Proposed Return Of Baseball Program May Start By 2010

[KRAM1]

Even the cricket folks have found ways to spped up the game. Which is something that cannot be said for baseball. And, do you pl;ace cricket in the "major" sports catagory? Just wondering?

[Cerebus]

Even the cricket folks have found ways to spped up the game. Which is something that cannot be said for baseball. And, do you pl;ace cricket in the "major" sports catagory? Just wondering?

I think being the obsession of a couple billion people, more than watch American football, probably makes it a major sport.

[KRAM1]

Hey, if you want to count simply population figures, "tiddly winks" and "pick up sticks" in India and Pakistan would be considered a "major" sport.

[Quoner]

Even the cricket folks have found ways to spped up the game. Which is something that cannot be said for baseball. And, do you pl;ace cricket in the "major" sports catagory? Just wondering?

Really - they sped up the weekend matches to out-pace a 3 hour baseball game? That's awesome.

Still, its like my friends on stormfront always say, it ain't a sport unless white people control it.

[Green Crazy]

No other "major" sport in the world is as slow paced as baseball. No one who is even remotely interested in sports can deny that. Unless, of course, you are simply NUTS!

Track is a quick sport, but I'm not going to pay to watch it.

I think with the talent the state has NT would be able to compete on a national level faster than in soccer and two sport atheletes would consider us a viable option. I believe we lost out on a football/baseball recruit last year.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Green Crazy

[Green Mean]

Even the cricket folks have found ways to spped up the game. Which is something that cannot be said for baseball. And, do you pl;ace cricket in the "major" sports catagory? Just wondering?

Kram1,

I am a very big fan of cricket and your comment is true but at the same time not really. They have friendly matches which have no limit...thus it can literally take 4-5 days to complete. On the other hand the "short" games are 1 day matches which is played in tournaments etc...although those are better than the unlimited friendlies, they still take a a whole freakin day. Now there is a lot of movement to actually condense the game into say a 3-4 hour affair overtime to hopefully spread the game beyond the current cricket countries. When that will happen I have no idea but to compare cricket and baseball in the sense of time, its just no there yet.

[Soccer1]

I think with the talent the state has NT would be able to compete on a national level faster than in soccer and two sport atheletes would consider us a viable option. I believe we lost out on a football/baseball recruit last year.

Have to totally disagree with you on baseball moving to the national level faster then mens soccer. Mens soccer would be top 20 first year.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Track is a quick sport, but I'm not going to pay to watch it.

I might pay to watch it. I really enjoy watching Track & Field.

[KRAM1]

Nice to have you on "the team" regarding soccer "Soccer1"! It was, at times, a bit lonely out here in the wilderness. I agree, top 20 in men's soccer within a VERY short time. Much much faster than we would ever see UNT baseball's team in the top 20. And so it goes.

[GrandGreen]

Nice to have you on "the team" regarding soccer "Soccer1"! It was, at times, a bit lonely out here in the wilderness. I agree, top 20 in men's soccer within a VERY short time. Much much faster than we would ever see UNT baseball's team in the top 20. And so it goes.

Not really into this debate because I don't think NT has any business adding any sport until a lot more progress is shown in the sports they now have. However, I also heard that with all the great softball talent in the area that NT would be a top program in no time. Did not happen and if you look at the current softball roster, you may note there are not many players from this area.

Soccer started as a club sport at NT and was very successful due primarily to a large number of foreign students. It was elevated to a NCAA sponsored sport and had some success but was quickly overshadowed by SMU in this area. Baseball really never was a "real" NCAA sport at NT, no field, less than 2 ships offered, a part time coach on social security who was paid very little. NT only had a baseball team because it was a Southland conference mandate that was later changed and NT dropped the sport.

Either sport would create more financial drain on NT athletes. Not just for that sport but whatever would have to be added on the women's side to balance out expenditures. Yes, a valid argument can be made that every sport at NT is a money loser, but the fact is that NT has to have 16 sports to compete at the 1-a level.

They are at the 16 level and adding additional sports is not necessary.

RV has stated that there will be baseball at NT and I guess that kind of ends the argument over soccer vs baseball. There are definitely some advantages to baseball that have been stated many times. It would give a little lift although I don't think it is very significant to NT changes of upgraded it's conference affiliation. It would provide NT more visibility in a rather dead period of college athletes at NT. There are a lot more local teams to play against than soccer. The most important factor in favor of baseball is I think it would have substantially better support than soccer.

[KRAM1]

You think? I have said many times that baseball will be next, and soccer is not really on the radar screen. I just tend to believe soccer would be less expensive and would reach "national prominance" much much faster than baseball ever would at UNT. I do think there is some logic to not adding any new sport until the ones UNT has now are of "higher quality", whatever that really means. I think we should put more funds and effort into elevating our men's and women's golf teams to national prominance as they once were (at least the men's team was there once, not sure about the women), do what needs to be done to move softball and volleyball up the "ladder of success", get the new football stadium built, make certain that men's and women's basketball continue to improve etc., etc. LONG before baseball or any other sport is added. Anyway, baseball cometh if you believe RV on this issue, and I do tend to believe what he has said. So, relax, all you baseball folks, I just love to get your blood boiling with my soccer support and comments. It IS the "beautiful game", you know.

