Vandy must have 'neutral' stadium music as NCAA host
Adam Sparks
asparks@tennessean.com
It's going to be a neutral night Friday at the NCAA baseball regional game at Vanderbilt's Hawkins Field.
No taunting musical zingers when a pitcher gets chased or a batter strikes out. No excitement in the voice of the announcer when the Commodores make a dramatic play. No booming Admiral, the team's naval horn. No musical spirit one way or the other.
That's because, despite it being a game between Vanderbilt and Lipscomb, no team is the home team during the regionals and the NCAA doesn't allow home-team love.
What you might see is fans taking up the slack and doing the traditional movements — without music at all. And, you'll hear a lot of pop hits, like favorite Taylor Swift, and some organ music to break the silence.
"Even though the game is at Vanderbilt, it is technically an NCAA event," said Aimee Graugnard, who sets the playlist as Vanderbilt's assistant director of sales/marketing. "We can't do anything that is pro-Vanderbilt and against another team in this type of event. Everything is neutral."
Visiting teams to Vanderbilt usually can expect some light-hearted fun at their expense on the Hawkins Field sound system.
Give up a couple of home runs to Commodores hitters, and an opposing pitcher will be run off the mound to the tune of Daniel Powter singing, "Because you had a bad day" over the stadium speakers. Strike out against a Vanderbilt pitcher, and Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" may accompany you back to dugout.
But the playlist gets a makeover this weekend, beginning with Friday's 7 p.m. sold-out game with Lipscomb.
Witty sound bites will be replaced by Top 40 tunes. Playful jabs at the opponent must be subbed out for up-tempo pop songs and harmless ballpark organ music.
Think Maroon 5's "Sugar" or Bruno Mars singing "Uptown Funk."
It's all part of being a neutral host in the NCAA tournament.
"We will play a lot of Taylor Swift... ," said Steve Walsh, Vanderbilt's senior associate athletic director for external affairs. "There will be some Top 40 stuff and generic music, nothing that can be potentially construed as giving us an edge."
Limits to home field
Teams with exceptional seasons earn the right to host one of 16 regional brackets. Vanderbilt, the defending national champion, has hosted a regional four of the past five years.
The NCAA's long-standing rule is that host schools cannot show favoritism to its home team, including the sounds heard throughout the ballpark. Even the public address announcer must use the same inflection in his voice when introducing the two teams.
The NCAA even has representatives on site to make sure there is a neutral tone, and Walsh said there has never been an issue. After all, this is old hat for an NCAA tournament veteran like Vanderbilt, but the Commodores' ears still must adjust to the postseason.
Instead of Vanderbilt batters stepping to the plate to the tune of their selected walk-up song like in the regular season — outfielder Jeren Kendall's "Hip Hop Hooray" is a fan favorite — there will be silence to start each at-bat this weekend.
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"We always notice when those things are missing because we are used to a certain type of music when we go to the plate," said Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson, whose walk-up song is "Out Here" by Mike Stud. "But it's still just a song. It doesn't make that much difference."
Vanderbilt's players have adjusted in the past. The Commodores have advanced each of the previous three times they have hosted an NCAA Regional. But the sound of silence can be a little unnerving.
Lipscomb pitcher Ian Martinez-McGraw, who will face Vanderbilt Friday night, said his worst games occur when he catches the sound of a familiar song.
"When I notice a batter's walk-up song, it's not really a good thing because that means I'm not focused on pitching," Martinez-McGraw said. "I know our hitters love their songs. Since there won't be any songs for (Vanderbilt), hopefully that plays into our hands a little. Anything to take away part of their home field may help."
In fans' hands
When Vanderbilt pitcher Carson Fulmer, the SEC's strikeout leader, fans a Lipscomb batter Friday night, 'N Sync's "Bye Bye Bye" will not boom over the PA system. And if speedster Bryan Reynolds steals second base, Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" will be left off the playlist.
And if Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand leaves the dugout to pull his pitcher, don't expect to hear "Say Something I'm Giving Up on You," as the soundtrack for his walk to the mound.
"We understand it. They are just trying to create an atmosphere where every team has an equitable shot at winning," Walsh said. "They don't want the institution to influence the outcome of a game."
An old stand-by or two will still be played. "Sweet Caroline" and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" will have their place in the late innings, but the Beatles' "Help" will no longer remind the opponent it's losing the game.
Even Vanderbilt's bellowing naval horn, nicknamed The Admiral, will be silent. Vanderbilt's fight song will still be heard, but so will Lipscomb's — and both only once each in the first inning.
"There will be some things missing, but our diehard fans have the pulse of the game," Walsh said. "They have shown in regionals before that they are able to jump in and take the lead without any prompting of ours. A lot of their cheers have grown organically, so they understand that the onus is on them to carry the atmosphere."
In addition to past regionals, some Vanderbilt fans showed their willingness to carry on the beat at the SEC Tournament, also hosted at a neutral site in Hoover, Ala., last week.
When the Commodores scored a run, House of Pain's "Jump Around" did not play on the stadium speakers like it always does at Hawkins Field.
"But our fans still stood up and bobbed their heads and arms as if the music was playing, even though it wasn't," Walsh said. "They recognize what a regional is all about. We are well-versed in this by now, and I think our fans are, too."
Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
POSTSEASON PLAYLIST
Per NCAA rule, Vanderbilt and all regional hosts must play "neutral" music at their ballparks rather than the home-team friendly tunes in the regular season. Here are a few examples of how the songs will change at Hawkins Field for the NCAA Regional this weekend.
OPPONENT STRIKES OUT
Regular season: "Bye, bye, bye" ('N Sync)
NCAA postseason: Organ music
OPPOSING COACH VISITS MOUND
Regular season: "Say Something I'm Giving Up On You" (A Great Big World/Christina Aguilera)
NCAA postseason: "Style" (Taylor Swift)
OPPONENT CHANGES PITCHERS
Regular season: "Help" (Beatles)
NCAA postseason: "Space Jam Theme Song" (Quad City DJ)
VANDY PLAYER WALKS
Regular season: "I Walk the Line" (Johnny Cash)
Regular season: Vanderbilt Fight Song
NCAA postseason: "Closing Time" (Semisonic)
5 OTHER DIFFERENCES IN POSTSEASON GAMES
ANNOUNCING: Public address announcer must announce players for both teams with the same inflection in his voice. He can't excitedly shout a player's name for the home team and then deliver the opponent's name in a monotone.
DUGOUTS: At some point over the weekend, Vanderbilt will be in the visiting dugout. The team used the visiting side during practice this week to acclimate itself.
MEDIA: Post-game interviews are usually done on the field with fans looking on from the stands. But in the NCAA Regional, press conferences will be held inside Memorial Gym and closed to the public.
MERCHANDISE: Vanderbilt merchandise cannot be sold in the stadium. Instead, NCAA-branded gear will be sold in Hawkins Field and there will be a Commodores merchandise mobile store at Gate 2 of the football stadium.
TICKETS: Many fans won't sit in their regular-season seats. Postseason tickets are initially prioritized through the National Commodore Club, meaning some fans are displaced. Visiting teams can designate as much as 200 infield seats. Friday's game is sold out, but tickets remain for Saturday and Sunday games.
NCAA BASEBALL REGIONAL
Indiana vs. Radford, 2 p.m.
No. 5 VANDERBILT (42-19)vs. LIPSCOMB (39-18), 7 p.m.
Where: Hawkins Field
Radio: 560-AM, 95.9-FM