2010 Schedules: Illinois & Minnesota

Illinois and Minnesota have both made their 2010 schedules known to the public. The Illini issued a press release back on December 8 and Minnesota revealed their 2010 docket on December 5.

Coach Dan Hartleb's side has put together an interesting non-conference schedule. Arguably the most interesting bit of all comes right at the beginning. The Illini are scheduled to open the season at home -- on February 20 -- against Bradley. The Braves, an appropriate name for a team play in Champaign in February, will also be at Illini Field on the 21st. Two home dates in late February? At minimum, here's hoping the sun is out those afternoons.

Another date that caught my eye was the annual affair versus Missouri. No, not just because the Tigers are rumored to be on the list of potential new members of the Big Ten, but because of the location of the contest. Illinois and Missouri will be playing at the (relatively) new Busch Stadium in St. Louis on April 7.

Other non-con games of note include: single games (at) East Carolina, (vs.) West Carolina and two at Coastal Carolina. Of course, there's the Big East/Big Ten Challenge opposition (Notre Dame, South Florida and St. John's) and a six game spell in Winter Haven, Florida.

The conference schedule has Illinois opening at home versus Penn State. Michigan, Northwestern and Purdue will also be visiting Champaign-Urbana. The Big Ten road series are at Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Indiana.

The first noteworthy item on Minnesota's docket is that the Gophers will be playing their entire home schedule at the Metrodome. Other than all but eliminating weather related cancellations (hey, it's not like domes haven't sprung a leak before), one wonders what effect playing the entire year inside will have on Coach John Anderson's side?

By playing all their games off-campus in 2010, I'm presuming that the rumors are true -- a renovated or brand new on-campus facility is (finally) being built. I certainly don't see any mention of either on Minnesota's baseball page, but why else would they spend the entire season at the Metrodome?

The Gophers will open 2010 in Florida with a three-game set versus Akron. Then, it's the Big East/Big Ten Challenge with Louisville, Connecticut and St. John's providing the opposition. The U will spend the next few weeks back in the dome. The Dairy Queen Classic will feature Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma State and Northwestern. (Okay, this year's DQC lacks some of the sizzle of years past.)

Harvard, Creighton and South Dakota State will be in the Twin Cities to play in the Metrodome Tournament the following weekend. Then, it's off to Alabama for two games at the Crimson Tide and four at Samford. There are other games on the non-conference schedule, but only two more merit mention here.

Louisiana Tech will play three at Minnesota including one game at Target Field on March 27. It's the lone home date not in the Metrodome for the Gophers. Wait a minute. Target Field isn't covered, is it? (A quick look at the web cam says "Absolutely not".) I hope the LTU folks buy some gloves at the airport. Finally, in early May, the Gophers will venture to Kansas State and play two versus the Wildcats in Manhattan.

The U will open their Big Ten campaign at Purdue and will also be on the road versus Northwestern, Iowa and Ohio State. Michigan State, Indiana, Michigan and Penn State will all get to play in the Metrodome in 2010.

Fans of both programs should like their schedule for the upcoming season. There are some fun (and important) home dates and more than enough quality opposition to give either team NCAA at-large consideration, if they can navigate the schedule properly.

Michigan State, Penn State Schedules Are Out

While I was busy preparing for turkey dinner and pumpkin pie, as if I need to prepare to eat, two more Big Ten programs officially released their schedules. Michigan State and Penn State made their 2010 plans known to the public.

The Spartans have a very solid non-conference slate next year. They will take on the likes of Clemson, Louisville, West Virginia, Mississippi State (twice), Alabama and Notre Dame (three games in South Bend). I'll allow you to check the docket for a complete list of opponents and dates.

Michigan State's first home stand in 2010 comes versus Oakland University on March 26. The Big Ten campaign will also open at McLane Stadium against Iowa. Ohio State, Illinois and Indiana will all travel to East Lansing. Michigan also comes calling, but as a non-conference game, on May 11. The Spartans will return the favor and visit Ann Arbor the next day.

Coach Boss' club will face Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern on the road in conference action.

In Happy Valley, the non-conference portion of Penn State's schedule features a swing through the Lone Star State. Coach Wine's team will take on McNeese State, Dallas Baptist, Lamar (twice), Texas A&M (twice) and Texas State (three times). Other notable opponents include Notre Dame, Winthrop and three games at three different venues versus Kent State.

PSU will return to open the home slate versus Hofstra on March 26. The Nittany Lions' Big Ten season will begin on the road at Illinois. Purdue, Ohio State and Minnesota will be the other conference road trips. Northwestern, Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan will make the trek to Lubrano Park in 2010.

