La Crosse, Wis. - The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has awarded the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse the bid to host the 2015 NCAA Division III Baseball Midwest Regional. UW-La Crosse will be one of eight sites for the regional tournament. The double-elimination regional with six or eight teams will take place May 13-17 at Copeland Park in La Crosse. It is the first time UW-La Crosse has hosted the regional.
The eight regional winners will advance to the NCAA Division III Championships. The finals, hosted by Lawrence University (Wis.), UW-Oshkosh, and the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be held May 22-26 at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis.
"We are very excited to be able to provide this opportunity for our student-athletes, our campus, and our community," said UW-La Crosse Interim Director of Athletics Kim Blum. "Copeland Park is a great way to showcase the talents of our team and the wonderful collaboration between the City of La Crosse, UW-La Crosse, and the La Crosse Loggers."
"Our program is extremely excited to host the 2015 NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament," said UW-La Crosse Baseball Head Coach Chris Schwarz. "We have worked very hard to make appearances in the NCAA postseason two of the last three years, and are looking forward to competing for a spot in the tournament on our home field." The Eagles began playing their home schedule at Copeland Park in 2014, finishing 12-4 on the season.|
2015 regional sites: New England: Eastern Baseball Complex, hosted by ECSU New York: Falcon Park, hosted by Cortland State. Central: Waterloo Riverfront Stadium, hosted by Wartburg. Midwest: Copeland Park, hosted by UW-La Crosse. Regional sites for the Mid-Atlantic, South, Mideast, and West regions have not been determined. |
Copeland Park includes an artificial turf playing surface on the infield, in foul territory, and on the warning track. A video board was installed in spring 2014 and the dugouts were renovated. In November 2014, a proposal from the La Crosse Loggers to expand Copeland Park, including two new buildings housing a ticket booth, retail store, permanent restrooms and expanded concessions was presented to the city of La Crosse. Pending final approval from the city, work on the $1 million upgrade will begin in early spring 2015 and be completed in May. The front entrance of Copeland Park and underside of the grandstand will also be renovated and expanded to create a courtyard atmosphere.
"This is a tremendous privilege for our entire baseball community to be able to host the Midwest Regional at Copeland Park and share the fruits of our collaborative efforts with all that will partake," said La Crosse Loggers General Manager Chris Goodell.
The La Crosse Loggers are members of the 18-team Northwoods League, a summer baseball league comprised of teams of the top college players from across the nation and North America. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. Players are not paid (this preserves their NCAA eligibility). Each team is operated similar to a professional minor league team, providing players an opportunity to play under the same conditions using wooden bats, minor league specification baseballs, experiencing overnight road trips, and playing nightly before fans in a stadium.
Copeland Park hosts approximately 200 events each year, including more than 125 games not involving the La Crosse Loggers or UW-La Crosse. Other major users include La Crosse Central High School, Western Technical College, American Legion baseball, and the Stars of Tomorrow. Other local high schools and youth leagues also make significant use of the facility.
In May 2012, UW-La Crosse Intercollegiate Athletics and the La Crosse Loggers announced a new partnership. The Loggers agreed to provide an annual donation to support UW-La Crosse baseball, which had university funding for its head coaching position terminated in 2009. In exchange, UW-La Crosse agreed to assist the Loggers in raising funds for needed improvements at Copeland Park, a City of La Crosse-owned facility that the Loggers have called home for the club's first 12 years.
"We feel that with the recent improvements to Copeland Park, and the additional improvements upcoming, we have one of the best venues for baseball in the Midwest," added Schwarz. "The La Crosse community offers everything needed to host a quality regional tournament, from the stadium to hotels and restaurants. We look forward to working with the NCAA to make the 2015 Midwest Regional the best it has ever been. This is an exciting opportunity for the La Crosse community and UW-La Crosse baseball."