Moving Day 2025

[vikingfaithful]

I copied those from another site- I assume that they are accurate. I hate that Wisconsin doesn't have baseball since 1991. The state of Iowa only has one D1 baseball team- Drake, UNI and Iowa State don't have it. Surprised that more southern schools don't have baseball- or softball. Vandy and USC say that they don't have room on campus. Wondering if anyone else will start either sport- or drop it.

Why so many schools not sponsor these two classic American sports? Softball and Baseball are two athletic endeavors most kids play. Although, soccer has sucked some air out of those two games.

[laker]

Why so many schools not sponsor these two classic American sports? Softball and Baseball are two athletic endeavors most kids play. Although, soccer has sucked some air out of those two games.

Great question. I can see why UND dropped baseball, as much as I dislike that they did. Spring in North Dakota can be about three days long. But SMU and some of these other southern schools? And softball- MSU can play two games at the game time inside their dome- it doesn't take up much space.

[TheBigCat2192]

Why so many schools not sponsor these two classic American sports? Softball and Baseball are two athletic endeavors most kids play. Although, soccer has sucked some air out of those two games.

Baseball has occasionally been a Title IX casualty, and even in cases where Title IX plays no part the decline in collegiate baseball participation is likely a reflection of the fact schools are increasingly female. This is from the last NCES report I can find on enrollment, which is from 2021 and the data is probably a little shaky (COVID and all that) but it's not a new trend.

In fall 2021, female students made up 58 percent of total undergraduate enrollment (8.9 million students), and male students made up 42 percent (6.5 million students). Between 2010 and 2021, male enrollment decreased by 17 percent (from 7.8 million to 6.5 million students) and female enrollment decreased by 13 percent (from 10.2 million to 8.9 million students).

Remember also that Gen Z (the oldest of whom are around 20 today) is smaller than the Millennial generation, which was already smaller than the Baby Boomers (although slightly larger than Gen X), so the total number of people to draw in for sports is not going to match what existed in the past. Gen Z is also showing signs of college skepticism, so even those who fit the bill of being academically capable and interested in baseball might find themselves enrolling in tech school or simply entering the work force in order to avoid debt or take on less. If a smaller portion of your school is male and the student body is itself smaller, then filling a baseball team is going to be more difficult.

[SW_Mustang]

Remember also that Gen Z (the oldest of whom are around 20 today) is smaller than the Millennial generation,

Not quite - the oldest of Gen Z is in their late 20s. Pew categorizes Gen Z as 1997-2012 (though there is no standard definition).

[SW_Mustang]

Why so many schools not sponsor these two classic American sports? Softball and Baseball are two athletic endeavors most kids play. Although, soccer has sucked some air out of those two games.

It's a financial and logistical nightmare for a lot of schools with very little financial return. When you consider things like facilities and scheduling, and the very trivial revenues (if any) - it makes more sense. Not to mention other things like the pay-to-play pyramid scheme of youth travel baseball, universities competing with the MLB and JUCOs for talent, and the fact that success is largely dependent on geographic location.

It also doesn't drive a lot of fan interest for much of the same reason.

It's brutal in the NSIC - which is why it's all the more interesting that programs like Mankato, St. Cloud, and Augustana have done so well nationally.

Softball at least has the benefit of smaller facilities and being able to play indoors, but it's much the same for them I'd imagine. I don't know as much about softball.

[Finchwidget]

For those of you interested in school mergers/closures, New Jersey City University has entered into an agreement to merge with Kean University and become its Jersey City campus.

Athletics wise, both of them currently compete in the D3 New Jersey Athletic Conference-- moving forward, it sounds like NJCU men's hoops will follow the Bloomfield route and go to the USCAA, while all other NJCU athletic programs will get folded into Kean's department.

[Bballfan]

Been awhile since we have had some closures, mergers, etc. But now is the time they will pick of steam as universities try to decide if they can survive another fiscal year after June 30th.

[TheBigCat2192]

Not quite - the oldest of Gen Z is in their late 20s. Pew categorizes Gen Z as 1997-2012 (though there is no standard definition).

Honest mistake, I forgot that 1997 is now *30 years ago rather than 20.

[Finchwidget]

Been awhile since we have had some closures, mergers, etc. But now is the time they will pick of steam as universities try to decide if they can survive another fiscal year after June 30th.

Kean-NJCU has been in the works for a while now. I posted about it in the last Moving Day thread almost a year ago, and it was approved by both universities back in October. Just hadn't shown up on my radar again until recently.

[SW_Mustang]

Honest mistake, I forgot that 1997 is now *30 years ago rather than 20.

Gotcha - I feel that too honestly haha

[BurlingameRoad]

Looks like NDSU is moving all the way up, leaving the MVFC for the Mountain West in FBS.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-foo...025747905.html

[SW_Mustang]

Now it's being reported there's an offer.

[njmav1]

Now it's being reported there's an offer.

You knew it was coming. The real surprise would be if NDSU doesn't move up.

[Purple Mav Man]

You knew it was coming. The real surprise would be if NDSU doesn't move up.

This is a perfect situation for them. Football can make money and travel all over the MWC, while all the other sports can stay very (for the most part) regional with The Summit.

[SW_Mustang]

You knew it was coming. The real surprise would be if NDSU doesn't move up.

Yup. I'm more curious to know a) what SDSU does and b) what dominoes fall behind them (if any).