What I like about both these schedules are the opportunities. There are games against some of college baseball's traditional powers. There are other contests versus solid programs that offer plenty of RPI-value. Both Michigan State and Penn State will also get a shot to play Ohio State and Minnesota, who we can safely assume will be the preseason favorites to finish 1-2 in the Big Ten.

Basically, both programs can play themselves into at-large NCAA Tournament berths with these kinds of slates. It's up to them to win the games.

Indiana, Ohio State Release 2010 Schedules

We can add Indiana and Ohio State to the programs that have issued their 2010 schedule. The Hoosiers made their new schedule public on October 27, while the Buckeyes' docket for the new year was released on November 5. Although, neither IU or OSU are able to reveal everything quite yet.

While official announcements have been made, there are plenty of TBD's on both schedules. Indiana has seven dates, all during their Spring Break Trip in Winter Haven, Florida, that don't have opponents listed as of yet. The Ohio State is seeking opposition on eleven dates, by my count. While this is not uncommon, it does make it more difficult to evaluate their schedules immediately.

Here's what we do know thus far. Coach Smith's team opens the year in San Diego with three games in two days versus USD. That's followed by a lone contest against San Diego State. Other attention grabbers from the non-conference slate include the Big East/Big Ten Challenge (the West Virginia game is the highlight for me), a three-game trip to Nashville capped by a contest with Vanderbilt, a home-and-home with Louisville and a midweek visit from Kentucky.

Michigan will be the first Big Ten visitor to Bloomington in 2010. Iowa, Purdue and Illinois will also come calling. The Hoosiers will pack their bags for conference dates at Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Michigan State.

For the Buckeyes, the non-conference highlights include a pair of games against Louisville (both in Columbus), the Big East/Big Ten Challenge dates (including an always interesting contest with Notre Dame and a game vs. a North Florida side that did some in-state damage a year ago) plus a three-game set in Knoxville topped off by a single affair with the host, Tennessee.

(As an aside, it should be noted that Ohio State has nineteen home games on the schedule in 2010. The Buckeyes also have eighteen games scheduled in Florida. 19 in Columbus. 18 in the Sunshine State. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.)

The conference slate has OSU opening the campaign at Northwestern. Other road trips include Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa. The home portion of the Big Ten schedule has Indiana, Penn State, Illinois and a season-ending series with Minnesota (that could be filled with post-season implications).

These two bring the total of Big Ten baseball schedules released to four. Michigan and Iowa had announced their 2010 schedules previously. Six more to go.

2010 Iowa Schedule

I haven't seen an official announcement, but Iowa has posted their 2010 baseball schedule. The highlight of the Hawkeyes' non-conference slate is a nine game swing through the Lone Star State. Head Coach Jack Dahm's side will open the year with three at Kansas before a four game series with national superpower Texas. After the Longhorn battle, Iowa will visit both UT-San Antonio (two games) and Texas Pan-American (three games).

The home portion of the schedule begins with a three game set with Western Illinois. WIU will also visit Iowa City for a single game just over a week later and the Hawkeyes will visit Western Illinois for a midweek game late in the season.

The Big Ten slate has Iowa opening at Michigan State as well as traveling to Indiana, Michigan and Penn State. Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State and Purdue will head to Iowa City in 2010.

Michigan Releases 2010 Schedule

The first Big Ten program to release their 2010 schedule is Michigan. The Wolverines have scheduled themselves quite a challenging road next year. Rich Maloney's side has road trips to Lubbock, Texas where they will face Maine twice and the home-standing Red Raiders twice. There are three games at national powerhouse North Carolina and a four game trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where the Maize and Blue will take on Coastal Carolina twice in what's becoming an annual match-up.

Of course, there's the Big East/Big Ten Challenge contests with Louisville, St. John's and South Florida.

The home docket opens with a three game series versus IPFW. The Big Ten portion of the slate has Purdue, Iowa, Ohio State and Northwestern at Ray Fisher Stadium. The conference road series are at Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Penn State. There's also a home-and-home with Michigan State, but that's a midweek non-Big Ten affair. Weird, but credit to both programs for working around the scheduling hiccup.

There is also a home-and-home date with Notre Dame. The usual in-state MAC opposition appears (EMU, CMU, WMU) as does a sneaky Ball State side. This is certainly a difficult schedule. One that could yield an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, if Michigan can win enough games.

Formerly Anonymous gives a more detailed preview over at MGoBlog and projects UM's won-loss record.