What If - Baseball?
Now I'm not advocating this necessarily, but it is a subject that has been discussed by TU followers for some time. So since I'm homebound in this disgusting rainstorm, why not throw this out there for consumption.
Its the restart of baseball.
Now I've done a little checking and in another thread I stated that baseball requires 12 schollies - some I assume are partials and I mentioned a good Title IX addition would be Field Hockey. So IMO schollies aren't much of a problem/issue and I think there'd be iniitial financial support for the startup from outside sources - fans and alums. But there are a lot of things to consider - but IMO they can be easily overcome now that we're in the AAC.
The new baseball TV contract with CBSSN is the fuel(money) we could use for the startup. Right now the AAC has 8 baseball teams. SMU, NAVY, Temple and TU do not play the sport. As I've stated, I think at some point in the very near future there will be a push to invite Wichita St into the conference. If/when that occurs, someone in the athletic dept will look at our overall sports program and make a judgment on the viability of a baseball program. So what then? We need a place to play, a staff and a schedule that would draw enough fans to justify it.
Lets start with the schedule. Right now with only 8 teams in the AAC playing baseball, it is the #3 RPI conference in the nation. Our RPI is better than the Big 10, MWC, PAC 12 and yes, the Big12. So the conference schedule will be ready made for fan interest and a national stage. Outside the league, we have nearby instant rivals ORU, OU, OSU, Arkansas and other members of the Big 12 closeby like TCU and the Kansas schools and even Missouri St to rival with. We are literally in a hotbed of baseball in this part of the nation. So a schedule would be an easy thing to get if we had the home venue.
Now the venue. Some of the folks who wanted TU to restart baseball a few years back envisioned TU playing at Driller Park on the fairgrounds, but now the Tulsa Drillers play at OneOK field where the Big 12 baseball tournament is being held right this very minute. Driller Park has basically been converted to a soccer complex for the Pro Soccer team (or is it teams?). One of those soccer teams actually plays at OneOK, a facility that was designed for baseball - so the soccer teams need to play soccer in the soccer venue and the baseball teams need to play baseball at the baseball stadium IMO.
OneOk field is only 2 miles from campus. It is a first class facility that is the perfect size - 8,000-10,000(St Room). There are several college teams around the nation that share baseball facilities with minor league teams such as Missouri St who shares Hammons Field with the Springfield minor league club and its about the same size as OneOK.
The reason I like OneOK is that it would be a good draw for OU/OSU/Arkansas and some of the other major baseball programs we'd schedule outside the league- a venue they'd like to play at. Most of these college baseball players enjoy playing in a pro venue - just like Memphis in MBB.
The reason I started this was that IF the desire is ever there to be a part of AAC baseball, we have the ability to start it now - now more than ever before. We have the league. We have a possible great venue just down the street and we can get a great schedule immediately of teams that want to play us.
Here is a possible outside conference schedule at home.
OU
OSU
ORU
Arkansas
Wichita St (unless they are in AAC - as has been discussed)
KU
KSU
TCU
Baylor
Missouri State
Then you have the AAC with the #3 rated conference in the country.
Now that is a lot to bite off initially, but I think the fans would just like to have baseball back and see where it leads.
TU baseball was once a national power and just one win from the national champions in baseball. So to rekindle baseball isn't beyond the realm of possibility. Within a few years, it might be smart to look at it. Done right, baseball could pay for intself and be a sport TU could add to its arsenal.
(This post was last modified: 07-25-2015 09:35 AM by rabidTU2.)
|