Rice field the ‘worst’? More like the middle

Updated: June 23, 2011 7:48PM

It may not be regarded as the Field of Dreams of the Southland, a distinction better accorded to the ballparks at Richards, St. Rita, Lockport, Providence or Reavis.

But to refer to Brother Rice’s baseball grounds as “by far the worst facilities in the Catholic League,” as Ed Koziol did in Wednesday’s SouthtownStar, would be inaccurate.

And petty.

First things first.

When it comes to the 16-member Catholic League, I’d grade Rice’s facilities in the middle of the pack.

They may not possess the panache of St. Rita, Mount Carmel, Providence, St. Laurence, Fenwick or Loyola, but the Crusaders’ digs are certainly better than De La Salle, Bishop McNamara, St. Joe’s, Gordon Tech, Hales, Leo, St. Francis de Sales, Seton and St. Ignatius.

Obviously, that doesn’t rate high enough for Koziol, whose son Ryan, a senior-to-be who has already verbally committed to Arizona, will transfer to a high school yet to be determined.

Let the free agent sweepstakes begin.

Just don’t expect to see Ryan suiting up in a rival Catholic League uniform. A move to another private school will require Brother Rice to sign off on the transfer. After Koziol’s remarks — that the move is specifically athletic-related — that’s about as likely as the Cubs winning the World Series.

“He took a cheap shot at us while he was walking out the door,” Rice president Kevin Burns said. “We realize we have a draining issue in right field. We tried fixing it last year. We felt it necessary to make significant upgrades in technology and to our science labs, too.

“But I never heard Ed complain about not having to pay tuition for his sons.”

The Koziols received a tuition waiver for older son Kevin, a 2010 graduate, and Ryan because Mom was the school nurse — and an outstanding one, according to Burns. Children of Rice employees receive free tuition. Additionally, Ed Koziol was a member of the varsity coaching staff.

Koziol’s comments are being perceived as ungrateful by the Rice community, both past and present, and rightly so.

“My kid had a wonderful experience at Brother Rice,” said Pat Gannon, whose son, Pat, a left-handed pitcher, graduated in 2009 and just completed his sophomore year at Purdue. “No way (does Rice have the worst facilities in the Catholic League). My wife and I enjoyed coming to games at Rice. Rice has put in a lot of its own money to upgrade the facilities. It’s not the worst in the Catholic League.”

But Koziol’s reputation may be. Even his former charges were irked by his comments.

“There aren’t many people who agreed with that statement,” said Rice third baseman Brian McQuillan, a senior-to-be whose older brother Mike, now at Iowa, starred for the Crusaders. “My teammates are offended. We know our facilities are good. There’s nothing bad about the facilities.”

As a matter of fact, Rice’s facility has characteristics — a Wrigley-like neighborhood feel, fans standing around the fences and the proximity of the dugouts to the base lines — that make it unique and charming.

Here’s a news flash: The school, at 99th Street and Pulaski Road in Chicago, is land-locked. There’s only so much that can be done, no matter how much money is devoted.

As it is, Rice has invested greatly in the baseball facility the past 10 years, purchasing a nine-inning scoreboard, brick backstop, batting cages, new sod in the outfield and press box.

Yes, Ed Koziol generously donated some of his money to those causes, but he wasn’t the only one, despite his comments that, “Unfortunately, Brother Rice doesn’t do anything to enhance the appearance of the facilities unless I donate the money.”

Even if that were entirely true, it doesn’t make Koziol bigger than Brother Rice’s baseball program. There’s a reason the players names are on the back of the jersey and the name of the school is on the front.

Sure, Koziol has a right to transfer his son — a great talent and nice kid — to another school.

But because of Rice’s baseball facilities? Really? So what was good for older son Kevin, a four-year varsity starter, no longer meets the Koziol criteria for Ryan’s final season?

Rice is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in academics and Ed Koziol is more concerned about the baseball facilities which, again, are better than average.

It’s a travel ball mentality, not far removed from, “if my kid’s not talented enough to make the team, I’ll just start my own.”

“It’s not like other schools didn’t have problems this spring,” McQuillan said. “It rained a lot. Yeah, right field was a little messy. But to say what he said was disrespectful.”

I can’t say I disagree.

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