[jinxy]

Cincinnati mens soccer was one heard early on. Recent days have seen bowling green and now furman drop baseball. Sounds like more to come.

[ballcoach15]

When schools start cutting baseball, those schools have leadership problems .

[Ill flame]

I hate how baseball is always one of the first sports to be cut. It's been growing a lot in recent years so I hate to see it.

[jinxy]

Furman has some baseball pedigree as well. That one was surprising to me in south carolina and bowling green is in ohio. I mean those are pretty good baseball markets.

To me cutting baseball doesnt seem like the right move since it has only 3 paid positions and what 13.5 scholarships. Especially if you already have the facility built.

Chicago state baseball up next.


Also the mac is doing away with conference tourneys. This thing is going crazy.

[ballcoach15]

I think baseball has 11.7 scholarships.

[Ill flame]

Furman has some baseball pedigree as well. That one was surprising to me in south carolina and bowling green is in ohio. I mean those are pretty good baseball markets.

To me cutting baseball doesnt seem like the right move since it has only 3 paid positions and what 13.5 scholarships. Especially if you already have the facility built.

Chicago state baseball up next.


Also the mac is doing away with conference tourneys. This thing is going crazy.

The third coach is a volunteer, usually making money through camps. Only two coaches are paid in college baseball. Unfortunately travel is very expensive for northern schools in baseball and softball. Equipment and field maintenance is also very expensive.

[jinxy]

Theres 3 paid. Scott jackson matt williams amd tyler cannon Are all paid. The 4th is volunteer which was payton scarborough last year.

[Ill flame]

Theres 3 paid. Scott jackson matt williams amd tyler cannon Are all paid. The 4th is volunteer which was payton scarborough last year.

[https://d1baseball.com/news/fight-for-t ... -new-life/]

NCAA votes on this issue every couple years and it always gets rejected. They don't wanna add a third paid assistant because smaller schools don't want to pay another softball coach also.

[TH Spangler]

ECU cutting. AAC schools struggling.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronav ... story.html

[jinxy]

Its the 3rd paid asst. meaning jackson is the hc williams and cannon are paid and scarborough would be the 3rd paid asst. Thats the way i have always been told and i believe thats right but maybe not?

Word is 2 or 3 more baseball cuts coming later this week.

[ATrain]

Furman has some baseball pedigree as well. That one was surprising to me in south carolina and bowling green is in ohio. I mean those are pretty good baseball markets.

To me cutting baseball doesnt seem like the right move since it has only 3 paid positions and what 13.5 scholarships. Especially if you already have the facility built.

Chicago state baseball up next.


Also the mac is doing away with conference tourneys. This thing is going crazy.

Baseball is a huge expense beyond coaching staff and scholarships. You have to factor in travel, equipment, facilities maintenance, etc...

[jinxy]

Equipment is almost all donated by the brands for sponsorship including gloves and bats. Sometimes uniforms as well but some of those are paid. The turf has almost zero maintenance on it compared to grass

Travel yes. There is some more travel but not much depending on the sport your comparing to its not that much more. Almost all midweek games are bus trip with no overnight stay. So your travel is about 6 weekends.

My point is baseball is universally accepted as the 2nd to 4th most visible sport depending on the school. Cost wise there wee other sports that cost virtually the same (if you already have the facility in place) and with way less fanfare and national perception.

[Sly Fox]

All sports with larger rosters have strong potential for cuts. I am shocked we have't seen football cut due to the virus at least one Division I school. Frankly I am shocked football wasn't on the Akron cut list. That tells me that MAC membership might be dependent on sponosring the sport. I now suspect that there might be a a bunch of under-budgeted state schools in Ohio and other states like Louisiana looking at creative ways to either stay afloat or fall on the sword together.

As for baseball travel costs, those weekends away typically are very long weekends in comparison to other sports. 3 games in three days have to go away. I suspect we are going to see smaller DI leagues demanding doubleheaders on Saturdays to lessen travel costs. I wouldn't be shocked to see the DHs become the entire road trip. Costs have to come down.

