This question always comes up and is something a lot of TU folks have been upset about and also waiting for over the years, so I'll reintroduce it. Should we restart our once great college baseball program?

Well, right now I think we should investigate that and see what the community thinks. Here is my thinking on the subject.

We are in and evidently will be in one of the better conferences for baseball in the country. Rice, Tulane, USM all have excellent programs that play at a high level. If La Tech is added (a definitie possibility) then there are a bunch of good baseball programs in the area within driving distance. Add that to several of the "mountain" programs out west and you have a winner IMO.

We are in short driving distance to Wichita State, Missouri St, OU, OSU, Arkansas and of course ORU. We could supplement the schedule with nearby small colleges that play baseball and would like a better atmosphere. All those teams could make up the brunt of a very good schedule without having to travel all over creation - a money saver. Our series with OU, OSU, Arkansas also opens up an avenue where we could reinstate and more equally negotiate future contracts in CFB, MBB, WBB etc. The ORU series could be a very good one and if both teams are decent or good, could be money makers as well IMO.

We could approach both ONEOK and the Drillers to schedule games at OneOK field at little cost to us and use old Driller Park as a backup for a venue that students could easily attend. (TU is virtually in the middle of those two venues a couple miles away). We could allow those venues to sell concessions and even have a Driller-TU double header on occasion, a win-win IMO. How about a 4 team baseball tournament with TU, OU, OSU and ORU over two consecutive nights at ONEOK? If the program becomes successful, we could have a long range fund raiser to build an on-campus venue later.

IMO, TU is wasting something that could be a winner and create more interest in TU sports through baseball because of our outstanding tradition and natural recruiting hotbed for baseball in the area. IMO.

Now I know this is a touchy subject because of the Title 9 implications, but IMO this is very doable, would generate more TU fans and support and give old fxxxs like myself something to do in the spring. IMO.

One more thing about baseball and the new conference is this. Of those teams merging with us from the west, the ones who play baseball are Fresno St, Nevada, UNLV, Air Force and New Mexico. If New Mexco St wanted to be a part of the mergered league in baseball only (and a repalcement for UTEP), this would be a good sport for that and then you have 3 travel partners way out west in FSU, Nevada, UNLV far to the west and New Mexico, Air Force and the possibility of NMS as travellers nearer. Col St and Wyoming as well as possible member Utah St don't have baseball.

We are sitting right on top of a huge crop in Broken Arrow and Owasso that is ripe for the picking.

I wasn't aware that Tulsa didn't have a baseball program. I hope that you all get one, I'd love to see a UAB - Tulsa matchup on the diamond

(05-12-2012 02:02 PM)Matrix Wrote:  I wasn't aware that Tulsa didn't have a baseball program. I hope that you all get one, I'd love to see a UAB - Tulsa matchup on the diamond

We actually have had a great baseball tradition that's long dead due to title nine and some internal decision making by the school. We had been to the College World Series in the 1960's and almost won the national championship twice. It was arguably the most successful program in school history. We also put a number of players in the major leagues. But we haven't had baseball for a long while. Some alums were willing to invest a lot of money to get it restarted, but the university a few years ago didn't want to touch it. If there is a program that could jump start at a competitive level almost immediately, its baseball IMO.

Title IX.......what women's sports, that's plural, are you going to add??????

(05-17-2012 08:19 AM)jfisher Wrote:  Title IX.......what women's sports, that's plural, are you going to add??????

Good question. But I think it might be field hockey or some other program noone really attends. I'm partial to bowling also. It doesn't matter really.

I think there's a good case to overturn T-9 on this very point. To add/maintain a mens sport, you are forced by law to add a second sport - one that noone attends but the players and coaches. IMO eventually T-9 will be overturned because it is discriminatory since "preferential treatment" by gender is used to keep it afloat. Colleges should be in control of their own decisions, not DC IMO. Title 9 has caused more athletes to lose their scholarships than schollies have been created, because the schools just discontinue a mens sport rather than add womens sports. But you have a good point with existing law as it currently is enforced.

Also, the govt is always making "exclusions" where it wants. How does an all boys (or girls) college field a single gendered program? I'm sure the answer is, there's an exclusionary clause to allow the boys (or girls) to compete wo dropping all sports. So, in the end, co-ed schools are penalized (discriminated against) for being co-ed in comparision.

Hopefully thats an answer - as best I can muster one. But TU has a lot of kids who might qualify as bowlers or have a background in field hockey etc who may already be on schollie. We already have the fields for field hockey. And I think there's a bowling alley in town we could use as well. Let me check into the scheduling aspect and i'll get back.

(05-17-2012 08:19 AM)jfisher Wrote:  Title IX.......what women's sports, that's plural, are you going to add??????

beach/sand volleyball

ANY QUESTIONS?

OK, four reasons to endorse beach volleyball. I'm on board.

I believe womens bowling is an NCAA sanctioned sport as well

yep. we have that, too.

I just checked out the college bowling teams of interest. There are several we might be interested in scheduling, starting a relationship with or simply joining a conference outside CUSA for that sport (if allowed).

Here is a partial list:

CUSA connected----
Tulane
UAB
ECU
FIU
Houston
La Tech
Central Florida
North Texas
-------------
Nearby programs----
OU
Arkansas
Wichita St
Missouri St
UCO
Texas St
Sam Houston St
SF Austin
Arkansas St
Central Missouri
Louisiana

***These are just "some" of the more prominent programs I saw.

I thought I'd bump this. Reason is that TU and SMU would be the only schools in the nBE without college baseball. No matter who has been mentioned in the nBE, all the programs have it other than SMU and TU. And . . . SMU's fans have suggested that they would welcome college baseball as a sport. Would we be so inclined?

Sure, we might want it.....Tulsa had a great team when I was there....but what women's team or teams are we going to add to offset it????

I doubt its in the immediate plans. But in the end, it may be a prerequisite to moving to a better neighborhood/conference. Thats the one thing I was most concerned with if we got a BE invite instead of the MWC (most don't have baseball) - so in the BE it could be no baseball, no conference. It sort of works against that move.

I'd be partial to some of the sports mentioned earlier in this thread as a girls add ons, but it sure puts pressure on a small school to add sports, I know. I wish title 9 was title deep six-ed. But the goal is a better conference than nCUSA. IMO baseball could be a money maker, at least not a big loser. We have a lot of easy travel opponents closeby and with our past tradition, it could be successful IMO. I still like the idea of initially playing games at OneOk field and having double headers with a Drillers nightcap - win, win IMO. OneOk sits empty a lot of the time - it was built by the city, so use it to improve the cities growing downtown nightlife IMO.