Cricket clubs from 7 Big 10 schools along with 2 other universities will compete in the American College Cricket Midwest Conference Championship on Sept 25 and 26th in Columbus, Ohio, The Universities are: Ohio State (OSU), College of Wooster, Carnegie Mellon (CMU), U of Minnesota (UMN), St Cloud State U, Michigan State (MSU), U of Iowa, Indiana U and Purdue University.
Romel Somavat of Ohio State University.
Amidst the excitement of College Football in the Big 10 Conference there will be college cricket in the first of several regional Conference Championships around the USA this fall, organized by American College Cricket with the support of BIG League USA. The host of this ground-breaking tournament is Romel Somavat and OSU. Romel said “After the thrill of participating in the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship, the OSU Cricket Club is happy to do its part for the college cricket movement.”
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT E. GORDON GEE
Romel broke the news that “OSU President E. Gordon Gee has agreed to visit the university cricket field during our tournament on Sunday. Although his schedule was very busy (this will be the first weekend of the 2010-11 academic year at OSU and College Football is in full swing), but he has conveyed that he will try his best to stop by. ”
E Gordon Gee presides over a $ 4.3 Billion budget (which is more than the budget of the state of Delaware), and was acknowledged by Time magazine as one of the 10 best University Presidents in the USA. Time magazine said, at Ohio State University “Gee presides over some 40,000 employees, one of the state’s largest and best hospitals, a major hive of research, a small-business incubator, a hugely popular sports-entertainment empire, a large portfolio of real estate (including a small city’s worth of housing units) and a network of extension operations reaching into nearly every community in the state.”
RIVALRIES
Long standing college rivalries will play out on the cricket field, such as University of Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota Gophers, Purdue Boilermakers and Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes vs Michigan State Spartans. Carnegie Mellon and College of Wooster have started their own rivalry, in cricket, whilst a St Cloud State and UMN cricket rivalry is also brewing.
The Championship will be a round-robin format of 20 over games and the winner will be decided based on points earned for wins, run scoring & wicket taking as in the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship last March. This makes each game meaningful and for this first year, allows the Conference Championship to be completed in 1 weekend.
With the possibility that the national Championship in March 2011 might have a limit on the number of teams invited to participate, the competition to play and do well in a Conference Championship is extremely high.
TOP PLAYERS TO BE SELECTED
A special BIG League USA bat will be awarded to the tournament MVP. Top players will also be identified for other opportunities. Salman Ahmed CEO of BIG League USA said “We will provide an International platform for College Cricketers to perform and develop. Beginning with the ACC regional Championships this Fall, a pool of talented players will be identified from which at least five will be sent to train abroad with international players in countries such as India, Australia, England, South Africa and Barbados.”
American College Cricket Vice President Nino DiLoreto will be in Ohio to manage the tournament, together with Romel.
HOTEL
A suggested hotel-not far from the fields is: Americas Best Value inn. 6364 Frantz Rd, Dublin Ohio 43017.
614-764-4545. Rate $39.
LOCATIONS of the fields:
Emerald Fields (Dublin, OH) and Rhodes Park (Columbus, OH) will be used on Saturday. OSU Cricket Ground will be used on Sunday.
For Media & other inquiries contact: Lloyd Jodah, President American College Cricket 646 515 0712. Dogevpr2@aim.com