventually assume a 2 subs / 3 divs / 4 teams format. I have made some interesting choices with regard to expansion, so keep an eye out for those down the track.

To give the MLB an appropriate history, I simmed from 1901-1950.

The results of those sims can be found grouped by decades on OOML, with statistical leaderboards both for each season and the decades as a whole:

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

You can also see the 26 players so far enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame HERE

[luckymann]

The ACBA will commence in 1950 and be conducted in two divisions, each consisting of five conferences comprising ten teams, making a total of 100 participants.

The Horace Mann League will be made up of the following Conferences: Atlantic; North; Northeast; Northwest; and East.

The John Dewey League will be made up of the following Conferences: Pacific; South; Southeast; Southwest; and West.

The season will involve a schedule of 88 games to be played Thursday thru Sunday over the course of 23 weeks commencing on the first Thursday in March.

An “All-Star” Game between teams representing each Division will be held on Weekend 12 of the season.

At the end of the regular season, a series of Playoffs will be conducted. The 5 division winners plus 3 wildcards will participate in these playoffs, which will operate as per the NCAA Championships, IE with a Sweet Sixteen, an Elite Eight, and a Final Four.

After that, the two Division Champions will meet in the best-of-seven ACBA World Series, with the winner being declared National Collegiate Champion of the Year.

You can see all of the colleges participating in the ACBA's inaugural season, as well as those in the MLB, AAA International Pacific League (IPL), A-class Liberty Brotherhood League (LBL), Rookie ball United Federal League (UFL) and College level Babe Ruth League (BRL), which features 12 teams from both New York (Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island) and Boston, HERE.

[luckymann]

And with no further ado, let's kick this thing in the guts (as we Aussies say).

[luckymann]

30-year-old Hofstra Head Coach Murphy McCormack stood at the window of his apartment overlooking University Field, a bat resting on his right shoulder.

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[majormet]

Originally Posted by luckymann

30-year-old Hofstra Head Coach Murphy McCormack stood at the window of his apartment overlooking University Field, a bat resting on his right shoulder.

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College baseball thread and we start with Hofstra... go Dutchmen (at the time) did you pick them out of randomness or a connection to the school

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by majormet

College baseball thread and we start with Hofstra... go Dutchmen (at the time) did you pick them out of randomness or a connection to the school

There are some storyline elements I'll be incorporating down the track that Hofstra suits, plus I wanted to manage a team that wasn't really known for its baseball program. And I've always loved Honus Wagner as a player.

BTW they will be changing their nickname to "Pride" a bit later, as per IRL.

[majormet]

Originally Posted by luckymann

There are some storyline elements I'll be incorporating down the track that Hofstra suits, plus I wanted to manage a team that wasn't really known for its baseball program. And I've always loved Honus Wagner as a player.

BTW they will be changing their nickname to "Pride" a bit later, as per IRL.

Well it's my alma mater so my fictional player in my dynasty here is from Hofstra, we have not put out many baseball players, pretty good at basketball and football when we had a program, (Colston, Chrebet)...

I don't recall a Hofstra baseball player ever making it to the majors but I could be wrong.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by majormet

Well it's my alma mater so my fictional player in my dynasty here is from Hofstra, we have not put out many baseball players, pretty good at basketball and football when we had a program, (Colston, Chrebet)...

I don't recall a Hofstra baseball player ever making it to the majors but I could be wrong.

Being from Australia, my exposure to college sports has been incredibly limited, and I have learned so much already through doing all of the setting up for this league. I am slowly researching Hofstra's history, but insights like these are great, thank you.

According to THIS page in Baseball Almanac, there have been 2. I had never heard of Brant Alyea, but I had heard of Ken Singleton. There are three others who played in the MLB and attended Hofstra but never played baseball there.

Which (I'm not sure that Hofstra only having opened in 1935 is something OOTP takes into consideration) makes it unsurprising that in this save's 50-year MLB history, no Hofstra player - as generated by the AI - made it to the bigs. A nice touch as it means the players I am managing have a chance to be the first Hofstra alumni to do so.

The way I have it set up you can dive as deep into this league as you want. I'll be updating after each week, with the full history done once a season.

Here, by way of example, is the Hofstra home page on S+.

[majormet]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Being from Australia, my exposure to college sports has been incredibly limited, and I have learned so much already through doing all of the setting up for this league. I am slowly researching Hofstra's history, but insights like these are great, thank you.

According to THIS page in Baseball Almanac, there have been 2. I had never heard of Brant Alyea, but I had heard of Ken Singleton. There are three others who played in the MLB and attended Hofstra but never played baseball there.

Which (I'm not sure that Hofstra only having opened in 1935 is something OOTP takes into consideration) makes the fact that in this save's 50-year MLB history, no Hofstra player - as generated by the AI - made it to the bigs. A nice touch as it means the players I am managing have a chance to be the first Hofstra alumni to do so.

The way I have it set up you can dive as deep into this league as you want. I'll be updating after each week, with the full history done once a season.

Here, by way of example, is the Hofstra home page on S+.

