(SB) Ongoing UF Softball Commentary

Does anyone know how Oxley does in travel ball? I know she's great at the high school level but that doesn't always translate.

 

9 Days to First Pitch!
Jaimie Hoover 3B/OF 2017-21

 

Single digits!

 

Alyssa Hovermale
2024-

 

I couldn’t find a good picture with her number, but I did think of featuring her. It was an administrative decision in keeping with action, Gator Softball website photos. It’s good that you recognized her here.

 

9 Days to First Pitch!
Alyssa Hovermale INF 2024-

 

I thought CTW did a master coaching job with Hoover. She came in on fire, looked to be a phenom, but then the wheels fell off. Little-by-little he restored her confidence and worked her back into the line-up with great finesse. It was interesting to watch and gave me even greater respect for CTW.

 

In the outfield, Jaimie was a gamer. She wasn’t afraid to sacrifice her body to make a catch.

 

The Gators’ TV Schedule:
SEC Network & ESPN Announce 2024 Softball TV Schedule - Florida Gators

 

Last year, our game with USF was televised on the USF network, if I remember correctly.

 

ufgator - No offense to Jamie but every fly ball to her was an adventure. As my old 3rd Base buddy said during the game, Skippy was making that play, not ----. She was not an outfielder but she did her best and did make some nice sliding catches.

 

She definitely was no Michelle, Kirsti, Kendra or KK.

 

Unless something has changed with our ability to broadcast multiple events on campus over a weekend, and I doubt it has, this year will be like every other. The last game of the USF tournament against USF will be on ESPN+. USF broadcasts only their games and no others. The Jax away game will probably be on either Youtube or ESPN+. Our home game against Jax will likely be on SEC+ as it is on a Wednesday and softball won't get bumped for something else due to our limited broadcasting facility (worst in the league) and our AD tosses millions upon millions at everything but spending the necessary $10 million to bring our facility up to par with the rest of the conference. It is highly unlikely that any games from our two home tournaments will be broadcast. Gymnastics, two basketball teams and baseball have a higher priority and we can't do 4-5 events in a weekend as all of the rest of the league can do. All of the California tournament will be available on Flosports for a monthly fee of $30. You get the entire tournament (not just our games) for that price plus several other good tournaments so it is well worth paying for it. Once March rolls around, virtually every remaining game for the entire season will be broadcast either on one of the ESPN networks, or SEC Network, or SEC+. I have screamed bloody murder several times to our AD to devote a reasonably small amount of money (compared to other issues) to fix our broadcasting deficiency and it falls on deaf ears. Never a response. This is something that would benefit every sport on campus and he apparently doesn't care. There is a reason why both of our home tournaments will not be broadcast (unless something has changed) and everyone will scream at ESPN or SEC and it is entirely, 1000%, our fault and not to blame anyone else. ESPN and the SEC or anyone else can't broadcast a game when the cameras aren't turned on. If we had the capability to broadcast it, as every other SEC does, it would be on either ESPN or SEC in one channel or another.

 

Anticipating someone either saying or thinking, "how does this clown know this broadcasting stuff". So, I'm now free to tell it all. While I have said this same information on a variety of forums in the past, it usually is futile as everyone then still blames ESPN or SEC. Why am I free now? Because my source is no longer at UF (went to greener pastures at Tennessee) and I can now name how I know what I know. I said the same things in the past but never named her because I didn't want her to possibly get into trouble by speaking so openly to a schmuck like me. My understanding is a couple years old but to the best of my knowledge nothing has changed and it is still relevant. Alicia Longworth was, at the time, an Assistant AD who had 100% control over what events would get broadcast on a weekend at UF. Alicia and I had several long conversations while she educated me on how this works. When you see a game, any game, around the SEC, the broadcast is possible and done through the broadcasting facility at the school. It is then provided to ESPN or the SEC or whatever and they pick it up and broadcast it. It is very rare that ESPN would bring in their own mobile facility, if ever. Most SEC schools can do 4-5 different events on the same weekend. We can reasonably do two. Which is why softball gets bumped for gymnastics, basketball and baseball. Every LSU softball game in February gets broadcast, no matter how minor. Same for most of the league. No bumps. Alicia was (and is, I'm sure) fantastic. So open and responsive. Sympathetic to my angst about softball not being broadcast in February. She told me her own father calls her and screams at her when a game he wants to watch isn't broadcast. Nothing she could do about it. Sometime around 2018 or 2019 UF was apparently willing to fix this issue and bring us up to par with the rest of the league. Alicia led a contingent from UF that went to several SEC schools to inspect their upgraded facility and determine what we needed to do to bring us up to par with the rest of the league. She named the schools but I don't remember as it wasn't that important to me. I'm pretty sure at least LSU and Tennessee and likely others. She told me they know what needs to be done. At the time it would cost $10 million to revamp our broadcast facility. And then Covid hit....finances went into the toilet...nothing got done....as far as I know, nothing has been done since. I can't emphasize this enough....the reason we miss up to 10 home games or more in February is because we lack the means to provide a broadcast to ESPN or SEC or whatever. Softball is low on the totem pole. All baseball games will be broadcast. The only solution is for our AD to devote the necessary funds to bring us up to par with the rest of the league. I have seen nothing to this point where he cares about it even though he has to know about it.

 

Last year there were approximately 53 Gator softball games televised one way or another.
SEC + 29
ESPN + 6
SEC 5
ESPNU 4
ESPN2 3
Flosports 4
ESPN 1
ACC 1

 

The AD is a joke

 

Yep. And it will be the same this year. The problem is in February where there are sports on campus deemed more important than softball and softball gets the shaft due to our subpar broadcasting facility. Last year the Bubly was moved to March and we got our games. Because it was in March and the other conflicts with gymnastics and basketball no longer were a factor. It is in February, again as usual, and we likely won't see any games from it. I hope with every fiber of my being I am wrong but I have seen nothing to this point that indicates the reason has been addressed.