D1 Hockey all the way. Unless ISU commits to building a domed stadium there is no reason for ISU to bring back baseball.
Why do people want ISU Baseball back so much?
- Thread starter cyhiphopp
- Start date
D1 Hockey all the way. Unless ISU commits to building a domed stadium there is no reason for ISU to bring back baseball.
Big 10 only cares about hockey because it fills time slots on the network.
Agree. I would very much love to get into hockey but it's just really hard to stay interested for long because no one around me talks about it or knows anything about it. My brother has friends from hockey places so he can follow it a little and enjoy it but I just can't get into.
Baseball is similar for me as I'd love to get into it but the season is so damn long and there are so many games that take so long, I just can't. I will watch every game of playoff baseball I can with almost no rooting interest, but the regular season is nothing.
Iowa, KU, KSU, Nebraska, etc all seem to make it work.
I'm not a "bring back baseball" guy, but I don't buy the weather excuse. Especially when we already have softball.
Because big time baseball guys are dorks that spend their time talking about obscure statistics and things that will never happen.
IMO the NCAA discourages Northern schools from having baseball by scheduling the season when they do- March to May season is just too unpredictable from a weather standpoint. Sure there are some exceptions- but just look at the history of teams that qualify for the College World Series. Most are south of Mason/Dixon line or on the west coast.
There are just too many build in advantages for warm weather schools that can play/practice outdoors starting in Jan/Feb.
If the NCAA was serious about having competitive Northern schools, they would have the season be Apr-Jul with College WS in late Jul/Aug.
I agree with the idea of ISU using Principal Park to have access to a quality stadium. Having elite stadium in Ames probably only possible if a donor pays to build or maybe if ISU & Ames HS would share.
There are just too many build in advantages for warm weather schools that can play/practice outdoors starting in Jan/Feb.
If the NCAA was serious about having competitive Northern schools, they would have the season be Apr-Jul with College WS in late Jul/Aug.
I agree with the idea of ISU using Principal Park to have access to a quality stadium. Having elite stadium in Ames probably only possible if a donor pays to build or maybe if ISU & Ames HS would share.
Minnesota does care about hockey. They really should be allowed to leave the Big 10 for hockey to join the NCHC where their most bitter and fun rivalries are.
Soccer is cheaper and becoming more popular as well.
Still, I've actively discouraged my kids from playing soccer because I am not a fan.
Add in more alternatives to sports like video games, programming, music... and baseball needs a lot of work.
True. Many of Iowa's D3 an NAIA schools have baseball too and they seem to do fine. I knew many of those players in college and they always told tales of snow during a game or ice still in the outfield. Horrible. Look at a city like Dubuque, they have three schools with baseball teams. A city, or privately, owned dome would provide a home for those three teams, and they could hold baseball tournaments late winter/early spring and bring in other Northern schools. I always wished someone would have proposed that but no.
It was a pain in the ass for the varsity sports when ice was down in Hilton.
I'm pretty sure all of the ice-related equipment is gone now, anyway.
I heard someone say that equipment was damaged in the big flood and not replaced. That makes sense to me.
I agree the Minnesota and the other hockey schools care about hockey but the conference doesn't.
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Is there any conference that REALLY focuses on hockey that much? I honestly don't know.
I figured the conference with Minnesota in it might be the most interested, but I don't really know.
You could argue the two top collegiate hockey conferences are 'hockey only'; NCHC and Hockey East. I believe there a few more hockey only conferences (WCHA being one of them). Those type of conferences are the norm in college hockey, versus following FB/MBB conference alignment (like the Big 10).
I knew there were some hockey specific conferences but no clue what they were. Thanks for the info!
Numerous Gopher hockey fans have told me that leaving the WCHA, and all of their intense rivals with great programs (Duluth, North Dakota, etc.) has hurt the program. Same with Mich and Michigan State leaving the CCHA.
All D1 hockey conference are hockey only. The lone exception being the Big 10.
CCHA
WCHA (Women's only conference now)
AHA
ECAC
NCHC and
Hockey East.
While I’d like to have baseball back, and would support the program if it did, I don’t see it coming back and I’ve made peace with that. Football is an arms race, and I’m glad we don’t have as many sports competing for those resources.
That said, I think the University is different than in the 90’s. Financially we’re committed elsewhere, but if there had been equal revenue sharing back then we might still have it. And if it came back today I think it would be better supported and have a better chance at success. It could practice at the indoor football facility like the softball team does, for instance.
Hockey would be cool, too. Personally, I’d prefer a men’s soccer team. Soccer is a cheap sport that’s growing in popularity, and we already have the facilities for it.
That said, I think the University is different than in the 90’s. Financially we’re committed elsewhere, but if there had been equal revenue sharing back then we might still have it. And if it came back today I think it would be better supported and have a better chance at success. It could practice at the indoor football facility like the softball team does, for instance.
Hockey would be cool, too. Personally, I’d prefer a men’s soccer team. Soccer is a cheap sport that’s growing in popularity, and we already have the facilities for it.