[ATrain]

All sports with larger rosters have strong potential for cuts. I am shocked we have't seen football cut due to the virus at least one Division I school. Frankly I am shocked football wasn't on the Akron cut list. That tells me that MAC membership might be dependent on sponosring the sport. I now suspect that there might be a a bunch of under-budgeted state schools in Ohio and other states like Louisiana looking at creative ways to either stay afloat or fall on the sword together.

As for baseball travel costs, those weekends away typically are very long weekends in comparison to other sports. 3 games in three days have to go away. I suspect we are going to see smaller DI leagues demanding doubleheaders on Saturdays to lessen travel costs. I wouldn't be shocked to see the DHs become the entire road trip. Costs have to come down.

Football is being cut at the D2 level. Florida Tech has dropped their program.

[ballcoach15]

With baseball and softball, instead of 3 day weekend series, I see a lot of Saturday DHs, to make it a 2 day series.

[Purple Haize]

All sports with larger rosters have strong potential for cuts. I am shocked we have't seen football cut due to the virus at least one Division I school. Frankly I am shocked football wasn't on the Akron cut list. That tells me that MAC membership might be dependent on sponosring the sport. I now suspect that there might be a a bunch of under-budgeted state schools in Ohio and other states like Louisiana looking at creative ways to either stay afloat or fall on the sword together.

As for baseball travel costs, those weekends away typically are very long weekends in comparison to other sports. 3 games in three days have to go away. I suspect we are going to see smaller DI leagues demanding doubleheaders on Saturdays to lessen travel costs. I wouldn't be shocked to see the DHs become the entire road trip. Costs have to come down.

I too am shocked we haven’t seen more schools axe football. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see it next year. If there are limited home games with limited attendance that Is going to decimate Athletic Departments and give others on the fence an excuse to cut. When UAB dropped theirs it was a trial balloon for others. This time will be different

[Ill flame]

Equipment is almost all donated by the brands for sponsorship including gloves and bats. Sometimes uniforms as well but some of those are paid. The turf has almost zero maintenance on it compared to grass

Travel yes. There is some more travel but not much depending on the sport your comparing to its not that much more. Almost all midweek games are bus trip with no overnight stay. So your travel is about 6 weekends.

My point is baseball is universally accepted as the 2nd to 4th most visible sport depending on the school. Cost wise there wee other sports that cost virtually the same (if you already have the facility in place) and with way less fanfare and national perception.

A lot of schools don't have turf and even a lot of the ones that do have dirt at home plate and the pitchers mound. Over the course of the season that equals dozens of $20-30 bags of clay depending on how they want to maintain it. Baseballs cost roughly $8-10 each at least and even assuming they don't let fans (if their are any) keep the balls, at least a dozen will be used per game and usually the visiting team provides the baseballs. When it comes to travel the northern schools definitely get hit the hardest. They generally can't play a home game for at least the first month of the season which equals a lot of travel, hotel stays, trips to McDonald's, etc. It's just really expensive and unavoidable for most northern schools. All of this also applies to softball but they title IX protecting them.

[flamesfilmguy]

Equipment is almost all donated by the brands for sponsorship including gloves and bats. Sometimes uniforms as well but some of those are paid. The turf has almost zero maintenance on it compared to grass

Travel yes. There is some more travel but not much depending on the sport your comparing to its not that much more. Almost all midweek games are bus trip with no overnight stay. So your travel is about 6 weekends.

My point is baseball is universally accepted as the 2nd to 4th most visible sport depending on the school. Cost wise there wee other sports that cost virtually the same (if you already have the facility in place) and with way less fanfare and national perception.

Wow. where do I start?

