What might some considerations for starting a new ball program at a CIAA DII school

Outstanding post ....your participation on TBR has made us better

 

To get back to glovesides original question I think the first thing to do is to ask what would any college need to start up a baseball program...

1. Field/facilities
2. Budget for uniforms and practice gear (just as an example most schools spend 3-5k a year on baseballs, and one set of uniforms is about 6k)
3. Budget for travel (buses, hotel, meal money) Imagine 15 hotel rooms at 100$-140$ a night for three night, that's every weekend
4. Budget for recruiting
5. budget for for field maintenance (which you can expect to be three times higher for the first couple of years)
6. budget for scholarships
7. Budget for umpires (about 300$ a game)
8. budget for coaching salaries
Right now I'm guessing in my head a half a million for the first year alone. That's just to have a regular field, not one that would attract any player at all

So I guess to answer your question MONEY and LOTS OF IT!

That's just to field a team not anymore.......

 

Thanks Olefty!

This is good

 

MLB... and a rant!

You might consider contacting the people involved with the MLB "RBI" program. While this is an effort to bring back baseball in urban areas for kids, they may have an interest in college level baseball at a HBCU. It would benefit, not only the colleges, but also give those kids that do get involved with RBI, a goal to strive for. As with all players, only a handful make it in the Pros. Many more can continue playing after high school with the end result being a college degree.

Somewhat off topic, I do think one of the reasons there has been such a drop in involvement by minority kids in baseball is limited numbers of PARTIAL scholarships. Football and Basketball offer the "full rides". With the costs of going to college rising each year, I'm afraid baseball, as well as some of the other "non-revenue" sports, are going to become more populated by "wealthy" athletes, no matter what their skin color or nationality is. They are the only ones that will be able to afford it.

 

Very good point---or he better be a brainiac, unlike me

 

HBCU Baseball

Just to echo Braves' comments, we were just discussing with some other HBCU baseball coaches the very issues being addressed here on this thread. Because of the NCAA emphasis on APR (Academic Progress Rate), most, if not all, HBCU baseball programs are requiring a minimum GPA of 3.0. With a 3.0 GPA and solid SAT score, we can get kids ACADEMIC scholarships and then supplement those with athletic scholarships. Hopefully, more kids will then get "full rides". My advice to ALL athletes is "HIT THE BOOKS" as hard as you hit the baseball.

Most of your "Showcase Teams" are already filled with kids from homes with the "means" to afford the travel costs. Playing baseball at "the next level" is ALL about an education - then baseball.

 

cbsconsult, my experiences with HBCU's (albeit in football) have been exactly what you said. SC State has probably been my favorite away football game I have ever been to. With that being said, I've read on multiple message boards where some people, whether it be boosters or just fans, at some schools want to keep a black presence on their teams. Granted, this is just message board talk. I also saw the HBO thing Braves mentioned, as well as the special ESPN did on it a few years back. A kid at my high school who is white just signed to go to NC A&T. I've seen that more in more in recent years, and that goes across the board in all sports. I meant nothing bad about HBCU's in what I said, and I'm sorry I'm just now getting around to clearing it up. I hope no one took offense to it. I was simply sharing my experiences that could effect the topic at hand.