Temple University Athletics
BASEBALL COACHES ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF PHILADELPHIA DIAMOND FIVE
2.20.06 | Baseball
PHILADELPHIA -- The head baseball coaches at five Division I universities in Philadelphia gathered today to announce the formation of the Philadelphia Diamond Five. The group encompasses the five universities in Philadelphia that sponsor baseball--La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Villanova.
Formed with the mission of increasing the exposure of college baseball in the area, the Diamond Five will name its first-ever all-star team at the conclusion of the season. In addition, a player and pitcher of the week will be announced every Tuesday beginning March 14.
"It was hopefully a historic day for college baseball in Philadelphia," Penn's John Cole said. "I'm very excited about the enthusiasm towards the common goal, which is the betterment of college baseball in the area."
In addition to the weekly and end-of-season awards, there will be other goals of the Diamond Five. One goal will be to build on the current Liberty Bell Classic, a round-robin tournament in which local teams face each other throughout the season. The tournament eventually concludes with a championship game played at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"We're extremely excited about the Diamond Five," Temple's Rob Valli said. "Our ability to unify Philadelphia college baseball will allow us to increase the level of exposure for our players and improve community outreach."
The Diamond Five head coaches hope to build a stronger relationship with the Phillies and have each of their teams play one game against another Philadelphia team at Citizens Bank Park each season.
"The creation of the Diamond Five represents natural movement forward for college baseball in Philadelphia," Villanova head coach Joe Godri said. "I think it is a move that is long overdue and follows what is being done in other parts of the country."
Another goal of the Diamond Five is to enable the head coaches to work together to improve the community outreach efforts already underway at each school. The Diamond Five plans to host high school coaching clinics and instructional camps throughout the year.
Villanova (2-1) and Saint Joseph's (0-3) opened up their seasons this past weekend at Norfolk State and Georgia Southern, respectively. The Wildcats travel to #7 Texas, the defending NCAA Champion, this weekend while Temple takes on #15 LSU in Baton Rouge, La. La Salle opens this weekend at perennial Pac-10 power Arizona, while Penn is idle until traveling to Florida on March 4.
