Oklahoma State lefthander Andy Oliver’s lawsuit against the NCAA could be decided in court Monday, but the Cowboys are no longer a defendant in the case.

An Ohio court dismissed the NCAA’s cross-claim against OSU on Friday, according to court documents, which means that Oklahoma State won’t be responsible for any monetary damages that Oliver wins in his suit. Last month, the court forced Oliver to include OSU as a defendant in the suit, but Oliver was only suing the Cowboys for injunctive damages to restore his eligibility. On Friday, the court changed its mind and dismissed Oliver’s suit against Oklahoma State, reasoning that OSU would also be bound by any injunction Oliver wins against the NCAA to restore his eligibility.

Oliver’s lawyer, Richard Johnson, also said in an email that the court cut the case in half. Oliver’s injunctive and declaratory claims (which would restore Oliver’s eligiblity and declare the "no agent" and "restitution" rules void) will be tried on Monday starting at 9 a.m. Oliver’s breach of contract and tortious interference with contract claims (which could result in a monetary award for Oliver) will be tried to a jury shortly thereafter, although the date has not yet been set.

By tomorrow evening, we should know whether or not Oliver’s eligibility will be restored, and whether the "no agent" and "restitution" rules will be struck down. See last week’s story for more on the "no agent" and "restitution" rules.

The NCAA released its annual attendance leaders last week, and there were no surprises. Leading the way was Louisiana State, which led the nation in average (7,590) and total (311,187) attendance for the 13th straight year. For the third consecutive year, the Tigers were followed in average attendance by Arkansas (6,968), Mississippi State (6,008) and Texas (5,976). Florida State (4,918) rounded out the top five.

In addition to boasting the top three teams in the rankings, the Southeastern Conference placed six teams in the top 10, with South Carolina climbing from 10th to sixth, Mississippi staying put at No. 7, and Alabama jumping two spots to No. 9. The SEC landed 10 teams in the top 25, and all 12 SEC teams ranked in the top 44. [...] Continue Reading »

The Andrew Oliver saga took another turn Friday evening, as the NCAA filed a cross-claim against Oklahoma State. Last week, an Ohio court required Oliver to include Oklahoma State in his suit, but Oliver’s amended suit is seeking only an injunction against Oklahoma State that would restore his eligiblity; he is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages from the NCAA.

The NCAA’s cross-claim against OSU argues that because Oliver was suspended by Oklahoma State and not by NCAA, the school has an obligation to contribute toward any monetary damages awarded to Oliver against the NCAA "to the extent that OSU’s actions have caused those monetary damages."

Oliver’s lawyer, Richard Johnson, wrote a letter to Judge Tygh M. Tone stating that the NCAA’s cross-claim is a frivolous attempt to delay the Jan. 5 trial date. Citing NCAA Bylaw 31.7.3, Johnson wrote that the NCAA "has no authority" to bring such a suit against one of its member schools, and that the NCAA "is required to defend, indemnify, and insure" member schools in these situations. [...] Continue Reading »

What’s next, Hank Steinbrenner and Larry Lucchino holding hands and signing "Kumbaya"? Hey, if Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Irvine can work together, anything’s possible.

The three bitter Big West Conference rivals are putting aside their differences to host the BIG 3 of the WEST Showcase from Jan. 17-19. Players will spend one full day at each team’s stadium, and at least one member of each coaching staff will be at each site each day, guaranteeing plenty of exposure for aspiring Big West players. It’s a unique one-stop shopping approach to camps that will lessen the financial burden on players who travel from other parts of the West–a significant consideration in these hard economic times. [...] Continue Reading »

USA Baseball announced the coaches who will be joining head coach Rick Jones’ staff with the collegiate national team next summer. Jones will be joined by Wright State coach Rob Cooper, Elon coach Mike Kennedy, and Louisville coach Dan McDonnell.

Cooper has prior experience with Team USA–he served as an assistant on Mike Weathers’ staff in 2007. Cooper and Kennedy both have history with Jones, as Cooper was Tulane’s hitting coach in 1997-98, while Kennedy was a catcher for Jones’ Elon team in 1988-89. Kennedy will serve as Team USA’s pitching coach.

This is a stellar coaching staff that should have no problem working as a cohesive unit. All three have taken their programs to new heights: McDonnell has led Louisville to regionals in his first two years and to its first College World Series appearance in his first season; Cooper guided Wright State to its second regional appearance in school history in 2006; and Kennedy is the winningest coach in Elon history, and he has taken the Phoenix to three regionals since 2002.

An Ohio court denied on Friday the NCAA’s motion to dismiss Andrew Oliver’s lawsuit against it, but ordered Oliver to include Oklahoma State as a co-defendant, according to public court documents. Barring a settlement (which seems increasingly unlikely after Monday’s unsuccessful mediation session before a retired federal judge), the case will go to trial on Jan. 5.

