Feb. 4, 2002

CLEVELAND - Cleveland State and the Horizon League, in cooperation with the Cleveland Indians, have announced that the final three days (May 24-26) of the 2002 Horizon League Baseball Championship will be held at Jacobs Field. The first two days (May 22-23) of the tournament will take place at Mills Field (CSU's home park) in Strongsville, Ohio.

"I'm pleased and proud to announce that the 2002 Horizon League Baseball Championship will be held at Jacobs Field," said Horizon League Commissioner Jonathan LeCrone at a press conference last Friday. "To be able to give this opportunity to the young men in our conference is remarkable."

This marks the first time that a college conference tournament has ever been scheduled to take place in a Major League Baseball stadium. The Big XII Conference is also slated to play this year (also May 22-26) at The Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers. In 1995, the Conference-USA tournament was forced to move to Busch Stadium after three days of heavy rain left Saint Louis University unable to host the event.

"I'm excited to make this announcement today," said CSU head baseball coach Jay Murphy. "It's been my dream to have the tournament at Jacobs Field since the day I was hired at Cleveland State. It's an excellent opportunity for the student-athletes in our conference to play in a major league stadium."

Cleveland Indians Vice-President of Public Relations Bob DiBiasio pointed out that the Indians already have a strong working relationship with CSU and that "the tournament is another layer in our commitment to Cleveland State University."

The Indians currently sponsor the Larry Doby Scholarship, which is awarded to a CSU minority baseball student-athlete. The scholarship honors the former Indian great Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League. In addition, this marks the eighth consecutive season that the Vikings will play a regular season game at Jacobs Field.