off topic.......SMU Baseball

[ponydawg]

I have wished for years that SMU would get a team......but since it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon, I was wondering if anyone has heard about the College Summer League here. Highland Park has a team, the Blue Sox. They have a home game tonight at H.P. @7:05. I am going to go check it out, since this is as close as I might get to having a college baseball team. They have players from all over Rice, OU, Virginia Tech, aTm, ect....even have a couple of Horns players but obviously the horns players might be busy doing something else. Here is the website if you want to check it out:

http://www.texascollegiateleague.com/index.asp

please let me know if you have been to a game.

[Bobby Savoy]

I will also be at the game tonight. I have two friends playing in the game. One play middle infield for Texas A&M, the other is a catcher for Rice. Maybe I will see you there ponydawg.

[DreadHead]

You might also see a familiar face in Tate Wallis.

[50's PONY]

Are you sure -- Tate's name has not appeared in ANY box score yet!

[JayM]

Interesting that because of this league, looks like a stadium will be built on the North Texas campus. Article.

College baseball on its way to Denton?

Group looks to join TCL as UNTseeks to add program

09:12 AM CDT on Thursday, June 24, 2004

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Denton could soon be home to a franchise in the Texas Collegiate Baseball League.

And a team at North Texas might not be too far behind.

"We are looking to get a team in Denton," said John Hampton, a member of the group trying to found a TCL team. "We have been working on getting a team together since the beginning of the year and hope to make an announcement on July 12."
Rick Villarreal

The TCL was founded this year and has franchises in cites in the Dallas area, including Highland Park and McKinney. TCL teams feature college players. The league currently has eight teams.

Members of the group trying to found a team in Denton said they are considering building a stadium on UNT property. A TCL team would use the stadium over the summer, leaving open the possibility a college team could use it during the school year.

"I have said since Day 1 that baseball is something that needs to be back on this campus," UNT Athletic Director Rick Villarreal said. "I don’t want to say that it is definitely going to happen, but if we can help maintain a park and have a place for our club team to play that would generate interest in baseball and help generate the dollars to help us play baseball."

Villarreal named building a stadium as the biggest obstacle to starting a baseball program at UNT.

"Even though the budget of running a sport has a price, it’s usually whether you have a venue that determines if you play the game," Villarreal said. "Having a venue that is capable of hosting collegiate baseball would put us in a better position to bring baseball back."

UNT’s club team competes against junior college and small college teams.

If UNT decides to add a varsity team, it would become a part of arguably the Sun Belt Conference’s strongest league.

The Sun Belt has had at least two teams advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 16 years. The Texas Rangers selected New Orleans pitcher Thomas Diamond with the 10th overall pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft this spring.

Texas has traditionally been a strong state for collegiate baseball.

"All you have to do is look around at the other universities in Texas like Rice, Texas and Texas A&M and see the success they have had," Villarreal said. "You look at where all of their players are from. It would be a natural fit here."

The addition of a baseball team would also address what was considered a weaknesses of UNT’s program when the school was a candidate for membership in Conference USA earlier this year.

The league eventually invited four teams from the Southwest in two phases. Tulsa, SMU and Rice were all invited in an initial round of expansion. UTEP later received a bid after the conference also considered Louisiana Tech and UNT.

UNT fielded a varsity baseball team from 1984-88 before disbanding the program. The team struggled throughout its five seasons and posted its best campaigns in 1985 and 88 when the Eagles won 14 games.

Reinstating its baseball program would follow trend at UNT, which reinstated its softball team that last played from 1985-88. The Mean Green completed their first season in the program’s new era this spring.

The addition of a softball team helped address UNT’s Title IX concerns. Title IX legislation requires that women receive equal opportunities and treatment at schools receiving federal funds.

"In order for baseball to be viable here we would have to look at our whole program," Villarreal said. "It’s not something we could add and move on. Every time we make a move, we look at all the factors that would affect the whole program."

UNT could consider adding another women’s program to balance the number of female and male athletes in its program.

Ryan baseball coach Bret Warnack said a summer collegiate league team and a new program at UNT could thrive in Denton if a deal to build a stadium can be finalized.

"I wished for a long time that we had [a summer league team]," Warnack said." It would be an opportunity for our local college players, and kids would be able to see games."

There would also be a wealth of local talent for a new program at UNT to draw from if it fielded a team. Ryan has advanced to the Class 4A state title game in each of the last two years, while Ponder fell in the Class 2A finals this year.

There are also a number of top high school programs in the Dallas area, which has produced several of the top players in the Big 12 Conference.

"The Metroplex and the Denton areas have a lot of good players." Warnack said. "We have had some good players and so have Denton and Ponder. There would be a tremendous amount of talent to draw from."

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870.

[MeanGreenGem]

UNT could consider adding another women’s program to balance the number of female and male athletes in its program.
...................................................................................................



Yeah, like Ma Grickle's Sewing Bee Club.

I appreciate women's intercollegiate athletics more than anyone, but not the way Title IX has outlined it.

I am going to guess SMU does not have Men's Track & Field because of Title IX. May be wrong, but just a guess.

[DreadHead]

Tate has pitched in one game to this point. From what I understand, he has worked out an arrangement with the coaches so that he is not at every game.

[EastStang]

If someone donated about $40 Million so that we could add men's baseball and have funding for scholarships for women's softball and another women's sport (bowling???). Then we too could have college baseball. I think soccer seems to be more appropriate to our North Dallas demographic and thus we have focused our resources on soccer rather than baseball. Note for example that we are the only Div. 1 school in Texas with Men's soccer.

[ponydawg]

The game was a lot of fun.......Lots of HP families came out to watch. Lots of dads seemed to pop in with there kids for a few innings. I believe if SMU had a team, and the ballpark was in the same neighborhood that it would get strong support.

[Bobby Savoy]

I spoke to one of my friends that catches for the Blue Sox. He said that Tate had pretty good stuff when he pitched. The game was very entertaining.

Also, I definitely agree that SMU needs a Division I baseball team. There is no doubt. However, are you guys aware that there is an SMU club baseball team? They play other club teams from Baylor, North Texas, Sam Houston State, and other regional schools. The level of play is pretty good (obviosly not the same as real D-I), but its the closest thing that we have to a baseball team representing SMU.

[ponyboy]

Really? When and where do these guys play? Club level or not, I'd love to get out and see some games. (Heck, I would have loved to have played on the team back in the day).

[PonySnob]

How many fans could SMU put in the stands at a baseball game? We are lucky to draw 2,500 for mens basketball, womens basketball can't even draw 1,500 per game and even in football Ford Stadium is 80% empty unless the visiting team has enough fans to give us a respectable crowd. For some reason, SMU alumni really don't care about supporting their school. The last thing the school needs to do is throw more money at a financially draining department of the university.

[Bobby Savoy]

The club baseball games are held on weekends during the spring. Usually they play a 3 game series with another team (doubleheader on Saturdays and one game on Sundays). Most of the games are played at Lutheran High School or Fair Oaks park. They are a lot of fun.

[Mustangs35SMU]

For some reason, SMU alumni really don't care about supporting their school.

Ive said it millions of times and Ill say it again will you just get the heck out of here...You're always negative but then when (not if) we start winning again you're going to want to be the most supportive guy on here bull crap just leave for god's sake. I dont see you in those stands every freakin home/away game!

BTW Welcome to the boards Bobby Savoy hope you're nothiong like this guy

[RGV Pony]

Ponysnob, if in fact your take on "...the last thing the school needs to do..." holds water, what would be your advice on the first thing the school needs to do?