I know, I know, but seriously… Bring Back Baseball

[Clonefan94]

Depends on when in the 90s. Mid-90s were probably the lowpoint for baseball. Post-strike it was really hurting. Got a big boost from the McGuire and Sosa roid homer chase, but dropped again in the early 2000s. To the point they were close to contracting the league and killing the Twins and maybe more teams.

It’s in the best shape it has been in a long time.

TV numbers were really good in 2024 and 2025. Attendance has been up. Even the World Baseball Classic pulled good numbers. US-Venezuela got almost 11 million viewers. It’s never going to be as popular as the glory days but having double digit TV growth has it on a trajectory that’s better than most.

Rule changes have been great. Games move way faster. Big stars that are international have helped as well.

Sorry, early '90s, I had graduated just before the Strike. Either way, I went to a couple of games while at ISU and no one was ever at the games, even on nice days. I was a big baseball fan back then and remember thinking how sad it was. Then again I went to school when no one went to the football games either. They didn't just let you back in after half-time, they quit checking tickets at half time. Basketball was the only thing we had.

 

[NetflixAndClone]

Hockey has existing infrastructure as well. Ames has a rink. Des Moines has an AHL level facility at Wells Fargo. You can play it regardless of weather. There’s a hotbed of talent in neighboring states.

Oh absolutely, my cousin coached hockey in Ames before moving back to Minnesota to coach. Iowa State actually had a contingency plan to start a D1 program which includes expanding the Ames rink(the university is joint owners) with a practice rink, expand the locker rooms and capacity.

Of course, this was back in the late 2010s, so things have changed, but JP told my fraternity buddy who was president of the club baseball team at the time that Hockey was more likely to be added over Baseball.

Iowa State is closer to the hotbed of Minnesota hockey talent (which produces the most NHL American talent) than many of the other Minnesota D1 teams and surrounding states. IIRC Iowa State club hockey currently has the most final fours in club hockey right now. Penn State and Lindenwood have jumped from club to D1 in the last 10 years and at least Penn State became a top 25 program instantly. I think ISU would see similar success to Penn St. However, again I don't think it is worth the cost.

 

[MugNight]

Oh absolutely, my cousin coached hockey in Ames before moving back to Minnesota to coach. Iowa State actually had a contingency plan to start a D1 program which includes expanding the Ames rink(the university is joint owners) with a practice rink, expand the locker rooms and capacity.

Of course, this was back in the late 2010s, so things have changed, but JP told my fraternity buddy who was president of the club baseball team at the time that Hockey was more likely to be added over Baseball.

Iowa State is closer to the hotbed of Minnesota hockey talent (which produces the most NHL American talent) than many of the other Minnesota D1 teams and surrounding states. IIRC Iowa State club hockey currently has the most final fours in club hockey right now. Penn State and Lindenwood have jumped from club to D1 in the last 10 years and at least Penn State became a top 25 program instantly. I think ISU would see similar success to Penn St. However, again I don't think it is worth the cost.

The jump from Club to D1 surely adds costs, though I think there’s an angle where the club team has some experience self fundraising (NIL). Not a like for like for wrestling, but in the same vein.

Hockey opens the door for a women’s program as well. Culturally it just makes more sense than baseball, and I say that as a huge baseball fan.

Maybe there’s a play where CyTown has a mixed use indoor arena for hockey and entertainment… which is probably Hilton getting ice capability. Some NHL and NBA teams do the same thing.

 

[BCClone]

Oh absolutely, my cousin coached hockey in Ames before moving back to Minnesota to coach. Iowa State actually had a contingency plan to start a D1 program which includes expanding the Ames rink(the university is joint owners) with a practice rink, expand the locker rooms and capacity.

Of course, this was back in the late 2010s, so things have changed, but JP told my fraternity buddy who was president of the club baseball team at the time that Hockey was more likely to be added over Baseball.

Iowa State is closer to the hotbed of Minnesota hockey talent (which produces the most NHL American talent) than many of the other Minnesota D1 teams and surrounding states. IIRC Iowa State club hockey currently has the most final fours in club hockey right now. Penn State and Lindenwood have jumped from club to D1 in the last 10 years and at least Penn State became a top 25 program instantly. I think ISU would see similar success to Penn St. However, again I don't think it is worth the cost.

And for people who don’t know, for hockey, you are either D1 or club level. There are no G5s or FCS level hockey teams. Schools like Mankato state and Duluth are D1. So club is like the step below D1

 

[AuH2O]

The problem with college baseball is its played in the spring. As long it continues to be played in the spring. Instead of the summer, you'll see more northern schools dropping it.

No power conference school has dropped it since ISU. A couple in the MAC and MWC type conferences in the past 20 years or so have dropped it. But this really isn't a thing that's happening.

Clearly baseball is way more popular in the south than the north. A lot is tradition, but as far as attendance goes, baseball is about enjoying a night outside as much as anything. Not too fun in most of March in Iowa.

But I think we're in a major bubble being in Iowa, where we think baseball and wrestling (or other sports outside of FB and BB) are all similar. It's just not the case. Iowa, ISU, and UNI are #1, 4 and 6 in attendance in wrestling. There are 4 schools that average 5k or more in attendance, with ISU being 4th at just over 5k. And then figure that's over what, 6-7 home duals? Nationally baseball is a pretty clear #3 beh

In baseball there are probably 25-30 schools that average over 3000 fans for 25-30 home games over a season, and maybe 15-20 that average over 4000 per game. and maybe 25 or so that are 300+. These are overwhelmingly in the south, of course.

Either way, baseball doesn't really make sense at ISU. And I feel confident I'm in like the top 5% of population in terms of college baseball interest.

 

[ZorkClone]

Oh absolutely, my cousin coached hockey in Ames before moving back to Minnesota to coach. Iowa State actually had a contingency plan to start a D1 program which includes expanding the Ames rink(the university is joint owners) with a practice rink, expand the locker rooms and capacity.

Of course, this was back in the late 2010s, so things have changed, but JP told my fraternity buddy who was president of the club baseball team at the time that Hockey was more likely to be added over Baseball.

Iowa State is closer to the hotbed of Minnesota hockey talent (which produces the most NHL American talent) than many of the other Minnesota D1 teams and surrounding states. IIRC Iowa State club hockey currently has the most final fours in club hockey right now. Penn State and Lindenwood have jumped from club to D1 in the last 10 years and at least Penn State became a top 25 program instantly. I think ISU would see similar success to Penn St. However, again I don't think it is worth the cost.

For cost expectations in FY 2025, Minnesota Hockey made $9,719,421 and spent $6,963,571.

Wisconsin Hockey in FY 2025 made $2,750,383 and spent $4,061,979.

It seems unlikely ISU would make that much money and would have to spend in the $3-5 million mark. So probably more expensive than baseball.

 

[Challenger06]

And for people who don’t know, for hockey, you are either D1 or club level. There are no G5s or FCS level hockey teams. Schools like Mankato state and Duluth are D1. So club is like the step below D1

Not true at all. NCAA Div III hockey just had their national championship a couple of weeks ago.
For example Div III hockey schools in Minnesota, off the top of my head: St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, Concordia, Bethel.
Wisconsin has many also.

 

[BCClone]

Not true at all. NCAA Div III hockey just had their national championship a couple of weeks ago.
For example Div III hockey schools in Minnesota, off the top of my head: St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, Concordia, Bethel.
Wisconsin has many also.

D3 is non scholarship. No way a major school would look at D3 hockey. It’s High school level.