Why do people want ISU Baseball back so much?

[HawaiiClone]

The housing thing starts to be tough for baseball when they only have 11.7 scholarships to split for the whole team. ISU soccer splits 14 schollys between 22 players. I checked 2 schools with baseball, and they had about 40 players.

Baseball splits their schollys between a maximum of 27 players.

 

[CapnCy]

I'm part of the problem, saying "yah, I'd go watch an Iowa State baseball game" knowing full well there's little chance of me actually driving to Ames for the sole purpose of watching a baseball game.

Great in theory, probably not as great in practice.

Yep.....I think for locals and the weather was nice....worth checking out now and then....but not a destination or likely not able to self-sustain given the travel, number of players,.etc.

 

[CapnCy]

This is a straw man. Hardly anybody really wants baseball back at ISU. It's a vocal minority at best. It's weird that this narrative has popped up because of that article, because I've seen very few actually wanting to bring it back.

Agree.....and it's kind of become a joke/narrative that is what people like to bring up.

I know if JP said "your cyclone club donations need to increase by x% as we are excited to refund and relaunch baseball" the vocal majority would come out.

I never have gotten into baseball...I've been to a few MLB games when visiting cities and enjoyed the atmosphere....but listen to "baseball guys" start talking about "unwritten rules of baseball" and "how the game should be played" and it always seems like they are convincing themselves they are in the know and the rest of us just don't get it

 

[merx]

I went to several games the year they killed the program, but I had a good friend on the team. It was a short walk from Storms and for some reason it didn't cost a dime to get in. I was disappointed when it was cut but I got over it quickly.

Because I played a entire half season on the JV club hockey team, I always hoped for a D1 hockey team.

 

[Tornado man]

I went to several games the year they killed the program, but I had a good friend on the team. It was a short walk from Storms and for some reason it didn't cost a dime to get in. I was disappointed when it was cut but I got over it quickly.

Yes it was entertaining to watch visiting fans from Okla State, Iowa, OU, etc. look around for someone to pay. No, this is Iowa State, where we figure if we charge admission, no one will come,
Kinda like softball now.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I was at ISU at the time baseball was dropped. I barely even knew the team existed and I didn’t miss it after it was gone.

The biggest problem is the AD at the time didn’t even bother selling the program as something that students should take interest in. Even if I was interested I never had any idea when the games were. Not to mention I’m sure many high schools had better facilities than ISU had.

At this point in time I’d rather see ISU hockey go to the NCAA level based on the popularity that the club team has always had.

 

[merx]

As a point of reference for the cost to move up, Penn State moved both of their men's and women's hockey programs up to NCAA D1 in 2012. Terry Pegula, a Penn State alum and now owner of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, donated $102M to build new facilities, including a 6,000 seat hockey stadium.

It is worth noting that before Penn State moved up, the Big 10 was not a hockey conference. Big 10 hockey started in 2013 with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan St, Penn St., and Ohio St., later adding Notre Dame as a hockey only member.

All this to say, if ISU had one or a group of passionate donors to sponsor a new hockey complex, there is a case to be made for being the eighth member of Big 10 hockey.

ISU could follow Long Island U, and boot strap a hockey team on a few months notice. LIU have a built in advantage including multiple rinks nearby such as; Nassau Coliseum, and the Islanders practice rink. Plus they already had a women's team. https://www.uscho.com/2020/04/30/long-island-university-adding-d-i-mens-hockey-for-upcoming-2020-21-season/

 

[Buster28]

I will say I picked up a nice piece of memorabilia from the program at the Athletic Department garage sale that following summer. They had the team's baseball jerseys available and was able to pick up a red one before they all disappeared. Still have it and wear it occasionally. I also have their final poster schedule framed in the "Iowa State room" downstairs.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Did anyone, or does anyone know someone who was a rabid ISU Baseball fan at any time?

I don't know what the average attendance was at games, but it was rather low.

I mean look at Iowa. They had a decent little stretch in a poor conference and fans only pretended to care. Unless you are one of the handful of major programs, baseball is a sunk cost.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Has anyone heard of the New College Baseball Model that some coaches advocated for that would have baseball start later in the spring? One concern about it is housing the players in the summer, but that's already being done for football, women's volleyball and women's soccer so I'm not sure why it couldn't be done for baseball, too.

