LANSING – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Greater Lansing Sports Authority and Lansing Lugnuts will officially unveil on Dec. 2 that Lansing’s Cooley Law School Stadium will be the site of the GLIAC Baseball Tournament, beginning with the May 2020 event.
The prestigious six-team, double-elimination GLIAC Baseball Tournament will be held May 7-10 and will culminate with the winner getting an automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament. The GLIAC, GLSA and Lugnuts made their formal announcement during a press conference at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, at Cooley Law School Stadium.
“We have been looking for a minor pro ballpark in a centralized location for our tournament,” said GLIAC Commissioner Kris Dunbar, who oversees a 12-school NCAA Division II conference with universities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. “We feel Cooley Law School Stadium perfectly fits the bill of being a permanent home for our baseball tournament. Lansing is a true neutral site for GLIAC members, easy to get to and a sports-minded area that sends hundreds of college-bounds students to GLIAC schools every year.”
Cooley Law School Stadium, which is home to the Lansing Lugnuts in downtown Lansing, was built in 1996. Jackson Field is a natural turf field with state-of-the-art drainage, and the park offers high quality amenities for players and fans. The Lugnuts are a Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.
“The GLIAC is one of the premier NCAA Division II athletic conferences in the country,” noted GLSA Executive Director Mike Price. “Since the 2000-01 academic year they have claimed 25 D-II team championships, 94 individual championships, and in baseball alone 9 regional titles. The mid-Michigan region has great familiarity with the GLIAC, having so many local youth attending and graduating from GLIAC schools, as well as student-athletes competing. I know Greater Lansing will embrace this event and provide an incredible environment for the student-athletes playing at Cooley Law School Stadium.”
“We are incredibly excited to host one of the premier collegiate baseball tournaments in the Midwest,” added Lugnuts General Manager Tyler Parsons. “We talk constantly about bringing more and more events to the stadium, and this is another great addition. This will be a great economic driver for the Lansing area and offer GLIAC fans across the Midwest an opportunity to visit our great city. Thank you to the GLIAC and Greater Lansing Sports Authority for helping forge this partnership, and we look forward to providing a championship caliber venue for years to come.”
The GLIAC Baseball Tournament, which was held at Traverse City’s Pit Spitters Park in 2019, Detroit’s PAL Stadium in 2018 and Xenia, Ohio’s Athletes in Action Sports Complex in 2017, is the annual grand finale of the league’s championship schedule.
“Not only do we attract baseball fans of all ages because of the high level of play, but the weekend is simply a fun time for students because classes have ended by that time of year,” Dunbar said. “This is a high-profile event and a memorable experience for the student-athletes.”
The six-team field will be announced following the final regular-season game on May 3, 2020. Ticket sales will run through the Lansing Lugnuts Box Office beginning in late April. Special group rates will be available to youth teams and local schools. Contact the GLIAC Office, 989-894-2529, or the Great Lansing Sports Authority, 888-326-5590, for details.
About the GLIAC:
The 12-team Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was founded in 1972 and currently offers championships in 21 NCAA Division II sports. GLIAC members who sponsor baseball are Ashland University, Davenport University, Grand Valley State University, Northwood University, Purdue University Northwest, Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne State University and University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Ashland won the 2019 GLIAC regular-season and tournament titles.
Web site: www.gliac.org
Facebook: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Twitter: @GLIACsports
Instagram: gliacsports
About the GLSA
The Greater Lansing Sports Authority is a sub-division of the Great Lansing Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. While both organizations are destination marketing organizations committed to increasing visitation to the Greater Lansing Michigan region, the GLSA is focused on amateur athletic competitions and events.
Web site: www.lansingsports.org
Facebook: Greater Lansing Sports Authority
Twitter: @lansingsports
Instagram: lansingsports
About the Lugnuts:
In 1996, Tom Dickson and Sherrie Myers launched their first minor league baseball team, the Lansing Lugnuts. Since then, they have been responsible for $150 million worth of new minor league ballparks throughout the Midwest and eastern United States. The Lugnuts are a Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays who play in the Midwest League.
Web site: www.lansinglugnuts.com
Facebook: Lansing Lugnuts
Twitter: @LansingLugnuts
Instagram: lasninglugnuts
