SMU baseball??

[CA Mustang]

We actually had a team, and proved we would not support it.

The popularity of college baseball today is greater than it was in the mid-70's. As well, SMU has changed quite a bit since then!

Totally agree it has changed. Support overall is less than the past. When we had baseball, the Rangers came to town. Baseball enthusiasm was high. Still no more than 100 at the games.

How are you reaching that conclusion? Look at the attendance for college baseball. The new stadium construction (mentioned earlier in this thread). The expanded broadcasts of regular season and postseason games. None of that existed for college baseball in the 60's and 70's. What SMU drew in the early 70's is no more relevant today than telegram pricing from the same era.

[mrydel]

I mean SMU athletic support is down. Basketball is nice but still not a large as it was in the 70s and 80s. Football was never good and it is worse. Not many pile in for soccer. We are talking possibly hundreds at a SMU baseball game. Arkansas gets 10,000 for a no name team. You cannot compare SMU with a baseball team to the SEC that has about 10 of the top 15 teams in the country and unlimited resources. If I need to send this by telegram I will but you have to explain to me how you expect to draw up to double the school enrollment to games. The local population can go to the Rangers game if they want to see baseball.

[lwjr]

As much as I would like to see SMU bring back baseball, it will not happen any time soon

[fifty]

Yeah I don't think SMU is bringing anything back except various colored jerseys.

[gostangs]

Would argue with mrydel on the basketball deal. Never have we had more people interested in our basketball team, and certainly not in the 70's or 80's.

That said, we are 3X more likely to add Lacrosse than baseball.

[smustatesman]

In the early 70's Moody was filled to capacity for most games. It also held more than it does now. The team was not as good as LBs is on a national level, but then again the SWC stunk as a conference compared to others on a national basis. We were consistently at the top or near the top of this smelly heap.

[mrydel]

In the early 70's Moody was filled to capacity for most games. It also held more than it does now. The team was not as good as LBs is on a national level, but then again the SWC stunk as a conference compared to others on a national basis. We were consistently at the top or near the top of this smelly heap.

Agreed. I was only speaking to attendance as far as then and now and that is merely due to lesser capacity. The atmosphere and everything else to do with basketball at SMU is at a level that I have not seen in my lifetime.

[Charleston Pony]

[quote="gostangs"]Would argue with mrydel on the basketball deal. Never have we had more people interested in our basketball team, and certainly not in the 70's or 80's.

you must have missed the 70's when we packed more than 10k into Moody for big games. look it up. largest attendance figures in Moody history were during the IT years. pretty strong during the Dave Bliss years as well (when we were ranked higher than last year's team was)

[Pony81]

I remember going to an SMU baseball game in 79 at Reverchon Park. Maybe 200-300 fans. It was a high school game atmosphere in every way.

So I would not encourage scarce resources spent on BB. Lacrosse fits our budget and student recruitment profile so much better than baseball. If we have additional funding available then we need to make our existing sports more competitive.

[03Mustang]

I'd rather see us do something about football right now and also focus on long-term success in basketball.

Honestly, worrying about adding sports isn't what we should be doing now....let's make sure we have football in 10 years first.

[CA Mustang]

Arkansas gets 10,000 for a no name team. You cannot compare SMU with a baseball team to the SEC that has about 10 of the top 15 teams in the country and unlimited resources.

Fair point, but I wasn't claiming a baseball team at SMU would draw as well as an SEC program,

If I need to send this by telegram I will but you have to explain to me how you expect to draw up to double the school enrollment to games.

When did I (or anyone else) claim SMU would "draw up to double the school enrollment to games"?

The local population can go to the Rangers game if they want to see baseball.

By that logic, then why do SMU, TCU and UNT have basketball and football teams?

[mrydel]

I give up. Go ahead and believe we can draw for baseball when we could not before and have no indication we could do better now. I for one love baseball but I am also realistic.

[Charleston Pony]

I remember watching SMU baseball and sitting among about 150 watching Burt Hooten of UT/LA Dodgers fame mow down our Mustangs in the 70's. I agree college baseball's popularity has come a long ways since we fielded a team in the SWC days, but I just don't see SMU attracting any more than a few hundred fans unless we had a team that could compete for national championships. That would require a significant investment and I don't see that happening. Add baseball and you have to add softball. Where to build the required facilities becomes issue number one...even if you had a wealthy donor(s) willing to finance the effort.

[lwjr]

#17 Houston/# 7 Louisville playing AAC baseball tourney on ESPNU. Louisville wearing the early 80's style Houston Astros uniform.
Tournament is played at Bright House Field in. Clearwater. Stadium seats 7,300, it looks like their might be 300 people there. Cameras show as little as the crowd as possible.

[SMU1523]

Add NCAA Lacrosse... Would be great for the school, city, and the state. It just makes sense. There is beginning to be a lot of great lacrosse talent in Dallas and North Dallas. Keep the homegrown talent here.