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Montana to Add Softball??
- Thread starter grizpack
- Start date
Wasn't this part of the deal with the Big Sky taking on UND and SUU was that softball was going to become a Big Sky sponsored sport?
MissoulaCanucksFan
Well-known member
Totally in favor of UM adding a softball program. There's lots of great high school programs across the state but no Division I program to show for it. Hope this happens for the sake of those young ladies that want to keep playing beyond high school and want to do so in Montana.
GrizBBIsKing
Well-known member
MrTitleist said:
Nope. Title 9. UM needs to add another sport for women because of the increasing number of women enrolled. I think it is 52% women and 48% male. At this point, UM is short of women sports based on the ratio of females and males enrolled.
Grizbacker1
Well-known member
GrizBBIsKing said:
I love it! This will make 2 sports we offer that our little sisters don't, soccer and softball. :thumb:
Cat Pride
Well-known member
Grizbacker1 said:
With O'Day bitching about how tight the purse strings are at UM, and how UM single handedly funds the Big Sky Conference and the FCS, how will the addition of softball impact that? That will add at least 15 scholarship athletes (not all full obviously) to the school, plus travel to places farther away than a bus can normally take, a couple coaches, equipment, facility.... :clap: O'Day won't be doing this because he wants to or because "little sister" doesnt offer, he is doing it because he has to, and I guarantee it is something he'd rather not have to do inside the Big Sky Conference.
Grizbeer
Well-known member
Confirmed in the Kaimin, to start in 2014. Will cost $500k per year, and will play games at Big Sky High.
http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/softball-to-become-d-i-sport-1.2118394" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I think this will turn out to be a pretty good move for UM. Softball has a reasonable chance of bringing in some revenue, and if a nice complex is built can bring lots of teams to town for tournaments to help local hospitality businesses with spring revenue.
http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/softball-to-become-d-i-sport-1.2118394" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I think this will turn out to be a pretty good move for UM. Softball has a reasonable chance of bringing in some revenue, and if a nice complex is built can bring lots of teams to town for tournaments to help local hospitality businesses with spring revenue.
BelierPeaux
Well-known member
So, will they field a team prior to 2014? Sort of like a club team?
Don't get carried away. Its revenue won't cover the facility rent. This will be a drag on the AD budget just like every other sport other than FB and Bball. So back to the FB boosters.Grizbeer said:
Care to speculate how it could justify a new facilty? Until Title IX requires comparative facility investments, it's far from clear how a new facility investment could be justified.
Cat Pride said:
If you'd been paying attention (a great deal to ask of a cow college grad, understood), you would know that O'Day was saying as long as two years ago that UM was going to have to add softball (or another women's sport, but softball was the one which always came up in conversation) whether they could afford it or not to stay in compliance with Title IV. In fact, this is one of the reasons moving to FBS was considered, because the University knew it was going to have to drive additional revenue somehow to pay for the sport(s) it needed to add (look for another women's sport to be added within 3 -5 years).
mtgrizrule
Well-known member
If, and when I get back to Montana full time, I will go watch GRIZ softball, and would support baseball even more (if that could happen, but will not.)
Zirg
Well-known member
mtgrizrule said:
Whether it's UM,MSU or MSU-Billings, I don't care. We need one D-1 baseball program in this state. No state in this country gives kids so few opportunities in baseball like Montana does-no high school program (only 2 or 3 others do not offer baseball) and no D-1 program (again only 3 or 4 states do not have one). Despite that there were 3 MLB players born in Montana (including one from Missoula) last year and 2 of which were actually raised in Montana as well. So now there is high school AND D-1 for softball but neither in place for baseball? Unbelievable!
Big Sky HS? That's like 7 miles from campus. Who's gonna go way out there to stand and watch softball at a high-school field? Not any on-campus students that's for sure. Then again,they don't go to most b-ball games either. I don't see how building a new softball field for a sport that will always lose money is feasible either but eventually they will probably HAVE to like they did for soccer, although I don't know where. I don't think there's room on the south campus for a space-eating softball stadium, not when we can cram in more student housing there. This is gonna be a permanent sinkhole for the Athletic budget, no 2 ways about it.
Osprey Stadium is not in use until June, AFTER the college season, so a beautiful new baseball facility fairly close to campus with no competition for field time is already in place in Missoula, unlike softball, which has none of the 3-closeness to campus, a "nice" facility and no competition for field usage. I am guessing Big Sky HS will get first dibs on practice time/scheduled games etc, not UM. Billings also has a nice facility in place, Bozeman really does not.
All I am asking for is equal treatment for softball and baseball players in this state. Isn't that what Title 9 was suppose to be about?
Fort Missoula Softball fields are not Big Sky High School's softball fields. It is a different complex across the road.
However, I don't think that is the best option either. Not sure why they wouldn't look at McCormick park right by the Osprey stadium.
And using the Osprey field isn't even close to an option. No way MLB or the Osprey allow them to skin the infield every spring. NCAA softball requires a dirt infield. Base lengths are different, no mound, etc.
However, I don't think that is the best option either. Not sure why they wouldn't look at McCormick park right by the Osprey stadium.
And using the Osprey field isn't even close to an option. No way MLB or the Osprey allow them to skin the infield every spring. NCAA softball requires a dirt infield. Base lengths are different, no mound, etc.