1. Equipment is by no means free or given. Sponsorship for Baseball have almost completely evaporated from the baseball only companies like rawlings, Easton and Wilson because the companies have realized there is no real Marketing ROI because they can go and sign the best pro players who will drive sales a lot more. I actually had to explain this to my head coach because he didn't understand why companies weren't knocking down our door when our Rawlings contract expired a few years ago. Yes the p5's who have Adidas,Nike,UA contracts allocate a certain amount of the promo $ for uniforms and cloth like travel suits, cleats etc. but most mid majors don't have promo money in those contracts for baseball. I know we didn't when I worked at two other mid majors. Also, Nike Adidas and UA do not produce bats and gloves any more. so the 2 most expensive pieces of equipment per player are usually paid in cash at minimum at a whole sale price and at maximum for retail price. My players go through average of two bats and two gloves a year. Thats 350 a glove and 450 a bat. on average with 16 batters you are looking at around 15K for just bats. not to mention Baseballs. Conference don't pay for baseballs. They are our largest expense outside of travel at somewhere between 35 and 55K per year. Add in gloves for 35 -40 guys you are looking at another 15K. I could go on but the numbers stack up quick for what a baseball team ends up paying. Furman and Bowling Green did not have a quarter of the promo money that we do so they were spending even more cash than we were. I have on good authority that the operating budget for furman was almost identical to ours and for a mid major that is insane.

2.Turf fields require a lot of maintenance its just different maintenance than what you would think of at a baseball field. Yes in the long run it saves money but not enough to justify no cutting a program. especially considering you are replacing the turf every year in some places and the whole thing every 5-7 years.
3. Travel for mid majors is almost always 7-8 weekends a year because its tough for them to get OOC Home series. plus they need the p5 series to help supplement the budget. I have many stories on how much teams make for those games. Sometimes they don't even involve cash. I've literally sent baseballs to a school as a payment for coming to play us.
4. Baseball (depending on what other sports on campus) is usually your 3rd or 4th most expensive sport. Football and mens basketball are 1&2 but they also make money. Baseball in a lot of cases, especially at the mid major level don't make any money and are the most expensive to operate. The only sport that is close to the operating cost is maybe lacrosse. Furman was spending 5 MIL between those two sports(Their lacrosse coach made almost 400K) That is insanity. Most schools would see that as a no brainer to cut cost.

Bowling green didn't surprise many people in baseball circles and neither will Chicago State when they cancel it(most likely) in mid june. Furman surprised people because that school has a crap ton of money. but they were also spending it at ridiculous pace so maybe its not so surprising. There are many many more cuts of sports coming. Hopefully not many more baseball teams but unfortunately there are a lot of schools spending a whole lot more on baseball than you would think while operating deep in the red, especially at the mid major level. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[jinxy]

Some valid points. I was told in last 2 years rawlings and i believe wilson provided most of bats and gloves (at least at LU). Is that not accurate? I knew the uniforms had changed. Turf while yes there is main. Theres nowhere near the same cost to maintain ( again assuming its already installed) as grass.

Forgot about balls and yes that can be a big expense as game balls become bp balls quickly.

My pt is not that baseball isnt expensive. Just that its not as expensive as it would appear with a 35 man roster but limited scholarships and not a fully paid staff. I guess im just saying if im furman i could find other less visible sport that costs a similar amt to ax.

[Jonathan Carone]

Equipment is almost all donated by the brands for sponsorship including gloves and bats. Sometimes uniforms as well but some of those are paid. The turf has almost zero maintenance on it compared to grass

Travel yes. There is some more travel but not much depending on the sport your comparing to its not that much more. Almost all midweek games are bus trip with no overnight stay. So your travel is about 6 weekends.

My point is baseball is universally accepted as the 2nd to 4th most visible sport depending on the school. Cost wise there wee other sports that cost virtually the same (if you already have the facility in place) and with way less fanfare and national perception.

Wow. where do I start?