Speaking of "beautiful" our lovely women's olympic team opened up their quest for gold yesterday with a 0-2 loss to Norway! That's a 14-0 loss to all you "high scoring" football fans out there! Norway scored both goals in the first 4 min. of the game. UGH! However, I do expect the US will "right the ship" and make it through to the quarter-finals and beyond. Hopefully to a rematch with Norway. By the way, for you non-soccer folks out there, Norway is a GREAT team. This is no "fluke" loss. While I had hoped for a US victory, I am not at all surprised by the loss. Just surprised at how the loss occurred. GO USA!

[NT80]

You think? I have said many times that baseball will be next, and soccer is not really on the radar screen. I just tend to believe soccer would be less expensive and would reach "national prominance" much much faster than baseball ever would at UNT.

The main problem with adding men's soccer is that so many schools have dropped it ( to balance Title IX ) that it would be hard to put a schedule together. I bet only 10% of schools with women's soccer also have men's soccer.

[UNTflyer]

I'd rather see men's lacrosse than men's soccer.

[Green Mean]

I'd rather see men's lacrosse than men's soccer.

I would like Lacrosse and Hockey. I would bet that Hockey would be a HUGE success here....I think it could very well surpass basketball and possibly even football eventually.

[TheTastyGreek]

The main problem with adding men's soccer is that so many schools have dropped it ( to balance Title IX ) that it would be hard to put a schedule together. I bet only 10% of schools with women's soccer also have men's soccer.

There are currently 196 Men's Division 1 soccer programs.

Not saying I want soccer, but I don't agree that limited competition is the reason to say no.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I would like Lacrosse and Hockey. I would bet that Hockey would be a HUGE success here....I think it could very well surpass basketball and possibly even football eventually.

I love hockey, but surpass college basketball and football? Only if North Texas relocates to Boston.

[GrandGreen]

There are currently 196 Men's Division 1 soccer programs.

Not saying I want soccer, but I don't agree that limited competition is the reason to say no.

Well, there is one division 1 team in Texas (SMU), one in Oklahoma (Tulsa), none in Louisiana or Arkansas. I think limited competition is a very big consideration. There is one team in the Belt that plays men soccer, Florida International, WKU just dropped their program. Traveling because it is a conference sport or a high revenue sport like footall might make sense, but initiating a sport with three teams to play within 500 miles does not seem very smart.

[Mean Green Matt]

I would like Lacrosse and Hockey. I would bet that Hockey would be a HUGE success here....I think it could very well surpass basketball and possibly even football eventually.

I'm with you on the hockey. It would be a MAJOR investment to start, but I think it would be rewarded pretty quickly. Travel costs would be enormous, but it would be cool to be the first in the Texas, and I think the whole south other than one team in Alabama I believe.

[Green Mean]

I love hockey, but surpass college basketball and football? Only if North Texas relocates to Boston.

One first thought that hockey would never surpass football and basketball but why wouldnt it? I think over time we could easily draw about 3-5 thousand fans to attend college hockey games...something we currently draw in basketball. I admit that the startup costs would be very high but I just think NT could hit gold with hockey. I think hockey is really underestimated in this state and it would be something new and fresh to see in a school setting. I for one believe Hockey could benefit UNT athletics just as much as football if its ever considered.

[Mean Green Matt]

One first thought that hockey would never surpass football and basketball but why wouldnt it? I think over time we could easily draw about 3-5 thousand fans to attend college hockey games...something we currently draw in basketball. I admit that the startup costs would be very high but I just think NT could hit gold with hockey. I think hockey is really underestimated in this state and it would be something new and fresh to see in a school setting. I for one believe Hockey could benefit UNT athletics just as much as football if its ever considered.

I don't know about surpassing football, but definitely basketball. I really wish when they built the Super Pit that they would have made it into a multi-purpose arena. I know that was a long time ago, but it was not an unheard of concept. I remember being a little kid in there thinking it sure looked small to have a hockey rink in it...then I realized it was. Maybe the Dallas Stars, or whoever owns the Dr. Pepper Starcenters could put one in Denton, maybe with an arena like the one in Frisco....

[Green Crazy]

I don't know about 3-5 k going to watch college hockey. The AAC was only about 75% full for most of the Stars games this year. After the newness wore off the crowds would be tiny.