The previous week, Oliver was suspended for a year by the NCAA, and it’s hard to imagine him settling unless the NCAA reduces the punishment to something more in line with the six-game punishment Jeremy Sowers received in 2002 for a very similar violation. But the NCAA is digging in its heels, refusing to consider Oklahoma State’s appeal of the one-year punishment, according a source with knowledge of the situation. It seems unlikely that the NCAA would benefit from this case going to trial, where its jarringly arbitrary and uneven application of its draconian and widely ignored "no agent" rule would be subject to public and legal scrutiny. But after enduring six months of legal wrangling for violating a rule that is trampled upon by nearly every legitimate baseball draft prospect, Oliver might not be willing to settle with the NCAA at all, regardless of any reduced punishment.

Oliver’s attorney, Richard Johnson, could not comment per the court-issued gag order. We’ll continue to monitor this situation closely and provide updates as they become available.

A rising junior, Oliver is 13-3, 3.23 in two seasons for the Cowboys and projects as a first-round pick if he emerges from his NCAA ordeal as the same pitcher he in 2008, when he struck out 96 in 98 innings.

We’ve got a couple of interesting news items from last week to pass along. First off, Miami junior lefthander Eric Erickson had reconstructive elbow injury that will force him to miss all of 2009. Erickson, who went 10-4, 2.50 as a freshman and 9-1, 4.15 as a sophomore this spring while battling elbow soreness, ranked No. 84 on BA’s top 100 college prospects list for the upcoming draft. Losing him is a major blow to the Hurricanes, who appeared in our early 2009 College World Series prediction largely because of their one-two punch of lefthanders Chris Hernandez and Erickson, and because Joey Terdaslovich was expected to step into Yonder Alonso’s shoes as a power-hitting first baseman. Erickson is now out for the year, and Terdoslavich has transferred to Long Beach State.

In other news, the Texas Collegiate League announced it would expand to five teams in 2009. An expansion team will play in Victoria, Texas, in 2009. The franchise, which will be owned and operated by local businessman Tracy Young, will play in historic Riverside Stadium, which has housed Victoria’s minor league franchises in the past. The last minor league franchise to call the city home was the Victoria Rosebuds of the Lone Star League in 1977.

"We are so happy to welcome Victoria to the TCL," league president Uri Geva said in a statement. "This is a great market with a wonderful, historic facility, and with Tracy leading the charge, we’re sure that Victoria will be a strong franchise for years to come."

Oklahoma State lefthander Andrew Oliver has entered into a confidential settlement agreement with his former advisers, the Baratta brothers. Oliver had sued the Barattas and the NCAA after Oliver was suspended indefinitely just before the Stillwater Regional, after allegations had surfaced that the Barattas had represented Oliver as agents when he was in high school.

As for the case against the NCAA, per the Oklahoman: "The previous trial date of Dec. 8 has been replaced with a court-sanctioned mediation on that date in Ohio. If that mediation is unsuccessful, the trial is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2009. The case has been put under a gag order, and most of the evidence in the case has been sealed."

At last, it appears a resolution is close for Oliver, and for the Cowboys.

On the floor of the 2008 American Baseball Coaches Association convention in Philadelphia, several coaches bemoaned their lack of involvement in college baseball’s decision-making process and spoke emphatically about the need for a summit where every Division I coach could say his piece and hear others do the same.

That vision came to fruition this week in Indianapolis. ABCA executive director Dave Keilitz invited every Division I head coach to a two-day meeting in the NCAA’s home city, and the response was tremendous. Coaches from 164 schools and 29 of the 30 conferences attended the summit, which lasted from 8 a.m. to just after 5 p.m. on Monday and from 8 until 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

"The feedback we’ve gotten throughout the last two days was outstanding, so I feel it really went over well," Keilitz said. "I did not know what to expect–we’ve never done this before. My biggest fear was we’d throw ourselves a party and no one would show up." [...] Continue Reading »

A week after Pepperdine rallied from a five-run deficit to force an 8-8 tie with Long Beach State in a fall exhibition, the Waves cruised to a 14-3 win over the Dirtbags in Malibu on Sunday. Junior transfer Collin Rooney blasted a three-run homer in the eighth inning that broke open a four-run game, and the Waves tacked on five more runs over the final two innings of the predetermined 10-inning contest, with help from four Long Beach errors. The Dirtbags made six errors in the game.

Pepperdine’s pitching should be its strength in 2009, but its arms were far from overpowering Sunday, as seven Wave pitchers combined to issue 10 walks and allow eight hits. But Long Beach stranded 13 runners, while Pepperdine stranded just six. [...] Continue Reading »