For the first time in the 13-year history of the Big Ten tournament, Northwestern will be hosting seven other teams to decide the conference championship this weekend.
And while the Wildcats are rejoicing, every other program must be disappointed as hell and rightly hoping NU falls flat on its face.
With all due respect to the legacy of former coach Sharon Drysdale, NU has some of the worst softball facilities in the Big Ten. Drysdale Field is at best a decent high school facility, but NU has plenty more of those – just check out Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Iowa and Michigan, which have hosted every tournament except this one, own some of the Taj Mahals of the Midwest. The Wolverines and Hawkeyes even have (gasp!) press boxes, lights and permanent, stadium-style seating. All NU has to show for itself are a set of bleachers bolted to the ground, a few Little League bleachers scattered about and three lousy indoor batting cages in the back corner of the field house in McGaw Hall.
Athletic Director Mark Murphy described the “intimate setting” of Drysdale Field earlier this week in an interview with The Daily. Intimate is one word you can use; however, I only think of small, inadequate and out-dated when it comes to NU’s softball facilities.
The Cats were first given the opportunity to host a large-scale event at Drysdale Field last spring. After winning their NCAA Regionals bracket, NU had the honor of home-field advantage for its Super Regionals matchup with local rival DePaul. The Cats had to decline, however, citing construction on the football practice field adjacent to Drysdale Field.
In reality, NU saying it couldn’t host the Super Regionals last year because of construction is the equivalent of someone saying she missed her game because of a skinned elbow when in actuality she has a broken leg.
It’s BS, but it was also the right call not to host. And the athletic department should have declined this time around, too.
The Big Ten tournament does not belong at NU, let alone a Regional tournament or a Super Regional.
That’s why coach Kate Drohan has the greatest leverage right now to get a state-of-the-art complex built to house the growing national powerhouse that NU softball is becoming.
Can you imagine Arizona or UCLA, two of the established elites in softball, playing at Drysdale Field? Of course not, because they currently play at stadiums that hold more than a 1,000 spectators.
But with an athletic department that hardly supports its men’s basketball program, this all may be wishful thinking. I hope not, though. I hope some wise planner has been setting aside funds to finance an upgrade on the softball facilities that is only a pipe dream at the moment.
It’s about time Drohan and the softball program she has worked tirelessly to assemble saw some recognition for their efforts. The Cats have become the class of the Big Ten. Now it’s time for their home field to reflect that.
And as terrible as it sounds, maybe a miserable failure as hosts to the conference this weekend is the only way to incite change.
Sports editor Zach Silka is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].
