[Tuck4Bama]

This time a year ago, the Kansas baseball team was nearly 4,000 miles away, soaking up some sun, preparing for its season opener against Hawaii-Hilo. Today, however, three weeks stand in the way of Kansas’ perennial season-opening series on the Big Island.

What gives? The NCAA, of course – as in the NCAA giveth and the NCAA taketh away.

This season, the NCAA implemented new rules in college baseball, regulating when teams can begin practicing in the spring, when teams can begin regular season play, and how often teams can practice in the fall. Under the new rules, teams can’t begin spring practice until Feb. 1 and can’t open their season until the end of the third full week of February.

So, whereas the Jayhawks had weeks of practice under their belt at this point last year, today marks their first practice as a team since the fall – a change the team is neither accustomed to, nor fond of.

Kansas baseball team begins practice today : The University Daily Kansan