SMU baseball??

[mustangxc]

Lacrosse is a bad idea. Bring back track!

[stc9]

Lacrosse is a bad idea. Bring back track!

What would you balance it out with for Title IX purposes?

[mrydel]

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.

Trying to figure out how you can rationalize this when we had an on campus stadium, we were competitive, and the Rangers became a hot commodity and yet we could not draw 100 to the games. What would you change?

You do realize that there would have been games this past weekend. Whoops, everyone go to Mardis Gras.

[PSCA]

Just like many things, it depends on where you are. College baseball is not dead, and in the right area … alive and well. Go to any games at USC, UCLA, UC San Diego, Santa Clara, Cal-Poly, Long Beach, Cal-State Fullerton, Arizona State, Arizona, UT, OU, Dallas Baptist (just recently moved to D1), LSU, Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson … etc. and many many more, and you will see 4-5k at every game. I’m old, … mid 50’s, played football and baseball at North Carolina … when it was a little more common … then you see now. But, back then, you could get money from football and baseball for a dual athlete. NCAA has changed how that now works, counts against football if you play football too, and other things etc. I think they called it the Bear Bryant rule. The Bear would load up track guys and you name it, all in the name of football.

UNC has one of the top Lacrosse programs in the nation and it is very popular. You don’t see a lot of dual Football/Lacrosse guys then or now. UNC just rebuilt there baseball stadium for a cool 12mm (not 30mm) … and a very nice facility at that. Lacrosse shares the soccer facility … a nice set-up, but not near the cash outlay. I have never seen 4-5k at a UNC Lacrosse game … but up in Syracuse in the Carrier Dome …. Oh heck yes … 20-30k. I’m bias obviously, but I would rather watch UNC play Clemson/South Carolina or another big match-up in baseball, then UNC play Syracuse/Johns Hopkins in Lacrosse. But, I like Lacrosse, it is popular and growing, less start-up cost (maybe a better ROI) … certainly a big Ivey League following. But, other than a few places, I don’t see it drawing 4-5k … and professional Lacrosse will never replace Pro-Baseball. But, for SMU, maybe Lacrosse is the way to go. Track is more $$ then Lacrosse. If you are recruited to run track (scholarship program), but also play football at anytime (the Bear Bryant rule) the money might come from track, you count against footballs 85.

They do have full scholarships for baseball … just very rare. I’m not sure what the number is right now …. Something like 12.8 scholies for baseball … and they carry 25-28 players. So, you typically spread the wealth and not load up on one player. More common to see a top player is his junior/senior year to be on a ¾ ride. I played in the DABA (Dallas Amateur Baseball League) in the mid-late 80’s. Played a lot of the games at Rivershon Park. Back then a lot of guys in the old SWC used it as a summer league. Our team was made up of … ex minor leaguers, ex and current college. Had a couple of guys on our team from UT, OSU and Nebraska …. Certainly the best guys were in Cape Code, Alaska and a few other places, but it was a good league with some good ball. Short fences, so Rivershon was not a pitchers park.

[EastStang]

You need a lot of cash to fund a college baseball team simply because you'll need to fund 1.5 women's teams as well. So, if you have baseball, you'll have to add like softball and women's bowling, shooting or something like that. Then you'll have to fund scholarships to be competitive. When we were in the SWC and had baseball, we had two scholarships (both went to football players who happened to play baseball). The school didn't take the program seriously and it was horrid. So, if there is a really rich alum who wants to donate about $40 Million to fund baseball and 1.5 womens sports and build a field/stadium, then we'll have a competitive program. I really don't want to be the joke of the AAC. I say this as one who loves baseball. But that's the answer to that question. It will only happen if someone has the $$$$ to make that happen.

[smupony94]

Baseball is dying support lacrosse

[Roach]

Lacrosse is a bad idea. Bring back track!

^^^

[mustangxc]

How is it that track is very expensive but not lacrosse? Are there simply no scholarships given out in lacrosse? As a university in Texas I really think we need to have a track team. Baseball would be nice, but track is pretty much a necessity.

[jpe747]

How is it that track is very expensive but not lacrosse? Are there simply no scholarships given out in lacrosse? As a university in Texas I really think we need to have a track team. Baseball would be nice, but track is pretty much a necessity.

I agree. If we add a male sport it should be track.

[fifty]

Agree. Isn't peter weyand like the world expert on sprinting? Would be nice to have a men's track team or sprinting lab in an ipf.

[mustangxc]

Agree. Isn't peter weyand like the world expert on sprinting? Would be nice to have a men's track team or sprinting lab in an ipf.

He's an expert on the physics of sprinting, not the physical act itself lol!

[Junior]

How is it that track is very expensive but not lacrosse? Are there simply no scholarships given out in lacrosse? As a university in Texas I really think we need to have a track team. Baseball would be nice, but track is pretty much a necessity.

I agree. If we add a male sport it should be track.

agree.

[gostangs]

We'll have a d-1 curling team before we have track or baseball. Next up is Lacrosse. Bank it.

[fifty]

Didn't we just win conference in track? What about men's track and women's lacrosse? Minimal financial impact.

[RebStang]

College baseball isn't "dying"... not even close. In the parts of the country that care about baseball, attendance is actually up over the past few years.

Baseball at the college level is a sport that can be cheap or it can be quite expensive... it's not like football where it's always expensive.

With a few exceptions (mostly in the SEC where about 6 coaches are making over $600,000 a year and the rest are making $400,000 or less), a quality coach can be had for about $300,000 a year.

In reality, all you need for facilities is a diamond and some stands and plenty of teams play in facilities that are basically that... UCLA won the CWS last year and played all their home games in a facility that seats 500 and is, frankly, a craphole (went out to LA a few years ago to see Ole Miss play UCLA in baseball).

Or, you can drop about $30-40 million and build a palace for college baseball. LSU's new Alex Box Stadium cost about $30 million. South Carolina's new stadium cost about the same. Ole Miss expanded their stadium at the same time and spent about $20 million on the expansion (seated capacity of about 9,000 with outfield areas that can handle another 3,000-4,000).

To me, the key to getting people to come out is to have a grandstand that is manageable in size and terraced areas where students and other fans can grill, bring in their own coolers, etc. That makes a baseball game the place that people want to spend a nice spring afternoon and drives up attendance.

The biggest thing that would hurt SMU in trying to field a baseball team is that there just isn't anywhere on campus to actually build a facility. That said, it would be awesome to see SMU with a facility and outfield areas something like this: