Cancel Iowa Baseball

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NeilDiamond

Well-Known Member
Anyone read Keeler's article today about ISU's inability to fund a team for D1 baseball? My question is why in the hell to we have a team? The sport is apparently a money pit and we regularly (always) field terrible teams. I saw that we have been to 1 CWS in 1972!!!

I saw a thread below that discussed dumping B10 baseball as a whole. That would seem to be a great idea.
 
College baseball is not that entertaining. I love baseball but I can't watch the college level. the CWS is good, but that's it. Taht is why it's never on TV. Also the B10 is too far north to be competitive
 
hawkfarmer said:
College baseball is not that entertaining. I love baseball but I can't watch the college level. the CWS is good, but that's it. Taht is why it's never on TV. Also the B10 is too far north to be competitive
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Yeah I had a chance to see Long Beach St play ASU at ASU this year. ASU has been in some trouble and LBS had something like 19 freshman, but they both are pretty good baseball schools. It just wasn't fun to watch...except the fact that some of the girls there were smokin hot.
 
sucks when any sport needs to be cut but iowa baseball hasn't been good...ever

its an expensive sport too
 
Timely topic. Did Keeler's article mention this?

Jim Delany's fight to change the CWS - Omaha.com

It goes well beyond Iowa. The Big Ten as a conference hasn't had a single team in the College World Series since 1984 (Michigan). Let that sink in for a minute. The current schedule and qualifying system for baseball makes absolutely zero sense for any school north of the Mason-Dixon line (West Coast excluded).

Here's Iowa's schedule for this past season. Tell me how this connects in any meaningful way to the idea of being a student-athlete:

Iowa Official Athletic Site - Baseball

They started their season February 18 and didn't have a home game until March 25, which I'm sure was just a lovely time to sit outside and watch baseball in Iowa City.

I wouldn't be upset if the Big Ten just said to hell with it, ignored the NCAA championships, passed a rule that no conference team could play a game before April 1, and then just focused on conference play and winning the Big Ten championship. A Big Ten tournament in early June might actually be fun to watch/participate in.
 
First, dropping the sport is a horrible idea on several fronts. I can't dispute the fact we're horrible at it though. Hell, we rarely make our own conference tournament let alone a chance to play in Omaha. To me the solution is to keep legit players in state rather let them leave the state. I know, easier said then done, but put some money into fielding a team people want to support. If Nebraska can make that commitment why shouldn't we? In fact, if we have a respectable program it would enhance our sports.
 
I read somewhere that Iowa had the top rated recruiting class in B10 and it was only ranked like #41 overall......That speaks volumes to the talent in the B10.
 
hawkfarmer said:
College baseball is not that entertaining. I love baseball but I can't watch the college level. the CWS is good, but that's it. Taht is why it's never on TV. Also the B10 is too far north to be competitive
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ACC, SEC and Big 12 baseball are on TV all the time in the South. It's a big deal down there.
 
@Ronco: Don't you think that the fact that Nebraska played in the mostly warm weather Big 12 (they were the northernmost team) and are only 60 miles from the site of the CWS had anything to do with their recent success? Can Iowa (or any other Big Ten team) really replicate that?
 
olivecourt said:
@Ronco: Don't you think that the fact that Nebraska played in the mostly warm weather Big 12 (they were the northernmost team) and are only 60 miles from the site of the CWS had anything to do with their recent success? Can Iowa (or any other Big Ten team) really replicate that?
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Yes. But getting a great coach, along with having quite a bit of instate talent at that time helped alot, much like NU's football team in the 90's, and even our basketball team when it had a good run.

The oversigning rules in the Big 10 put it at a huge disadvantage, also.
 
In state talent that is any good at all is not going to stay and play at Iowa. They are going to head to a school in the south where there is a chance to play at the CWS. Look at Casey Blake - went to WSU. Other thing you have in baseball, the really good high school kids who are drafted right out of high school go play pro ball and skip college.
 
Then why not get rid of all women's sports and men's sports other than football. Its the only one that makes money. (Wrestling may be close, but I don't think it actually makes money.) And I'm sure some of these teams have reached similar levels futility to the baseball team.
 
I get bugged when in-state fb or bb players leave, but for baseball? Who could blame them? April and March in Iowa can be pretty ugly.
 
SpacemanSpiff said:
Then why not get rid of all women's sports and men's sports other than football. Its the only one that makes money. (Wrestling may be close, but I don't think it actually makes money.) And I'm sure some of these teams have reached similar levels futility to the baseball team.
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My guess is wrestling is not that close to making money. Iowa's staff is no doubt making quite a bit of cash.
 
SpacemanSpiff said:
Then why not get rid of all women's sports and men's sports other than football. Its the only one that makes money. (Wrestling may be close, but I don't think it actually makes money.) And I'm sure some of these teams have reached similar levels futility to the baseball team.
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We aren't talking about revenue. We're talking about a systemic disadvantage that northern teams face when it comes to the current system of college baseball. Again, no Big Ten team has made the CWS since 1984.

And I would challenge your claim about other men's sports at Iowa having similar levels of futility. Of the top of my head, I am pretty sure that golf, cross-country, track, and gymnastics have all had more success in the last 40 years. Not sure about tennis and swimming.
 
Generally college teams get cancelled for financial reasons, not for competitive reasons, otherwise Iowa State would no longer field a football team.
 
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