1. Equipment is by no means free or given. Sponsorship for Baseball have almost completely evaporated from the baseball only companies like rawlings, Easton and Wilson because the companies have realized there is no real Marketing ROI because they can go and sign the best pro players who will drive sales a lot more. I actually had to explain this to my head coach because he didn't understand why companies weren't knocking down our door when our Rawlings contract expired a few years ago. Yes the p5's who have Adidas,Nike,UA contracts allocate a certain amount of the promo $ for uniforms and cloth like travel suits, cleats etc. but most mid majors don't have promo money in those contracts for baseball. I know we didn't when I worked at two other mid majors. Also, Nike Adidas and UA do not produce bats and gloves any more. so the 2 most expensive pieces of equipment per player are usually paid in cash at minimum at a whole sale price and at maximum for retail price. My players go through average of two bats and two gloves a year. Thats 350 a glove and 450 a bat. on average with 16 batters you are looking at around 15K for just bats. not to mention Baseballs. Conference don't pay for baseballs. They are our largest expense outside of travel at somewhere between 35 and 55K per year. Add in gloves for 35 -40 guys you are looking at another 15K. I could go on but the numbers stack up quick for what a baseball team ends up paying. Furman and Bowling Green did not have a quarter of the promo money that we do so they were spending even more cash than we were. I have on good authority that the operating budget for furman was almost identical to ours and for a mid major that is insane.

2.Turf fields require a lot of maintenance its just different maintenance than what you would think of at a baseball field. Yes in the long run it saves money but not enough to justify no cutting a program. especially considering you are replacing the turf every year in some places and the whole thing every 5-7 years.
3. Travel for mid majors is almost always 7-8 weekends a year because its tough for them to get OOC Home series. plus they need the p5 series to help supplement the budget. I have many stories on how much teams make for those games. Sometimes they don't even involve cash. I've literally sent baseballs to a school as a payment for coming to play us.
4. Baseball (depending on what other sports on campus) is usually your 3rd or 4th most expensive sport. Football and mens basketball are 1&2 but they also make money. Baseball in a lot of cases, especially at the mid major level don't make any money and are the most expensive to operate. The only sport that is close to the operating cost is maybe lacrosse. Furman was spending 5 MIL between those two sports(Their lacrosse coach made almost 400K) That is insanity. Most schools would see that as a no brainer to cut cost.

Bowling green didn't surprise many people in baseball circles and neither will Chicago State when they cancel it(most likely) in mid june. Furman surprised people because that school has a crap ton of money. but they were also spending it at ridiculous pace so maybe its not so surprising. There are many many more cuts of sports coming. Hopefully not many more baseball teams but unfortunately there are a lot of schools spending a whole lot more on baseball than you would think while operating deep in the red, especially at the mid major level. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

This is the smartest post you've ever posted. Almost like you work in it every day.

PS - if you want to get rid of leftover gear from this season, you have my address.

[jinxy]

Ballcoach. Yes current levels are 11.7. 13.5 is on table for next year. Should have clarified on scholarship levels.

[SumItUp]

Ballcoach. Yes current levels are 11.7. 13.5 is on table for next year. Should have clarified on scholarship levels.

I have not seen anything about 13.5. Has that been confirmed? Is it temporary relief due to the additional year of eligibility after canceling this season or will it be permanent?

[jinxy]

Correct. Its not approved yet but its on the number on table per my understanding that has the most likelihood to be approved. Its def going up.

[ballcoach15]

If my memory is correct, coaches have been trying to get it increased for years, but the D1 Council, D1 Board, D1 Commissioners or whatever they're called, keeps voting it down.
Basketball needs 5 players, baseball and softball need 9 players, yet basketball has more scholarships.

(before someone shoots me, I know basketball brings in more money, but sometimes common sense applies)

[ballcoach15]

ECU cutting. AAC schools struggling.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronav ... story.html

I just received an email, from ECU. They are cutting men's swimming/diving. women's swimming/diving and men's/women's tennis. i am glad they didn't give baseball or softball the ax.