$300,000 granted to university toward baseball field project

Midwestern has hopes of resurrecting the baseball program.

The university requested $400,000 from the 4B Sales Tax Board to fund the construction of a baseball field.

Last week, Howard Farrell, vice president of university advancement and public affairs, proposed Midwestern’s baseball plan to the 4B Board and said it was well-received.

“We want this to be a partnership with the city of Wichita Falls,” Farrell said. “So what we shared for the 4B Board is that this is a great opportunity for the university to create an athletic sport that would help in our enrollment, but we want this to be a partnership with the city of Wichita Falls. They received it very warmly and very supportive because you cannot lie with numbers.”

The 4B board, which utilizes city sales tax money to fund projects, however, only granted MSU $300,000 and is awaiting approval from the city council.

“This is a baseball-rich environment  not only for Wichita Falls, but North Texas. In terms of enrollment, we would be getting students who wouldn’t normally come to Midwestern,” Farrell said.

According to research done by John Martinez, professor of economic, the economic impact for the city would excess $11 million.

“This is a win-win,” Farrell said. “This is a win for the university and a win for the community.”

The field will be built with private contributions. According to Farrell, he and University President Jesse Rogers have been actively fundraising for the baseball program with more than $2 million saved, half of the funding coming from the Bridwell Foundation.

Farrell said he is optimistic the university will receive enough private money to afford the baseball facility.

“We’re at the fundraising aspect of this,” Farrell said. “This isn’t going on forever. We don’t have an exact date, but I think we have at least two or three more months to see if we can generate the funding. We’re not going to put something up that isn’t first-class, like everything else we have on campus. We want the university to proud of it. We want the community to be proud of it. We are spending a lot of time to do this right.”

Rogers said MSU approached the 4B Board because the board itself exists to bring visitors to Wichita Falls.

“The many games that will be played here will bring millions per year through food, lodging and fuel for buses from the visiting teams,” Rogers said. “Additionally, we will rent the field for high school championship games, and interest has been expressed in bringing a summer league team to Wichita Falls.”

MSU will lease the field to the league during the summer months when the baseball team wouldn’t be using the field.

Rogers said even though administrators have just begun planning, the Board of Regents has been supportive, but have not approved all aspects of the effort.

“If we cannot raise enough private money to build a good and beautiful field, we will not play baseball,” Rogers said. “However, we are encouraged by the interest shown by donors, foundations and the community.”

Rogers said the first team’s equipment will be paid for by contributions.

“After that, there will be 24 players paying 30 hours of tuition and fees per year,” he said. “This will more than cover the cost of a team’s expenses.”

The most conservative estimates indicate there will be an excess of $15,000 to $20,000.

“Excess dollars will come from red shirt players and those who came to the university to work out with the team to try and make the roster,” Rogers said. “This number is significant.”

These students will be paying full tuition and fees and receive no scholarships.

While many people on campus are interested about the possibility of the addition of baseball, Rogers said the fears of how this could negatively affect the university are unfounded.

“In Division II, because of the limited number of scholarships and the large number of players, intercollegiate athletics produces well over $2.5 million in excess of what MSU spends on it,” he said. “All of these funds go into various fee categories.”

Enrollment growth has been cited as one of the core reasons behind the addition of the baseball team and Rogers said the number of roster players guarantees this growth.

“Even though we are limited to nine scholarships by the NCAA, these scholarships are divided among 24 players,” Rogers said. “Additionally, we will have many students working with the team to make the roster. They will be receiving no financial support. This is true of several of our other sports.”

Midwestern has not had a baseball program since the ‘80s.

“Our intent is to bring some excitement and enjoyment to our students and fans,” Rogers said. “Mainly, the presence of a team will bring more students and recruiting will introduce us to high school that have not sent students in the past. Finally, [MSU] would be a stronger member of the Lone Star Conference.”

Athletic Director Charlie Carr said baseball is a great spectator sport and hopes they will build a facility on campus students could enjoy.

“We’re one of the two schools in the Lone Star Conference without a baseball team so it would really be completing the puzzle,” Carr said. “It’s a spring hallmark sport, very popular in this area.”

Carr, who has served as athletic director since 2007, said it is easy to get “attached” to be a baseball team.

“It’s very student friendly with a lot of interest,” Carr said. “It’s a sport where everyone has at least some familiarity with. I think it’s an easy understanding and an easy thing to identify with. It’s very popular and part of Texas.”

Building a baseball field on campus, according to Carr, is a must.

“It doesn’t do us any good to build a facility off campus,” Carr said. “It’s too much a part of the university. You wouldn’t want to do something that wasn’t intricate or in the mainstream of the university.”

After the money is funded for the facility, Carr said the next step would be staffing and deciding how the athletic department will handle its annual budget without disrupting or hurting the rest of the program or the university.

“This is all been undertaking under the idea that it will sustain itself and it won’t take away from another sport or any facet of the university,” Carr said. “That is very important to Dr. Rogers and I.”

Carr said he has already seen great interest in the team.

“There are a lot of students around here who have a great interest in it,” Carr said. “That’s a pretty good litmus test. Our students are interested in coming and it’s certainly born out by the rest of our sports and we all do well.”

If it receives funding, the baseball team would compete against normal LSC rivals like Tarleton University. Carr said he has faith Midwestern will succeed against other teams.

“All of our sports are successful,” Carr said. “I would certainly envision us being very successful with it.”

Ultimately, Rogers and Carr agree this is a good time to bring back a baseball program.

“It’s something that a number of people have missed having,” Carr said. “People rally around baseball and right now we are looking at ways to enhance our enrollment and history bears out everywhere you go that it has enhanced the enrollment in different ways. Not only is it good for our program, but also it would be good for our campus and the community.”