SMU baseball??

[SMULaxer]

Lacrosse is the spring sport of choice.

Rapid growth, very quality local scene, plus SMU is in recruiting heaven for east coast players used to shoveling the field

Plus we already have all the facilities necessary.

[PonyKai]

Anyone ever seen the SMU English hat the bookstore at least used to sell? Thought it was a joke when I saw it

[mrydel]

Lacrosse is the spring sport of choice.

Rapid growth, very quality local scene, plus SMU is in recruiting heaven for east coast players used to shoveling the field

Plus we already have all the facilities necessary.

I have never watched a Lacrosse game in my life yet fully endorse this statement. I know if is fast paced, exciting, low cost, and popular especially with the younger crowd.

[gostangs]

I hear good rumors in the area of LAX by the way. Don't want to get anyone's hopes up - but things may be afoot.

[Junior]

I have several times heard about the club baseball team but never any details. Who do they play against? Where do they ply? Is there ever a schedule put on Ponyfae?

Under NCAA rules is it possiblee to have D1 teams in some sports and D2 or D3 teams in others?

Home games (at least back in the '90's when I played) were at Revershon Park. Never seem a schedule on PF, but they do have a twitter feed.

Games are generally played against other club teams. Back in the '90's several guys got kicked off the UT D1 squad, and they ended up starting a club team as well. We also played against North Texas, a local over-30 baseball team (had some former minor leaguers on it from what I was told, and they threw some crazy junk stuff I'd never seen before).

Only made a few roadtrips, but my favorite was in Wichita Falls against Midwestern Texas State. Great field up there. Probably the most hungover I've ever been while playing.

Great times, though.

[StallionsModelT]

We would add lacrosse before baseball as a scholarship sport?

[ponyboy]

Baseball is a huge waste. Dying sport requiring unique facilities.

Professional baseball isn't a dying sport
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-theo ... th-2013-10

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/ ... re-strong/

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/MLB- ... ems-032512

But due to stupid Title IX, college baseball is:

http://azstarnet.com/sports/baseball/co ... 39bbe.html

[StallionsModelT]

I think baseball would a tremendous addition at a school like SMU. If we invested in the proper facilities and coaches we could be like Rice. Loads of local talent here in the Dallas area.

[gostangs]

We would definitely add lacrosse before baseball. It connects better to our future as a national university that aligns academically with schools that play Lacrosse. Also there are at least two other Texas schools talking about the same thing - so it would be a much cheaper scenario if that happened. The field will be under construction in short order just south of the Bush gardens.

[PonyKai]

Baseball isn't dying. All sports not the NFL are just recognizing that they're not the NFL.

[StallionsModelT]

Seriously what is the overhead on having a baseball program? Build the stadium ($30-$40M) and add the scholarships. I'm not sure but do college baseball coaches make a lot of $$$? I would think not.

[CenTXpony]

If we were to ever get a baseball team then I'd like to recommend Kent Murphy as our coach....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctFf91EUUTw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OMQPJhPqm8

[mrydel]

They do not give full scholarships in baseball so a player stills has to provide a lot of their own funds to attend. That leaves us as an expensive option. History shows us as having pitiful fan support for baseball. I just cannot see how it could ever be justified.

[StallionsModelT]

Build the stadium on campus and field a nationally competitive team. We could draw a couple thousand to a baseball game if we aren't totally awful.

[stc9]

Seriously what is the overhead on having a baseball program? Build the stadium ($30-$40M) and add the scholarships. I'm not sure but do college baseball coaches make a lot of $$$? I would think not.

Don't forget the $10 Million or so to endow the scholarships. So that number is now $40 - $50 Million. At the same time to balance out Title IX you will need a softball program or other women's sport. That could mean up to another $50 million. Where would you put these two facilities? That means investing at least another $10 million in property on or near campus. That is a lot of money to raise for an athletic department that still hasn't finshed paying off the Tennis Center, Golf Course, and has program improvement needs like a new aquatic center and indoor practice facility.

A women's lacrosse program would be cheaper to start than softball, because all you would need is the endowment money for the scholarships, but the annual operating cost would be higher due to travel. They could play games in either the soccer facilities or Ford and all it would cost is $5k in paint.

A men's lacrosse program can also use the existing facilities. It would need the scholarships endowed, but it would save on campus space and yet another capital project. This would allow the ADept to invest in the IPF or new Natorium.

I have written before what the conference options are for lacrosse. There are two further options. Now the A-Sun and Big X are sponsoring Lacrosse. We could probably latch on as an associate member.