Why Isn’t Big Ten Baseball Better?

Apparently Dave Van Horn actually built Nebraska up to be a power then Arkansas hired him away. 3 CWS appearances with Nebraska.

Poor guy. He’s been to Omaha a lot and lost every time.

If I’m Nebraska I’m calling him to return. I’m sure Arkansas would respectfully agree to part ways.

Wisconsin hasn’t had a baseball program since the early 90’s. Athletic department was hemorrhaging money and it was a casualty. That’s what most will cite but Title IX was also an issue. In order to save baseball UW would’ve had to add a couple of women’s sports to be compliant with title IX.

Baseball is sneaky popular in Wisconsin at the local level. Little leagues, high school, Legion baseball, etc. Plus, it’s almost a given that a Wisconsin D3 program is going to be in the D3 college World Series every year.

I lived in Kansas my freshmen year of HS and we had to practice indoors in the multipurpose room the first 2 weeks of the season because the fields had snow and were too wet. I don’t disagree it is popular, but just not as popular as basketball, football, and lacrosse. It’s fairly clear with recruiting that it’s just not as popular.

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Don’t even try to tell me baseball isn’t popular in the Midwest. I am certain if you build it they will come and it could be almost just as popular as it is in the SEC.

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Not at all. They have pro teams

Look, baseball is played in the north, but not at the level it’s worshipped in the south. Travel ball culture in the white community from Texas to the Carolina’s is just at an entirely different level.

You have parents doing pitch tracking in 2nd grade down south, personal coaches and year round play.

Up north the best athletes are usually doing 2-3 sports due to seasonal weather issues, down south these kids start focusing on one sport early and it’s often baseball. There are also other sports like hockey, lacrosse and soccer with massive followings up north that are niche sports at best down south that have major followings up there to reduce the talent pool and focus.

It’s not to say that great players don’t exist up north, it’s more so that the culture around the sports is treated completely different regionally, the talent is more widely dispersed amongst various sports and less regimented as far as how it’s enhanced via training and coaching.

In my experience the average field in the B10 would be a average facility at a wealthy high school in the south while the SEC fields are as nice or nicer than the average minor league park in the north. Meanwhile attendance for college baseball up there is virtually nonexistent.

Baseball in the north is one of many sports, in the south it’s THE sport to play for the white population.

Michigan was runner-up a few years ago.

Not a great league but it has improved over the last 10-15 years

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Other teams that come to mind who should be relevant are Iowa, Illinois, Ohio State and Minnesota. Like I get it that for the first month and a half it’s simply too cold/inclement weather. It can be worked around.

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Minny at least can play games in the Vikings stadium early in the season

Exactly.

You have snow on the ground or the threat of it thru April in most of these states.

It’s just a totally different reality.

I also think college baseball gets subsumed by basketball and wrestling, the 2 big winter sports, in big 10 country.

Some of those northern mlb teams have been around forever too. Cubs. Reds. Tigers.

For your average baseball fan in the Midwest, that’s where the brand loyalty lies.

Ohio State football is a thing. Michigan State basketball is a thing.

But Penn State baseball?