Is UTEP Missing Out By Not Having A Baseball Team?

[JCorona]

I read in the EPT that two El Paso HS players were drafted in the MLB.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sp...-garcia-taken-15th-round-mlb-draft/397165001/

In the last three years it has been six local players that have been drafted. There is probably countless more through the years the have gone from playing HS baseball to college teams. Why is El Paso and UTEP letting all this talent walk out the city?

CUSA has a strong baseball league that was ranked 6th this past season. It's usually one of the better baseball leagues in the nation.

We have a beautiful stadium that can be used through the college baseball season. If a schedule of conflict arises there is always the Helen of Troy field. Or there is a big empty stadium sitting in the NE.

I don't really want to hear the money excuse. UTSA can field a football bowl team, a basketball team that finished one victory shy of equaling the UTEP total, and a baseball team why can't we? La Tech fields CUSA west championship teams, 2nd place basketball teams and competitive baseball teams all while operating with the lowest athletics budget then why can't we?

If there is one sport local El Pasoens have a natural talent for it's baseball. We should be keeping these players home and building a team that can be a national force.

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

In terms of making $$$ don't think were missing out there, but in terms of talent, tradition, and another sport to keep us busy and having something to take pride in we are missing out big time.

Imagine the college tournaments the ball park could attract????

Your post is on point my man!

 

[Minerforlife]

I read in the EPT that two El Paso HS players were drafted in the MLB.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sp...-garcia-taken-15th-round-mlb-draft/397165001/

In the last three years it has been six local players that have been drafted. There is probably countless more through the years the have gone from playing HS baseball to college teams. Why is El Paso and UTEP letting all this talent walk out the city?

CUSA has a strong baseball league that was ranked 6th this past season. It's usually one of the better baseball leagues in the nation.

We have a beautiful stadium that can be used through the college baseball season. If a schedule of conflict arises there is always the Helen of Troy field. Or there is a big empty stadium sitting in the NE.

I don't really want to hear the money excuse. UTSA can field a football bowl team, a basketball team that finished one victory shy of equaling the UTEP total, and a baseball team why can't we? La Tech fields CUSA west championship teams, 2nd place basketball teams and competitive baseball teams all while operating with the lowest athletics budget then why can't we?

If there is one sport local El Pasoens have a natural talent for it's baseball. We should be keeping these players home and building a team that can be a national force.

That old asarco site is a perfect location for a baseball stadium.

 

[Roy_Bigwood_05]

That old asarco site is a perfect location for a baseball stadium.

+1

 

[UTEPfan1966]

Didn't UTEP already buy the asarco land?

What it comes down to is Title IX.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Would The Chihuahuas let UTEP use their stadium for baseball games knowing that they would be indirectly competing with their team? And I doubt the athletic department has the money to build a new baseball stadium, because if they do they should fire Kugler, and Floyd and bring in some better coaches.

 

[Minerforlife]

Would The Chihuahuas let UTEP use their stadium for baseball games knowing that they would be indirectly competing with their team? And I doubt the athletic department has the money to build a new baseball stadium, because if they do they should fire Kugler, and Floyd and bring in some better coaches.

They could afford to build a baseball stadium. Its not anywhere near the cost of a football stadium or arena. College teams playing in minor league stadiums generally doesnt work. One example is UNM, they played in isotopes park for 10 years, which is right across the stree from tbe pit and their football stadium. Two tears ago they moved back on campus so they could improve revenue and atmosphere.

Baseball is a non revenue spirt. Schools want to make as much money as possible to offset the costs. Paying rent in a minor league stadium and not controlling parking or concessions is not tenable for most college baseball teams. A nice 3-4 thousand seat stadium would be perfect for UTEP.

The reason we dont have baseball has more to do with basketball than title 9. We spend way more on mens hoops than anyother cusa school. Most schools between 1.5 and 2 million we spend 3.5 million. We've thrown money into basketball and gotten little to no results on the investment. We are in a wierd group of schools Loyola, San Francisco and UTEP. Schools who won national championships in the 50 60's and done very little. Its an interesting debate whether throwing that much money into basketball is a smart investment. With growing divide between the 10 power conferences and everyone else. We are in an era of meaningless regular seasons. The gap between the have and have nots is wider now in basketball than football a d thats hard to believe. If we dialed back basketball funding both men's and women's in line with the basketball budgets of the otherr conference schools we could easily fund two new women's sports and baseball. That would be a contentious, and spirited debate. Even without cutting basketball budgets i think we could afford baseball. They're are enough people who would support it finacially. Finding to women's sports to add that are cheap to add would be a challenge but could be done.

 

[MinerInWisconsin]

I read in the EPT that two El Paso HS players were drafted in the MLB.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sp...-garcia-taken-15th-round-mlb-draft/397165001/


I don't really want to hear the money excuse. UTSA can field a football bowl team, a basketball team that finished one victory shy of equaling the UTEP total, and a baseball team why can't we? La Tech fields CUSA west championship teams, 2nd place basketball teams and competitive baseball teams all while operating with the lowest athletics budget then why can't we?
QUOTE]
Here is a previous post on this very subject:

UTEP's athletic budget is about $3 million higher than UTSA's budget. It's what you are willing to spend money on. UTSA spends about $3 million total on men's and women's basketball while UTEP spends about $5.7 million on those 2 sports. UTEP also spends about a half a million more on football. Basically UTEP puts a lot of emphasis on basketball and UTSA does not.

https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/

 

[FeralFelidae]

Well, most schools don't field both a baseball team and track and field/cross-country. Given UTEP's tradition in the latter and the fact that UTEP just won a couple of individual national championships, if UTEP has to choose between the two, I think they made the right choice.

If UTEP is to ever add baseball again, they're going to need an influx of cash, and the best chance of that is for success in the revenue sports, football and basketball.

 

[Cube Jack]

I imagine it would be tough to bring back baseball anyway. First they'd have to start at the bottom and find a place to play. Then they'd have to add another womens sport to offset the scholarship count due to Title IX. After a few years of getting pummeled (as is the case with new programs) I imagine many "fans" would be whining about the waste of money.