Michael Jackson and The Police top the billboard charts, Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys dies, Reagan signs legislation that creates the national holiday known as Martin Luther King day and the final episode of M.A.S.H airs—these are the headlines that spanned the front pages in 1983, the last year that MSU had a baseball team.
Thirty years later, headlines and campus leaders speak of the possible return of the sport.
At the Nov. 8 meeting of the MSU Board of Regents, Shawn G. Hessing, chairman, and other school officials discussed the important factors to having a team.
“We needed to do more research,” Hessing said. “We as board felt it important to take an informed look for long-term
J. Kenneth Bryant, secretary of the board of regents stated that in May the board asked the administration to provide a five-year projected budget for the baseball team and proposed stadium. Charlie Carr, athletic director, and Marilyn Fowle, vice president of business affairs and finance, developed the analysis.
“We looked at several expenses that are typical of any other sports on campus,” Fowle said.
Fowle said the expenses include equipment and uniform costs, travel expenses to away games, maintenance cost for the field, umpire fees, scholarships as permitted by the NCAA, athletic training expenses and coaching salaries and fringe benefits.
“The projected salaries are around $50K for a head coach and $30K for assistant coach,” Fowle said.
“We determined those numbers by examining the average salaries of coaches in the rest of conference and a few schools outside of state,” Carr said. “The same procedure was used to determine how many potential students would want to come play. ”
The board expects the team to bring in anywhere from 40 to 50 students attempting to make the squad. Once friends and relatives are factored in, there is an expected enrollment increase of at least 100. With this increase the program is expected to fund itself within the first season.
“The project will breakeven in the first year if all revenue is considered, including room and board,” Fowle said. “If only tuition and fees are considered then it would take additional students to breakeven.”
Fowle said to reach the breakeven point, the team would have to have 24 players with 12 redshirts. She said if the students are local, and the room and board is not included, then 18 additional students would be needed.
Fowle said there are two factors to having the team: building the field, and the operating costs involved with the team. She said there is adequate gift monies committed to building all or most of the field, but whether it is enough depends on the location. Fowle said the board will be considering the location as part of the master planning process.
“We have discussed sites on campus on both sides of Midwestern Parkway,” Hessing said. “Nothing certain has been determined yet.”
Rogers said the final location of the field will be determined by the architects in charge of the project, Secord and Lebow. He said once a master plan for the construction of the field has been completed, the board will move on with further proceedings for the team, including acquiring more financial support
“It’s obvious that we need to raise more money,” Rogers said.
Rogers said so far campus officials have raised $2.97 million for the project. He said the projected budget includes the $1 million for site development and involves a $1.75 million field house as well as new training equipment and staff.
“I do have plans to call on some more potential donors,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the available money is derived from three fundraising foundations, money from the city, and four private donations. He said the project is a big undertaking and once the board can meet the financial requirements it will take its place along side many other needed projects. All other variables aside, the board was clear that no major decisions have been made yet.
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“DO YOU WANT MSU TO HAVE A BASEBALL TEAM?”
- Jesse Rogers, university president | “Of course I want a team the whole thing was my idea.”
- Charlie Carr, athletic director | “I would love to have it as long as it doesn’t take budget from our other sports.”
- Shawn Hessing, chairman of the Board of Regents | “A long-term plan for baseball is still developing. I do think it will happen eventually and yes I personally do want the University to have a team.”
- Marilyn Fowle, vice president of business affairs and finance | “I am ambivalent to whether we should have a team or not. There are a lot of exciting reasons to support having a team, but I know there are also some reasons not to put the time, effort, and money into adding another sport.”
- Ryan Patty, former local baseball player at Burkburnett High School; current player at Mid-America junior college; junior in agricultural economics | “Yes, it’s a core sport. I would have stayed if they had a team. MSU is a good school and attracts talented locals.”
- Christian Tanner, junior in Exercise Physiology | “Yeah I’d appreciate that. A lot of my friends from high school would come back to play.”
- Lisa Hampton, junior in marketing, three-year basketball player | “Yes! As an athlete I think it would be great because the community does a really good job of supporting MSU athletics and since the city obviously wants a team, adding baseball would allow all our teams to get even more support.”
