Proposed Return Of Baseball Program May Start By 2010

[Mean Green Matt]

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

If Alabama-Huntsville has one we sure as hell should...

[cwb]

Thank you very much Tasty. Why in Hades would we want a baseball team and an equal number of title IX ships when we are miles away from having our other sports together. What happens when we can't pay our football assistants enough because of baseball and we lose them? We are competing for very few championships in the sports we have. Don't give me any of that better conference crap either. If we don't get butts in seats at whatever stadium we play in, a championship baseball team would not even help.

[GreenAlums]

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.

Title IX goes both ways. To add baseball, which appears to be real at this point, we have two options, 1) add another women's varsity sport or...2) cancel a men's varsity sport, which appears to be what the leading opinions are pointing toward. Now, as I have said before, I have a very good suggestion as a solution here.

UNT should start an Equestrian team. Many large and small prominent schools have Equestrian teams for the same reasons. It is a very expensive sport at the middle and high school levels. This probably gives rise to:

1) At the college level this is a women's sport.

2) Mostly affluent families can afford it. This adds potential high level donors to the address lists. Right now my daughter competes with families; Bach, Sinacola, McNutt, Teal, and more. We could use them to support and strengthen the program instead of paying upstart dollars

3) The girls are attending mostly private schools which may indicate a higher SAT score entering college. We need smart athletes!

4) UNT is in the middle of horse "heaven" and several affluent stables have indicated an interest in supporting a program at UNT

5) It is a great spectator sport. Although it would not be a huge revenue producer it is great funn to watch if you understand it (like most sports)

6) Its a great Olympic sport and we could possibly have an Olympic medaller from UNT quicker than any other sport we have. Great pub!

7) Provost Wendy Wilkins is a horse lover and enjoys dressage

8) Many state universities have a successful programs; SMU, ATM, TTU, OK, OSU, LSU, TSU, Cornell, Gorrgia, KSU, NMSU, MTSU, TCU, UT (Tenn.)

http://www.varsityequestrian.com/universities.html#div2

A UNT Equestrian sport is a huge advantage instead of cancelling a men's sport at UNT!!

[Green Mean]

I'm with GreenAlums. Who else is with me?

Edited October 30, 2008 by Green Mean

[KRAM1]

So, GreenAlums...you are by your own definition an "affluent family"...OK, so how about you give a big donation and we name the new stadium after YOU?

[adman]

http://media.www.ntdaily.com/media/storage...0-3394197.shtml

Goes along with the stadium being finished by 2010.

Can you put a track on the inside of a baseball stadium?

[KRAM1]

Now that idea has merit. While you are sleeping throufgh a 4 hour 1-0 baseball game you could actually watch some sports action on a track! Great idea...I'm for it!

OK, I'll confess...college baseball is way more fun to watch than the pros. I went to tons of Oklahoma State baseball games while attending OSU and they were great! But, don't tell anyone else on this board that I sad that...Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[Green Dozer]

Kram,

Norman, Stillwater, Austin, and College Station seem to support the college teams. But remember when the Denton Outlaws were first being promote and the Denton Baseball Park was going to be built? The support just was not there during their first season, and I think the last couple of years, they have played at Lake Dallas. Not sure, I do not really follow baseball. Anyway, I hope that as much money as legally possible is put toward the football program first. If that is successful, it would help other sports like baseball follow and also be successful. I just think it would stretch our resources now for baseball. That said, I hope we have it here some day, as it is exciting. And plenty of smaller schools have been successful in Omaha.