Conferences decide baseball champions this week.  The ACC, Atlantic-10 and CAA start tomorrow and the Big South begins today.

The ACC is in Durham and uses a round robin format.  Here is the schedule...

2013 ACC Baseball Championship Schedule

Wednesday, May 22
11 a.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 7 Georgia Tech (RSN)
3 p.m. – No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech (RSN)
7 p.m. – No. 4 NC State vs. No. 5 Clemson (RSN)

Thursday, May 23
11 a.m. – No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 7 Georgia Tech (RSN)
3 p.m. – No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 8 Miami (RSN)
7 p.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech (RSN)

Friday, May 24
11 a.m. – No. 4 NC State vs. No. 8 Miami (RSN)
3 p.m. – No. 6 Virginia Tech vs. No. 7 Georgia Tech (RSN)
7 p.m. – No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Clemson (RSN)

Saturday, May 25
11 a.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 3 Virginia (RSN)
3 p.m. – No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 8 Miami (RSN)
7 p.m. – No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 NC State (RSN)

Sunday, May 26
1 p.m. - ACC Championship (ESPN2)

Here is link to ACC Tourmament site...  http://www.theacc.com/championships/acc-baseball-championship.html

Virgnia is 22-8, 45-9 and ranked 5th and 6th in the national polls.  Virginia Tech is 15-14, 35-19 and ranked 21st by Baseball America.

The Atlantic-10 tournament is in Charlotte.  Richmond (13-11, 30-22) is the 7th seed and opens Wednesday afternoon against 2-seed Charlotte.  Here is link to the bracket...

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/13baseseeds.pdf

William & Mary and James Madison are among the 6 teams to qualify for the CAA Tournament in Harrisonburg.  Here is link to the bracket...

http://www.caasports.com/pdf9/2200585.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=8500

The Big South Tournament starts today and Radford, Liberty and Longwood are among the 8 teams to qualify.  Here is link to that bracket...

https://admin.xosn.com/pdf9/2200985.pdf?ATCLID=205569733&SPSID=25462&SPID=1992&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4800&DB_OEM_ID=4800

The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday.

Terrence Shannon transferring from Florida State to VCU to play for Shaka Smart has been rumored for weeks.  Now it's official.  

Here is video of a Shannon dunk from FSU's Seminole Madness...

Here is release from VCU.
 
SHANNON SET TO JOIN RAMS FOR 2013-14 SEASON

RICHMOND, Va. – Less than a month after graduating from Florida State with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, Terrance Shannon, a 6-8, 240-pound forward, has enrolled at VCU. He will be eligible to play immediately.  

"We’re excited about Terrance’s arrival at VCU. He comes from a very strong program and has had significant success at a high level," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "We look forward to the toughness and aggressiveness that Terrance will add to our frontcourt."

Last season, he was the Seminoles’ third-leading scorer (7.9 ppg), second-leading rebounder (5.9 rpg) and led the team in steals per game with 1.2.

During his time at FSU, he played in two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT. He earned a medical redshirt for the 2011-12 season after a shoulder injury limited him to just seven games.

The Forsyth, Ga.  native fortifies a VCU frontcourt that includes All-Atlantic 10 selection Juvonte Reddic, rising junior Jarred Guest and freshmen Mo Alie-Cox and Antravious Simmons.

Shannon joins four other newcomers on VCU’s roster next season. The Rams return six players from NCAA’s Tournament team. Sophomore Teddy Okereafor and freshman Justin Tuoyo have decided to transfer from the program.

I was honored to be the emcee for the Douglas Freeman High School Athletic Hall of Fame inductions Monday night at the Hilton Short Pump.  

There was a great crowd!!  Here was my view from the podium.

The class of 2013 included several great for athletes and contributors.  You can find out more at www.dsfhof.com

A new athletic program is coming to Blacksburg!!!  Here is press release....

Virginia Tech to add Women’s Golf

Team will begin play in Fall of 2015 as school’s 22nd intercollegiate sport

 May 13, 2013

 BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Jim Weaver has announced that the school will start a women’s golf program, which will begin to compete as a team in the fall of 2015. Women’s golf will become the school’s 22nd intercollegiate sports program.

 “I believe that adding women’s golf at Virginia Tech is a natural progression in our athletics department,” Weaver said. “Our new women’s golf program will fit nicely into the scope of our other teams and will only enhance the overall unit. Women’s golf in the Atlantic Coast Conference is played at the highest level in the nation and we aim to have this program among the best in the league in the very near future.”

 The school will immediately begin a national search for a head coach. It is hoped that the new coach will be named by July 1, 2013. The coach will begin work in the summer of 2013 and will take the 2013-14 academic year to recruit student-athletes and build the program. 

 “We have been working toward this day since joining the ACC, but wanted to make sure that eveything was in place for this program to succeed before starting this process publicly,” Weaver said. “Our men’s golf program has proven that golf at Virginia Tech can be highly successful.”

 Recruited student-athletes will start in the fall of 2014 and will redshirt in the 2014-15 academic year. The Hokies will commence team play in the fall of 2015 and become eligible for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship that spring.

 “This program will start with all the advantages available to top-level student-athletes,” Weaver said. “The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech is one of the truly great courses on college campuses in the nation and the included practice facility, with its state-of-the-art components, is the finest in the country.”

 The women’s golf program will share the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech and the included Virginia Tech Golf Team Complex with the men’s team. The practice facility already includes a women’s golf locker room and it features indoor hitting facilities, outdoor covered and heated tees and a full practice range. The facility also includes state-of-the-art video equipment and other modern instructional modes.

 Women’s golf will be the first new sport added by the Hokies since the school joined the ACC in the 2004-05 academic year and the first new sport at Tech since softball was added in the 1995-96 academic year. Virginia Tech will become the 11th ACC school to compete in women’s golf.