It seems like every spring someone has to write this column. When the skies clear and the temperature rises, the game of baseball begins to play itself out in the hearts and minds of every sports fan. Opening day was three weeks ago, yet the urge for baseball hadn’t crept into my head until the snow started to melt and the sun began to shine this weekend.
After running around town all Friday afternoon, the want to sit and watch the pastime in all its splendor had me wishing I could just run down to the playing fields and catch the front end of a weekend NCAA series.
Sadly, my wishes were just a fantasy. Division I collegiate baseball hasn’t had a place on this campus since Pedro Martinez was a Dodger.
For some students on this campus, the love of baseball ran a high fever throughout the cold winter. Weekly two-hour stints in golf domes and high school field houses were their fix. The Wisconsin club baseball team practiced hard in the limited time and facilities they had in preparation for the spring season. Every year they hold a scrimmage with the competitive JUCO team of MATC, and make a game of it. They made their annual trip down to Florida over Spring Break, mostly on their own bankroll, and made a fine showing against some of the best club teams in the country.
The men of the UW club team play because they love to. They love the game enough to have it occupy the majority of their weekends, making the long trips to Upper Iowa and Eau Claire for doubleheaders. They bond over their love for the game and their passion to be a part of a team.
You see this in other sports, as the men of the Badger basketball team practice everyday and make their travels across the country while balancing an academic schedule. You see the same thing on the women’s track or softball team.
Most of these athletes, however, are given a free education to do so while their travels are funded by the athletic department. The club team doesn’t have these amenities.
Title IX ended the possibility of a baseball team at this school, as the scholarships became too much to compensate for. Don’t get me wrong, Title IX has done marvels in promoting women’s athletics since its inception, but in my mind it has robbed this university of the possibility of becoming a true collegiate sports powerhouse.
You look at a school like the University of Minnesota that has solid men’s athletic programs across the board; a back-to-back NCAA champion hockey team, both first-rate men’s basketball and football programs, and a very competitive baseball team. These four major men’s sports teams are extremely successful for Minnesota, and the school reaps their benefits.
Pat Richter has built the Wisconsin Athletic Department into something special, reaching new heights across the board in all of the university’s sports teams. But he has done this by eliminating the element that could turn this athletic department into one of the tops in the nation.
As a parting gesture, wouldn’t it be great if Richter, a former Badger baseball player and one of Madison’s favorite sons, allotted funds to rebuild a Division I baseball program? The department ran a surplus last year, and I’m sure all those new Camp Randall luxury suites will bring in some significant revenue. But Richter seems content with the hiring of Lisa Stone and her new staff as the cap on his legacy.
It has to be eternally frustrating to the men of the club team that consistently play on a high level, and not get paid for it. They consistently won their conference tournaments since their conception in spring of 2000, and are now favored to win their conference in their first season in the National Club Baseball Association.
There’s no doubt that the team consisting of some former collegiate players at other schools and past high school players could compete in the WIAA. Just think if the team had the bonuses of scholarships and a well-kept field to call their own.
Team founder Brian Carlson has gone on to hold an executive position in the NCBA, while other team alumni have gone on to coach high school ball in Wisconsin and Illinois. In its short history, the club team has shown itself a valuable organization in building talent and baseball intelligence in the state of Wisconsin. So why not reward them?
Over the past several summers, the city of Madison has shown itself a strong baseball community, supporting the Madison Mallards to some of the highest attendance totals in the Northwoods league. After years of consistent futility in supporting a minor league team, Madison has shown itself a strong supporter of summer collegiate ball. There’s not a question the university wouldn’t draw comparable crowds for a collegiate team.
In the meantime, I’ll catch a few club games, and I’ll play a little ball as the Herald undoubtedly will stomp the Cardinal in a couple weeks. But every Friday this spring I’ll wish I could walk down to the playing fields, grab a bag of peanuts and watch some big-time collegiate baseball.