That will NEVER happen. The SEC and ACC hold the cards and they would push back on this big time.

 

[ISUTex]

College baseball is like college wrestling and women's sports. Most people just don't care that much. Not trying to bash them ( I like them). Just being honest.


Which is the most popular of the three (nation wide)? Just curious. I would have to go with women's sports (basektball).

 

[mramseyISU]

College baseball just doesn't work well in the Midwest with the weather. The season is just getting over as it finally gets nice out.

As someone who played college baseball I can vouch that I was freezing or dealing with 30mph winds in April 90% of the games.

I played a year of NAIA baseball in northern Missouri and it was pretty miserable until the first week of May. I forgot how bad it was until my kids started playing travel baseball and we start freezing our asses off watching them in early April.

 

[HFCS]

I'd want hockey before baseball.

Hockey would bring in at least some revenue.

I went to some ISU hockey games as a student even with it at club level. I never went to a baseball game and my last four years were last four of program.

 

[HFCS]

I played a year of NAIA baseball in northern Missouri and it was pretty miserable until the first week of May. I forgot how bad it was until my kids started playing travel baseball and we start freezing our asses off watching them in early April.

When I lived near Wrigley the excitement of opening day crashed into the reality of April weather 100% of the time.

 

[HFCS]

Did anyone, or does anyone know someone who was a rabid ISU Baseball fan at any time?

I don't know what the average attendance was at games, but it was rather low.

My senior year was the last year and I barely knew it was a thing. If they wanted to save it there should have been more of an effort to make it a social event for the students.

 

[HFCS]

As a point of reference for the cost to move up, Penn State moved both of their men's and women's hockey programs up to NCAA D1 in 2012. Terry Pegula, a Penn State alum and now owner of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, donated $102M to build new facilities, including a 6,000 seat hockey stadium.

It is worth noting that before Penn State moved up, the Big 10 was not a hockey conference. Big 10 hockey started in 2013 with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan St, Penn St., and Ohio St., later adding Notre Dame as a hockey only member.

All this to say, if ISU had one or a group of passionate donors to sponsor a new hockey complex, there is a case to be made for being the eighth member of Big 10 hockey.

 

[HawaiiClone]

I'm part of the problem, saying "yah, I'd go watch an Iowa State baseball game" knowing full well there's little chance of me actually driving to Ames for the sole purpose of watching a baseball game.

Great in theory, probably not as great in practice.

When I attended ISU games in the mid 90's, the crowds were small and very quiet so there wasn't much energy to feed off of. The colder weather didn't help although I went to a night Brewers game with temps in the 40's or 50's and it was a decent crowd even with the higher expectations of an MLB game. I never made it to an I-Cubs game, but I am sure there was better energy there even though back then (and now) the AAA game isn't set up to have the competitive spirit and national coverage that the college game has.

 

[drlove]

Baseball splits their schollys between a maximum of 27 players.

You are correct, but there is still more players having to pay more out of pocket than the other sports, correct?

Stretching the 11.7 to the 27 while not ignoring the rest of the roster is a challenge.

the Athletic Department might be more likely to want to figure out how to make the housing issue work with Soccer for Title IX reasons, but i don't know.

I still like your thought on moving baseball back.

 

[Sigmapolis]

And it would finally be an advantage to being the northern most Big 12 team.

The Big 12 doesn't sponsor hockey nor do any of its current members in other conferences as affiliates. We'd have to affiliate with one of the other hockey conferences to compete.

Looking at the map, we'd probably fit in the best with the Big Ten with...

Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State
Wisconsin

...to make it an even eight.

Again, not thinking it would happen, but that is where we would fall probably.

 

[HawaiiClone]

That will NEVER happen. The SEC and ACC hold the cards and they would push back on this big time.

Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt was open to it saying he'd like to see the college season more parallel to the pro seasons. Also, coaches outside of Florida and Arizona said that even though they weren't in the "North," February games could be cold.