Wow never knew Ken Singleton went there, he was a top flight player in the league with the Orioles in the 1970's... Alyea remember getting his baseball card a lot when I was 6 when he was with the A's.

I was a practice player on the basketball team, since they only carrier 8 guys on the roster back in the 1980's.

To give you some Hofstra insight... Francis Ford Coppola went there of Godfather fame and it is know for it's film school... Jon Cooper coach of the Lightning was there when I was on a lacrosse scholarship, he never knew anything about hockey then.

Anyone good to see Bob Feller is going to McHebes and walking Hempstead Turnpike.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by majormet

Wow never knew Ken Singleton went there, he was a top flight player in the league with the Orioles in the 1970's... Alyea remember getting his baseball card a lot when I was 6 when he was with the A's.

I was a practice player on the basketball team, since they only carrier 8 guys on the roster back in the 1980's.

To give you some Hofstra insight... Francis Ford Coppola went there of Godfather fame and it is know for it's film school... Jon Cooper coach of the Lightning was there when I was on a lacrosse scholarship, he never knew anything about hockey then.

Anyone good to see Bob Feller is going to McHebes and walking Hempstead Turnpike.

Fantastic stuff. Love it!

Now what the hell does that last sentence mean? I am presuming "McHebes" and "Hempstead Turnpike" are Hofstra references? Hopefully you're not sworn to some secret oath never to divulge, they sound fascinating! (EDIT Google maps has enlightened me on the Turnpike - now what about McHebes?)

G

[majormet]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Fantastic stuff. Love it!

Now what the hell does that last sentence mean? I am presuming "McHebes" and "Hempstead Turnpike" are Hofstra references? Hopefully you're not sworn to some secret oath never to divulge, they sound fascinating! (EDIT Google maps has enlightened me on the Turnpike - now what about McHebes?)

G

McHebes is the college off campus bar which has been there since the 1970's I was a DJ there in the 80's but it still stands today I believe. The other thing noteworthy is that a lot of the presidential debates are held there.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by majormet

McHebes is the college off campus bar which has been there since the 1970's I was a DJ there in the 80's but it still stands today I believe. The other thing noteworthy is that a lot of the presidential debates are held there.

It looks positively charming! The juxtaposition with Charles Lindbergh Drive really tickles my sense of humour...

[ALB123]

Ahhhh! It's alive!!!

Congratulations on officially launching this enormous project. It's been such a pleasure to peek behind the curtains, knowing what was on the way and it's been my pleasure assisting you in any way that I have.

I spoke to my bookie and he doesn't seem to be taking any action on ACBA wagers, at the moment. He said he was aware of the upcoming launch and I wouldn't be surprised if started running book on the various teams and leagues listed within. No doubt, the heavy hitters in Vegas are working 24/7 to put together some run lines, totals, and money lines

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by ALB123

Ahhhh! It's alive!!!

Congratulations on officially launching this enormous project. It's been such a pleasure to peek behind the curtains, knowing what was on the way and it's been my pleasure assisting you in any way that I have.

I spoke to my bookie and he doesn't seem to be taking any action on ACBA wagers, at the moment. He said he was aware of the upcoming launch and I wouldn't be surprised if started running book on the various teams and leagues listed within. No doubt, the heavy hitters in Vegas are working 24/7 to put together some run lines, totals, and money lines

Thanks bud, and thanks again for your help, it has been integral to getting this spruce goose airbound.

The integrity of this league is paramount, therefore all legal wagering on it has been forbidden by the ACBA Committee. So you might have to go a bit off-piste to get set. I may have a guy...

[luckymann]

As I have already encountered with Majormet, I suspect one of the key points of interest in this league will be following one's alma mater throughout the ACBA competition. With so much information at one's disposal - and, as with OOTP, the Stats+ page favouring the MLB level above all else - it can be difficult to find exactly what you want if what you want is access to the college teams. So I thought I'd give you a few pointers to shortcut this process.

Basically there are two ways to locate any of the ACBA teams: one direct, the other indirect.

The direct way is to go straight to the S+ page for the ACBA, which can be found HERE. Go to the LINKS menu at the top of the page and select ACBA ROSTERS. Then on this page simply select the team you are looking for from the dropdown menu on the left. For reports / standings / news and the like, choose OOTP Team Page just above the dropdown and this will give you full access to all of the various reports you'd be familiar with from your own saves. These are current up to the latest upload, which will be done at the end of each weekend's games. Play around and you'll figure out where to look for whatever you're looking for, if you get my drift. If these reports are more your style, the league reports home page can be accessed HERE directly to save you a couple of steps.

The indirect method involves a couple of extra steps but gets you to the same page eventually. Go to ACBA Teams on Out of My League and then click on the logo of whichever team you're after. This will forward you to the page mentioned above.

It's a tad complicated, but well worth it if you want full immersion.

Hope that helps.

G

[luckymann]

Plenty of excitement and good old college spirit around the nation’s campuses as the ACBA kicked off its inaugural season. And what a fascinating start to this competition it was.

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[luckymann]

Here are the top 25 ranked teams in the ACBA after Week 1.

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