California Baseball Team Saved, University Announces

Don’t call the Cal baseball team the Bad Luck Bears any more. The university announced Friday that the team will not be dissolved after this season, as had been expected when the team was one of several sliced in September in a business move.

Originally axed from the school’s athletic department in September as part of cost-cutting measures, private donors pledged $9 million, which was deemed enough for the program to continue. ...

Birgeneau originally told Cal baseball supporters they needed to raise $10 million for reinstatement. But with the late signing period for high school seniors approaching Wednesday, Birgeneau accepted the $9 million figure so any players considering playing baseball at Cal could move forward.

That’s incredibly good news for California fans in particular and college baseball fans generally. The Pac-10 (soon to be Pac-12) is one of the nation’s top baseball conferences, making it almost mind-boggling that one of the league’s schools might not have a baseball team.

Of course, the donations are just a temporary fix to the financial challenges facing schools like Cal, and do nothing to address the wider problem of how to not lose smaller sports as more money is poured into revenue sports like football and men’s basketball. But for one night, everyone who cares about college baseball has a reason to cheer.

Except maybe Arizona fans. The Wildcats face the Bears tonight in the first part of a three-game series.

For more on Cal baseball, visit SB Nation’s Cal blog, California Golden Bears.