What did we get in return for eliminating baseball?

[cybsball20]

Cybsball20, out of curiousity how hard is it to make roster on a D1 baseball team? I had a friend who wasn't the greatest wrestler but he walked on at ISU and he was a body that could be used for practice. I just wondered if baseball used walk-ons in the same fashion (I'm certain I wouldn't get any playing time, but I am not bad). I will be going to grad school at a D1 university which is about the same level competitively that I expect ISU was when it had its program.

Where are you going to grad school? If you are a catcher or a left handed pitcher it isn't that hard but you will probably never dress. We used to take two catchers every year just for bullpen help and practice and maybe one lefty (if they could break 82) and a right handed pitcher (if they could break 87). I don't remember any unrecruited walk on position players.

 

[ISUboi12]

Iowa (I know) or Missouri State, haven't decided yet.
I could play any position very well defensively. Not a pitcher, and not a hitter. I just didn't know if there was a place for "practice help" on any team or not.

 

[DaddyMac]

Re: Pollard said he was bringing it back when he took the job....

Pollard said when he was hired he was going to bring baseball back. He also said he was going to enclose the south end zone. Both were greeted with great fan fare. Thus far 3 years into his tenure neither has happened.

Of course when he made this satement one month into his new job the football team was coming off a bowl win and headed to their 5th bowl game in 6 years. The men's basketball team had just come off a 2nd round appearance in the NCAA Tournamamnt.

Where are both programs now?

In better hands.

As is the athletic department.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Re: Pollard said he was bringing it back when he took the job....

In better hands.

As is the athletic department.

Wow - your post was the short and sweet version of mine... :yes:

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Title IX my friends..... Title IX. Time to hate the NCAA again. You have to have equal amounts of scholarships given to men and women. Therefore.... no more baseball. Unless we didn't offer scholarships, which is why it is a club team now.

NCAA Gender Equity and Title IX

Exactly, with the small athletic budget they couldn't afford to add more scholarships to fulfill the Title IX requirement. The only way was to cut scholarships from a men's sport. Baseball wasn't generating enough income so it was cut.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

Another thing to consider is that with Pollards way of thinking, he isn't going to bring baseball back just to bring it back. If he brings it back, he is going to try to do it on a much grander scale than we saw it before, which is going to cost more money.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

When baseball was cut it was costing around $250,000 a year. Vandy said it would take a surpluss of 2mill to fund it for four years because he would have to divide it among some other sports as well... We asked why we weren't givin time to raise the money and he didn't answer. An hour after the meeting we had pledges to keep baseball going for 20 years, he wouldn't take a meeting. Now that baseball is gone it will cost ALOT more to bring it back. THere is no way you can bring it back to Cap Timm and expect to be competitive.

The weather excuse is about the lamest there is. Since Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas decided to make a commitment to baseball they have been consistantly finishing in the top half of the conference while traditional southern teams have struggled. Just looking at the latest rankings you have teams like Wichita St, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Oregon St, and Louisville all in the top 25. Other northern schools like Old Dominion, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Boston College, Notre Dame, Minnesota have all shown you can compete despite the cold weather. In fact, the weather used to be a huge advantage. When you have Texas A&M coming to Ames the first weekend in March, you think they want to be there? We certainly didn't mind. Recruiting also isn't a problem if you commit to it. Iowa has a huge advantage in it's JUCO recruiting base. Those who know baseball know that JUCO baseball works alot differently than other sports. ALOT of elite players would rather go JUCO to keep their opetions open as they can be drafted every year. The class Iowa State had coming in for 2002 was projected 3rd in the Big XII behind only Nebraska and Texas.

All that being said, it would need a huge commitment, probably an intitial commitment of at least $8 mil. We would need a new stadium to at least be competitive with the top half of the big 12.

Here are some pics of K-State's field, which would be a good model to follow as far as facilities...

Some Other Big XII Parks
Baylor

Texas

Texas A&M

Oklahoma

If we had a stadium like one of these, I guarantee the attendance would be good, provided the ticket price was decent. I know I would make the trip out to Ames for a few games, and I don't even like baseball.

 

[ISUboi12]

Re: Pollard said he was bringing it back when he took the job....

Wow - your post was the short and sweet version of mine... :yes:

It is better because we can devote more financial resource to football, right? That way we can establish a national identity, right?

