SCC Update -  Baseball/Softball/Boy's Lacrosse Postseason Tournament Changes; No Changes to Football Divisional Format

2/4/06

Several items of interest were announced at the Southern Connecticut Conference Board of Governors meeting on Thursday, Feb. 2.

SCC Baseball and Softball Tournament Fields Expand

Starting this spring, the SCC baseball and softball tournament fields will expand.  The baseball tournament will be increased from four to six teams starting in 2006.  The softball tournament will expand from four to eight teams. 

“With such a large and competitive league for both baseball and softball, I applaud our coaches and athletic directors for instituting this change,” SCC Commissioner Al Carbone said.  “Our student-athletes benefit from the expansion because more teams and players will get the chance to compete for a SCC title.”

Yale Field Will Host Baseball Playoffs for 12th Straight Year

Historic Yale Field will host the SCC baseball tournament for the 12th straight year.  Yale Field is the current home of the New Haven County Cutters of the Independent Can-Am League.

“I think it’s exciting for our baseball student-athletes to play in this historic stadium and we are extremely thankful to the Cutters' management for keeping this tradition alive," Carbone commented.

SCC Football Divisional Structure Will Not Change

The Scheduling Committee, chaired by Guilford athletic director Chip Dorwin, announced that there will be no changes in the football divisional structure for the 2006 seasons.  The current four-division format, which was introduced starting with the 2004 season, was evaluated after a proposed two-year scheduling cycle. 

The SCC is coming off its best football season in 2005.   Five SCC teams earned berths in the CIAC playoffs and three won state titles (Hand, Xavier and Branford).  In addition, in two seasons of four-division play, eight different schools have won or shared division titles.

 “The Scheduling Committee felt there was not a compelling need to switch any football teams,” Carbone explained. “The decision was a good one for the league, and once again, the Committee succeeded in accommodating the needs and considerations of our member schools while maintaining the integrity and design of the conference overall.”

Boys Lacrosse Consolidates Postseason Tournament

After several years of having Division I and II postseason tournaments, the boys lacrosse coaches and athletic directors voted to have an eight-team postseason tournament that will decide one SCC champion.

“The decision to have one tournament champion parallels the growth (11 varsity teams) and the increased competitiveness and depth of our league,” Carbone commented.

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