Another men's sport that might make sense would be men's volleyball. Given the weather in Ames, an indoor spring sport makes more sense than an outdoor one.
Not saying to bring back baseball
- Thread starter BCClone
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With a relative lack of competitive boys volleyball in Iowa I would think soccer would make more sense. There are boys playing soccer everywhere in the midwest and unlike baseball, you can play it in wind, rain and snow.
True. And of course, everyone here hates the Chicago suburbs, so of course you don't want to recruit from there. /s But my daughter's high school won a national title in the sport just six years ago. And Illinois is very strong in the sport in general. Missouri, Ohio, and Indiana are very good too. There's definitely talent in the Midwest to draw from.
I would love to see hockey get a look. The Frozen Four can get down right crazy.
As far as conference issues, no one else in the Big 12 has hockey, so we could join the Big 10 as an associate member. They currently have 7 schools fielding hockey teams, including Notre Dame as an associate, so it isnt without precedent.
As far as conference issues, no one else in the Big 12 has hockey, so we could join the Big 10 as an associate member. They currently have 7 schools fielding hockey teams, including Notre Dame as an associate, so it isnt without precedent.
Didn’t students recently repair the baseball field? It’s dissappointing Iowa State doesn’t have a baseball team, but I am hopeful it gets reinstated at some point in my lifetime. With the Big 12 fielding a decent amount of baseball teams, we would likely get destroyed
Nothing like jumping right in with the big boys. Between Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State you are looking at 23 national titles.
Title IX. Budget. Couldn't really compete against southern schools in the Big 12. No real interest. And so on.
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/sport...cle_face064d-588f-5782-a24b-6e57ea966fbd.html
West Virginia has a solid men's soccer team. Interesting perspective from them. They don't get why other big 12 schools don't. It is a powerhouse recruiting region for soccer yet no programs. Iowa State could have a nationally relevant program pretty quickly Kansas too.
I'm skeptical the Big 10 would even want ISU. Notre Dame has a much longer history in the sport than ISU and strengthens the conference. WCHA feels like the more likely landing spot.
With ISUs amount of male students, we would be ok adding one. Was thinking swimming /diving was being considered as the easiest to add.
Its what Penn St did. They werent an NCAA hockey school till 2012, when both mens and womens moved up to the scholarship level. And last year the men won the conference.
Nah, men's volleyball isn't even a thing in Iowa high school (very sexist), I think they'd have a hard time getting a team.
Iowa States hockey team has been doing pretty good right now. They won the ACHA championship a few years ago and they're currently ranked as of right now. I think they'd be best off joining the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) than the B1G though.
Right now the B1G has some top notch teams and while you obviously want the big dogs, you have to be realistic. Also right now ISU uses the Ames Ice Arena which is nothing compared to the enormous stadiums used by teams like Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. There are only 3 current conferences that are close enough for ISU to join: the B1G, the WCHA, and the NCHC. Like I said the B1G is very hard but the NCHC is een harder to compete in with teams like Western Michigan, North Dakota, Denver, and Minnesota-Duluth. The WCHA is the best option, offering decent teams that are competitive but at ISU's level. The biggest problem to getting a team will be building a stadium big enough for the DI level and the only way I see that happening is by using Hilton.
While boy's volleyball isn't being played in high school yet, the club volleyball scene for boys in Iowa is increasing pretty quickly. One thing really holding it back is officiating. There are barely enough refs for the girls now, and most of them are under qualified.
For me personally (I'm very biased), I think adding a men's volleyball team would be awesome, plus it would give a spring sport that is actually watchable.
Regarding men's soccer and men's volleyball, it doesn't make any sense to add a sport that the Big 12 doesn't offer/sanction.
West Virginia men's soccer plays in the MAC. ISU would have to compete either in the MAC or the Missouri Valley.
There are only about two dozen schools in Division I with men's volleyball. The closest ones are Loyola-Chicago, Ball State, and IPFW. About a dozen are out west, and the rest are Ohio and eastward.
West Virginia men's soccer plays in the MAC. ISU would have to compete either in the MAC or the Missouri Valley.
There are only about two dozen schools in Division I with men's volleyball. The closest ones are Loyola-Chicago, Ball State, and IPFW. About a dozen are out west, and the rest are Ohio and eastward.
