I kid you not, people.

The USA Today ran the following article today regarding Pat Casey and his success at Oregon State:

Click here for the full article. 

A few parts:

When Pat Casey took Oregon State to the College World Series in 2005 for the first time in 53 years, athletics director Bob De Carolis doubled the coach's salary. When the Beavers won their first baseball national championship in 2006, De Carolis doubled Casey's salary again.

When Oregon State made it back-to-back titles in 2007, De Carolis was in a pickle.

"We were tapped out at that point in terms of another major raise," De Carolis says. "So I gave Pat my office."

De Carolis says this from his cubicle in a trailer that sits by the railroad tracks adjacent to Gill Coliseum, home to the school's basketball arena and athletic offices. Casey now occupies what once was the AD's corner suite while De Carolis works out of the trailer as he awaits the renovation of his new space in Gill.

"This might seem a little out of the ordinary, but it reflects how highly I value Pat Casey and what he means to our school," De Carolis says. "If baseball in a northern climate can win a national championship, shouldn't the rest of us at least be in a position to be competitive in our own conference?"

 

The Beavers have future home-and-home series with perennial top-25 programs at Georgia, Tennessee, Long Beach State and Pepperdine.

Oregon State is at the front of a group of rising programs that are breaking into the tight circle of traditional college baseball powers. Louisville and California-Irvine reached Omaha for the first time last year, and that number could grow this June.

Vanderbilt, San Diego and Coastal Carolina are top-20 teams in position to crack the final eight for the first time. Missouri has a chance to return to Omaha for the first time in 44 years.

"College baseball is in as strong a state as I've ever seen it," Casey says. "Every team in the country feels it can win. There are a lot of people who feel (reaching the CWS) isn't an exclusive club anymore."