[oldguystudent]

Just discovered this thread. As a guy who went to a baseball conference school, I'm here to tell you that college baseball is fun. It doesn't bring tens of thousands of fans out, a good crowd during the regular season might be 2,000 people, but it brings passionate knowledgeable fans. In the immediate area, we've got very capable competition in TCU, UTA, Dallas Baptist, Oral Roberts, Rice, and Texas. If UNT were to bring in a baseball program and schedule enough decent OOC series, it's not too far fetched to be in the postseason before the first recruiting class graduates. The NCAA regionals are always a fun event (I've been to the regionals in Austin and the Supers at LSU. Unfortunately didn't make it to Omaha when UC Irvine made it there), and the NCAA makes some effort (not enough) to put teams within reasonable traveling distance for the first round.

I know that Texas is first and foremost a football state, and I love the fact that I'm going to a school with football. That's established, but don't forget that Texas is also a hotbed of baseball talent. Regional recruiting would have a shot at being really good if, and only if, UNT were able to present itself as seriously dedicated to the sport. Irvine's been building and expanding its stadium over the past few years in $2 million increments, and it's been having no trouble bringing in top recruits from the SoCal area. The stadium is not quite up to snuff to host a regional, so we've gotten screwed in the seedings the past couple years. Getting the stadium up to about 3,000 seats is in the next construction phase. What really brings those kids in though is the top caliber coaching staffs that have been hired (John Savage, now coach at UCLA, Dave $errano, now coach at Cal State Fullerton (don't get me started on that money grubbing back stabbing jackass), and now Mike Gillepsie, not a popular guy around these parts, but a serious CWS winning coach who's well known in SoCal.) You don't necessarily need top notch facilities in baseball. You need top notch coaching and the knowledge that the scouts are gonna' drop in every once in a while.

I dunno. Maybe I just channeled my lack of football experience into baseball, so I'm a huge fan. I've never much liked basketball (Oh we UC Irvine Anteaters of one victory in my four years there), so baseball was it, and I loved it. (Does it make me a geek if I admit to listening to almost every regular season UCI game on internet radio?)

I would be at many games if UNT had a team.

[TheTastyGreek]

Just discovered this thread. As a guy who went to a baseball conference school, I'm here to tell you that college baseball is fun. It doesn't bring tens of thousands of fans out, a good crowd during the regular season might be 2,000 people, but it brings passionate knowledgeable fans. In the immediate area, we've got very capable competition in TCU, UTA, Dallas Baptist, Oral Roberts, Rice, and Texas. If UNT were to bring in a baseball program and schedule enough decent OOC series, it's not too far fetched to be in the postseason before the first recruiting class graduates. The NCAA regionals are always a fun event (I've been to the regionals in Austin and the Supers at LSU. Unfortunately didn't make it to Omaha when UC Irvine made it there), and the NCAA makes some effort (not enough) to put teams within reasonable traveling distance for the first round.

I know that Texas is first and foremost a football state, and I love the fact that I'm going to a school with football. That's established, but don't forget that Texas is also a hotbed of baseball talent. Regional recruiting would have a shot at being really good if, and only if, UNT were able to present itself as seriously dedicated to the sport. Irvine's been building and expanding its stadium over the past few years in $2 million increments, and it's been having no trouble bringing in top recruits from the SoCal area. The stadium is not quite up to snuff to host a regional, so we've gotten screwed in the seedings the past couple years. Getting the stadium up to about 3,000 seats is in the next construction phase. What really brings those kids in though is the top caliber coaching staffs that have been hired (John Savage, now coach at UCLA, Dave $errano, now coach at Cal State Fullerton (don't get me started on that money grubbing back stabbing jackass), and now Mike Gillepsie, not a popular guy around these parts, but a serious CWS winning coach who's well known in SoCal.) You don't necessarily need top notch facilities in baseball. You need top notch coaching and the knowledge that the scouts are gonna' drop in every once in a while.

I dunno. Maybe I just channeled my lack of football experience into baseball, so I'm a huge fan. I've never much liked basketball (Oh we UC Irvine Anteaters of one victory in my four years there), so baseball was it, and I loved it. (Does it make me a geek if I admit to listening to almost every regular season UCI game on internet radio?)

I would be at many games if UNT had a team.

The general consensus is that people would love to have a team.

BUT, two big drawbacks are the Title IX scholarship matching that would be necessary to stay in compliance with the NCAA. Also, Baseball is not a revenue sport, even at some traditional winning programs. Locally, it is pretty much a guaranteed money loser. We just can't afford to add another deficit operating team to the books (two when you even things out with a Women's team of some sort) given the current financial situation.

[LAZER]

I'm with you on the hockey. It would be a MAJOR investment to start, but I think it would be rewarded pretty quickly. Travel costs would be enormous, but it would be cool to be the first in the Texas, and I think the whole south other than one team in Alabama I believe.

Texas Tech has a team. A good friend of mine is on the team

[GreenBat]

Texas Tech has a team. A good friend of mine is on the team

Here are the teams that sponsor Mens ice hockey as a varsity sport. Denver, who is a power in ice hockey appears to be the closest team. There a many schools, including NT, which offer hockey as a club sport.

http://www.ncaa.com/icehockey-mens/default.aspx?id=298

Edited September 20, 2008 by GreenBat