Well... Hate to say it, but if you want to be nationally recognized you have to field a team in ANY sport popular enough to have its own annual videogame installment.

When they start making NCAA WBB 2009 or Wrestling 2010 then we will be in good shape, but it really is a joke that we don't have a baseball team.

 

[cybsball20]

If we had a stadium like one of these, I guarantee the attendance would be good, provided the ticket price was decent. I know I would make the trip out to Ames for a few games, and I don't even like baseball.

It has worked for all the other teams, the attendance was there and the talent came later. Especially in the case of Kansas and Missouri. You can't tell me if you had a nice stadium among the other ones, where people drove by it all the time, they wouldn't check out a game, especially on a nice spring day... Heck, even Iowa is getting good attendance in baseball now and they don't play half the schedule ISU would.

 

[CycloneTony]

Baseball would be another outlet for two sport recruits to come to ISU alot of recruits went to colleges for football and basketball in hopes of also playing baseball it might help on recruiting in other sports

 

[snowcraig2.0]

It would also be another place for us to get to dance to Sweet Caroline!

 

[CapnMorgan18]

we should try to contact mike myers, and see if he can help us out. he's got money and he's a ISU baseball alum

 

[Wesley]

I think that arguement had to do with the climate allowing for more practice or games in the early spring and/or late fall. The weather in western Oregon is much milder in Feb/March/April and Sept/Oct/Nov than it is in Iowa.

That argument has changed. Bellevue University in Omaha goes on the road early. Many graade school kids practice indoors starting in Jan. It can be done if you want. The season is moving out two weeks to help northern teams.

It was just that we did not want to have another womens ream with schollies so we transposed baseball into oblivion (just kidding).

 

[nickwc]

i would LOVE it if Iowa State had a D1 mens soccer team, i think that is one sport where we might be able to excel at. There is a lot of really really good soccer players around the country and not that many schools to attend, it would be great!!!

 

[jbhtexas]

i would LOVE it if Iowa State had a D1 mens soccer team, i think that is one sport where we might be able to excel at. There is a lot of really really good soccer players around the country and not that many schools to attend, it would be great!!!

Men's soccer is not a Big 12 sport, and neither is hockey, which is why it makes no sense to add them as varsity sports at ISU until ISU is participating in every sport that the Big 12 sponsors.

Also, cybsball20, thanks for reminding us about the facts behind the situation of baseball being dropped at ISU. It amazes me how many people continue to blame it on Title IX.

ISU is a member if one of the premier baseball conferences in the country, had a competitive team, and basically dropped baseball for political reasons. It was one of the stupidest, short-sighted decisions ever made by a college administration.

 

[Hasbeen]

I played with Mike at ISU and he stepped up at the time with a big donation to keep it alive. BVD declined the offer and lost a big donor in the process.

As much as a lot of you enjoy beating the hell out of the Hawks, I guarantee if baseball was brought back in the right fashion, we'd wipe the floor with them and their weak Big X baseball. We could recruit players from the south that want to play in the Big XII, do you think a lot of those kids are dying to play a Big X schedule???? A full Field Turf playing surface would help with the spring weather we encounter. It would take a lot of money, but being in the Big XII in baseball has many advantages.

 

[dundermifflin]

I would love it if it came back. I miss it every year and have since the day it left. I have also heard there are some big name young coaches that would love to have the job.

 

[Hasbeen]

The Old Dominion coach, Jerry Meyers is a former pitcher from ISU class of '87. He has them back in the top 20 I believe.

Player Bio: Jerry Meyers :: Baseball

 

[dustinal]

Title IX my friends..... Title IX. Time to hate the NCAA again. You have to have equal amounts of scholarships given to men and women. Therefore.... no more baseball. Unless we didn't offer scholarships, which is why it is a club team now.

NCAA Gender Equity and Title IX

Whether or not it's actually Title IX's fault, you can't blame it on the NCAA. It's federal law.

 

[drlove]

Don't anyone hold your breath for baseball to come back. I've been hearing people in Colorado beg for it for the last 15 years and it won't happen, and CU has a larger budget than ISU. I'm very skeptical. JP has also said that he intends to bring back Men's Swimming prior to baseball. The Rec Center vote this week likely killed that possibility which could be good for baseball, but I doubt it matters.