Column: Pardon Me As I Hop On My Softball Soapbox, But It's Time The NCAA Treat The Sport Better

As I stumbled into my house after a rather rough workout at the gym on Thursday morning, my dad was in the kitchen packing his lunch – just as he is every morning.

Except this time, you could tell he was bothered and just itching to talk to me as he whipped around, stopping my beeline to the shower.

“Wanna know something crazy,” he asked me.

Before I could make some snarky remark about how I likely didn’t want to listen to his “crazy” tirade at 6:45 in the morning, he continued.

He told me he had tried to find the final score to the second game of the Women’s College World Series’ championship series, which had been played on Wednesday night. However, CBS Sports, his go-to sports app, had no mention of the game.

And my dad was 38 hot about it.

At this point, I was shocked.

I wasn’t shocked because my dad was lobbying for women’s sports – he always has. But my dad has always been grounded in the argument that, at the end of the day, it’s a business.

And you have to follow the money – which more times than not, is not found in women’s athletics.

But college softball might be the exception, despite its lack of nurturing from the NCAA and sports media.

In a report from the 2017-18 year, which is the last time the data was reported, college softball programs across the nation raked in $500 million in revenue – including 70 programs that boasted over $1 million in revenue.

In 2003-04, the first year the same data was reported, not one college softball program in the nation made $1 million. The sport’s 339.6% increase in revenue makes it the fastest-growing sport in the NCAA.

All of this accomplished with little airtime of significance.

My dad, who reluctantly admits to being a Florida State fan, was invested in this year’s Women’s College World Series’ championship series between Oklahoma and Florida State.

The fact that it was 9 p.m. before he finally called it quits and went to bed during the sixth inning of Wednesday night's game speaks a lot about a guy whose bed time is 7:30. And when Oklahoma evened the series at one game apiece, I think he was really looking forward to watching a winner-take-all showdown.

Except he wouldn’t have an opportunity to watch it.

The championship-deciding game for the NCAA’s fastest-growing sport took place at 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, making for an inconvenient time for the average working adult – my father included.

For the sake of being fair, a 2.5-hour rain relay in one of the semifinal games extended the WCWS schedule of games by a day, which might’ve have caused a scramble in media scheduling, but likely nothing that couldn't have been overcome.

But more inconvenienced than softball fans looking forward to watching the forced third game were the players playing in the forced third game. Every player in Thursday’s championship game had played six games over the course of five days.

Florida State starting catcher Anna Shelnutt had crouched behind the plate for six games across five days heading into Thursday afternoon’s championship game.

The on-field temperature in Oklahoma City was 104 degrees when Shelnutt was relieved of her catching duties and later seen in the dugout doubled over -- something that very possibly could have been avoided had the game been played in the evening.

Nonetheless, the blistering temperatures didn’t stop fans from showing up and showing out.

The USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City can house 12,000 spectators. And on three consecutive nights, every seat was full.

The sport’s following has exploded in recent years.

Take Florida for example: In the 2019-20 season (most recent season not impacted by COVID-19), the average capacity percentage at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium was 109.32% -- up over 8 percentage points from the 2015-16 season.

And Gators’ fans also have to endure the intense temperatures of the Florida spring when they come and watch Tim Walton and his team, which consistently competes for a national title.

There’s a lot of value in the sport of softball – all around the country, but especially in Gainesville.

Florida’s early exit from the postseason was shocking.

After taking care of business in the Gainesville regional, where the Gators beat South Alabama and USF twice by a combined 19-0 margin, Florida welcomed Georgia to KSP in the Gainesville Super Regional.

Against the Bulldogs, who the Gators beat twice in the regular season, Florida’s bats went silent as Georgia ran off with two straight wins 4-0 and 6-0.

In each of those games, however, KSP neared a sell-out crowd.

Through the course of the Women’s College World Series, ESPN reported historic viewership.

In game one, ESPN registered 1.8 million average viewers, with a peak of 2.2 million – up 37% from 2019’s game. Game two boasted similar results, averaging 2.08 million viewers and peaking at 2.6 million – up 14% from 2019’s game.

There is value in college softball.

And if my dad, who just started watching college softball this year after I started hogging the television remote on the weekends, can pick up on it, why can’t the NCAA?