Season Begins Under Cloud For Cogghe, Liberty
Matt Liberty (right) with fellow Chatham-Kent and AIB baseball player Tyler Cogghe – Contributed Photo
Earlier this year, it was announced AIB’s 20-acre campus would become a regional satellite campus of the University of Iowa, and that all of AIB’s more than a dozen competitive teams would cease to exist following this season. AIB is located in Des Moines, Iowa.
For Cogghe and Liberty’s baseball team, that announcement has resulted in approximately a dozen members of their team permanently leaving the school prior to their season beginning February 19 against Kansas Wesleyan University.
The AIB Eagles compete in the NAIA’s Midwest Collegiate Conference. Although Cogghe and Liberty will both have a chance to play out their senior season, it will be impacted by the change in the team roster, and possible funding from the school.
Athletes, including the school’s baseball team have participated in peaceful protests and made their presence felt at school meetings over the past month, in hopes of impacting decision makers regarding the future of AIB’s athletics program.
Liberty, a Sports and Event Management/Coaching major, was a MCAA Academic All-Conference team member last season. The left handed pitcher threw 50 innings with a 4.32 ERA. Cogghe, a right handed pitcher studying Sports and Event Management was also an MCAA Academic All-Conference player in 2014.