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It is Interesting that they have been studying this again. I would love to have a home and home with the Golden Hurricane every year. It doesn't look real promising right now but who knows?
Could TU bring baseball to Drillers Stadium? Don't count on it.
The availability of Drillers Stadium after this season has spurred debate over whether TU could resurrect its baseball program. The school last fielded a team in 1980. TOM GILBERT / Tulsa World
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
THE UNIVERSITY of Tulsa, spurred by the availability of Drillers Stadium next year, studied the possibility of adding baseball, but has decided it is not currently feasible.TU athletic director Bubba Cunningham said TU officials conducted the study in the last six months and concluded it would cost somewhere between $300,000 to $500,000 to resurrect the sport. Tulsa dropped baseball as an intercollegiate sport in 1980."I just don't think we can justify it right now," Cunningham said.Bringing baseball back to TU has been a hot topic for nearly 30 years.That debate has heated up in recent months as the Tulsa Drillers, the city's Double-A baseball team, prepares to abandon Drillers Stadium at Expo Square for the new ONEOK Field in downtown Tulsa.There has been much speculation that the availability of Drillers Stadium could be a spark to bring collegiate baseball back to TU."During the study we looked at a lot of different scenarios and we just couldn't get to a revenue-neutral situation," Cunningham said.Cunningham said there were a number of workable solutions that would have allowed TU to bring back baseball without adding a women's sport.He said it might have taken "some scholarship management" in other sports to get to the right number. That probably means there would have been some male reduction and female addition in total athletic scholarships at TU.Still, Cunningham admitted the research revealed, "we would not have needed to add a sport. You could manage the scholarships in our current situation."When we looked at it, it was certainly workable."However, Cunningham said the timing wasn't quite right. "This is a tough economic climate," Cunningham said.However, the fact that TU elected to study the possibilities should encourage TU fans who have lobbied for the sport's return over the past several decades.In the past, any talk of TU reviving the sport was shot down quickly.Now, after examining all the factors, it hasn't been ruled out for the future."I get asked about baseball at least once a week," Cunningham said. "It has been that way since I got here to Tulsa."There's no question baseball is a very popular sport here. And there's a lot of interest in it among our supporters."Oral Roberts, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have been national powerhouses for decades. Arkansas has become a national power since 1979 with a lot of Tulsa-area players.TU was a national force under coach Gene Shell back in the 1960s and 1970s. The Golden Hurricane finished second in the nation in 1969 and was third in 1971. TU had the nation's No. 1-ranked team in 1972."There's no question the Drillers Stadium question caused us to study it once again very carefully," Cunningham said. "We felt like it was time to put pencil to paper."Cunningham believes baseball is a perfect fit in Conference USA. Southern Miss, from C-USA, reached this year's College World Series. Rice has won a national championship in baseball in recent years.And, Arkansas reached the College World Series this year with a handful of key players from the Tulsa area."We know we'd be in a great league for college baseball," Cunningham said. "And, we know there is great talent around here."One of the considerations is that if we were going to offer the sport we would want to be nationally competitive."We would want to know that there is talent available in this area. From that perspective, all of those were positive factors."But, for now, the dream of TU baseball remains a dream.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Could TU bring baseball to Drillers Stadium? Don't count on it.
The availability of Drillers Stadium after this season has spurred debate over whether TU could resurrect its baseball program. The school last fielded a team in 1980. TOM GILBERT / Tulsa World
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
THE UNIVERSITY of Tulsa, spurred by the availability of Drillers Stadium next year, studied the possibility of adding baseball, but has decided it is not currently feasible.TU athletic director Bubba Cunningham said TU officials conducted the study in the last six months and concluded it would cost somewhere between $300,000 to $500,000 to resurrect the sport. Tulsa dropped baseball as an intercollegiate sport in 1980."I just don't think we can justify it right now," Cunningham said.Bringing baseball back to TU has been a hot topic for nearly 30 years.That debate has heated up in recent months as the Tulsa Drillers, the city's Double-A baseball team, prepares to abandon Drillers Stadium at Expo Square for the new ONEOK Field in downtown Tulsa.There has been much speculation that the availability of Drillers Stadium could be a spark to bring collegiate baseball back to TU."During the study we looked at a lot of different scenarios and we just couldn't get to a revenue-neutral situation," Cunningham said.Cunningham said there were a number of workable solutions that would have allowed TU to bring back baseball without adding a women's sport.He said it might have taken "some scholarship management" in other sports to get to the right number. That probably means there would have been some male reduction and female addition in total athletic scholarships at TU.Still, Cunningham admitted the research revealed, "we would not have needed to add a sport. You could manage the scholarships in our current situation."When we looked at it, it was certainly workable."However, Cunningham said the timing wasn't quite right. "This is a tough economic climate," Cunningham said.However, the fact that TU elected to study the possibilities should encourage TU fans who have lobbied for the sport's return over the past several decades.In the past, any talk of TU reviving the sport was shot down quickly.Now, after examining all the factors, it hasn't been ruled out for the future."I get asked about baseball at least once a week," Cunningham said. "It has been that way since I got here to Tulsa."There's no question baseball is a very popular sport here. And there's a lot of interest in it among our supporters."Oral Roberts, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have been national powerhouses for decades. Arkansas has become a national power since 1979 with a lot of Tulsa-area players.TU was a national force under coach Gene Shell back in the 1960s and 1970s. The Golden Hurricane finished second in the nation in 1969 and was third in 1971. TU had the nation's No. 1-ranked team in 1972."There's no question the Drillers Stadium question caused us to study it once again very carefully," Cunningham said. "We felt like it was time to put pencil to paper."Cunningham believes baseball is a perfect fit in Conference USA. Southern Miss, from C-USA, reached this year's College World Series. Rice has won a national championship in baseball in recent years.And, Arkansas reached the College World Series this year with a handful of key players from the Tulsa area."We know we'd be in a great league for college baseball," Cunningham said. "And, we know there is great talent around here."One of the considerations is that if we were going to offer the sport we would want to be nationally competitive."We would want to know that there is talent available in this area. From that perspective, all of those were positive factors."But, for now, the dream of TU baseball remains a dream.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
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