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Michigan and Illinois to Open Big Ten Play in Vero Beach, Fla. 

 Alfred Ezman - World Baseball Network  |    Jan 24th, 2025 11:15am EST

The Michigan Wolverines and defending Big 10 champion Illinois Fighting Illini have a three-game weekend series against each other to begin conference play.  

However, the weekend series will not be played in Ann Arbor or Urbana-Champaign. Instead, it will be played at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Fla., from Mar. 7 to 9.  

Holman Stadium is the old site of Brooklyn Dodgers spring training. It is named after Bud Holman, who decided to build the ballpark for the Dodgers at the site of an old World War II Air Naval station.  

Since its grand opening in 1953, the ballpark has undergone many improvements, including new seats, playing surfaces, and scoreboard enhancements.  

The Dodgers played spring training games at Holman Stadium until 2008 when they moved their activities to Arizona.  

Flash forward to 2025, and the Wolverines and Fighting Illini are set to play college baseball in the historic ballpark at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex.  

Last season, Michigan and Illinois did not play each other until the Big 10 Tournament in Omaha, Neb. The Wolverines won the game 4-2.  

Michigan missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season in 2024.  

Illinois made it into the field of 64 as the conference’s regular season champion. However, their NCAA tournament run was short-lived as Indiana State knocked them out in the Lexington regional.  

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Alfred Ezman - World Baseball Network