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Post by coacheinerson on Jan 4, 2006 2:31:57 GMT -6
Being the baseball enthusiast I am, I've been thinking about this since I arrived at UWM. Dylanrocks and I had a long conversation about it while coming home from work tonight...
I feel that college baseball is going to rise in popularity in the coming years. The reason we don't really care about it up here is because every single top notch program is in the south or the west for obvious reasons. Places like Texas, Florida, Miami, Cal State Fullerton etc... don't have to play their first 15-20 games on the road like Horizon League clubs do. All talented northern high school players migrate south to play in college. We have a resource in Milwaukee that I believe could make UWM a nationally renouned baseball school... Miller Park.
Right now we play our games at Henry Aaron Field... a field that is a complete joke and a disgrace to the name it bears. It's basically you're typical high school field. Last year we played two games at Miller Park on the same day as Brewer games and obviously, very few stuck around to see the Panthers.
But, what if Miller Park was the Panthers home field? It wouldn't be hard to dress "the keg" for college baseball... basically just leave the bottom level open while you close off every other section in the park. Have shuttle buses that take students and other east siders to the stadium much like we do for basketball. Would people come? I really think so. Tickets would be extremely cheap and travelers on I-94 could get an affordable look at the beautiful home of the Brewers from the best seats in the house. The closed roof would allow us to schedule home games as early as late February. Heating is an issue, but if we plan on having a Final Four at Miller Park in the future, it's going to have to be improved anyways.
Just imagine having a four game weekend series with juggernauts like Miami or Oklahoma in March... Think of how our recruiting would skyrocket if our home was a Major League ballpark. The Milwaukee Brewers and our university have strong ties as it is... is it so impossible that the two could work together on this? I mean, MP and the Brewers would make all the money for parking, refreshments and apparel anyways. After a few years, interest may grow as the program grows and I think this could really be a succesful marriage for both parties.
I've been thinking about this for awhile... just wanted to see what you guys think.
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Post by uwmfan on Jan 4, 2006 9:06:00 GMT -6
Brew,
I think it's an interesting idea but I don't think it will catch on. Mostly because renting Miller Park would be a huge revenue drain, even with the arrangements already in place between UWM and the Brewhahaas. Also assuming you're not planning on charging students to take the bus, there'd be little, if any, $$ gain to attract the students. It's a double edged sword, as charging $$ for the tickets will also likely knock some of them from attending. The rest of paying crowd just couldn't support it, in my opinion.
If we had the luxury of deeper pockets as an institution right now I think one could afford to take a financial hit for a while as you grew this idea. Since we're not to that point financially this concept would be on the back burner from my perspective.
It's an interesting idea.... great to have brainstorming going on like this!
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Post by Ron Diaz on Jan 4, 2006 9:26:42 GMT -6
It is a good idea. I don't know if you would necessarily need to bus students to Miller Park. There are city busses that go out there, and all students do have the option of getting a free U-Pass. I know I would definately go.
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Post by teddyp00 on Jan 4, 2006 9:32:57 GMT -6
Its a great idea, but you know what happens to most great ideas at UWM? They get shot down. I just had a long talk last night with a professor about much of the backwards thinking by the people at the top of UWM and how things get decided on by money and what makes the most money for the university right now. Its sad but true that they tend not to think about the benefits that could be had 5 years from now, but until we get a few more people in power that are willing to push for things to happen whether it be academics or athletics do not expect to see anything too exciting happen no matter how much good it could do the school in the future.
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Jan 4, 2006 9:37:42 GMT -6
i agree hank arron field is a joke, it was my high schools home park. the people who run uwm now are just like the ones who govern the city, in that they think small (cheap) and never see the bigger picture.
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Post by uwmfan on Jan 4, 2006 10:56:46 GMT -6
I'm just curious Teddy/MWU....do either of you work in the university setting?
I don't claim to have the answers, and think Brew's thinking outside of the box is great. However, as one who's worked at this university for 14 years and have a position that is administrative in nature now (started off on the bottom rung), I know firsthand how difficult implementation of ANY changes can be, be they big or small, and whether you like it or not funding is at the core of what we do and don't do. Administrators on campus are responsible for prioritizing countless things of which you (nor I) have even the slightest clue.
I've been in the meetings where the chancellor and my unit's leader, the Vice Chancellor, are tugged in all directions by forces that have no place in this realm. But they're there, and they can't (or won't, in many cases) be ignored. I don't always agree either with decisions that may be made at the top, but until one has been in that position it's easy to point the fingers at leaders you don't know.
If you recognize shortcomings out there, then get out there and learn how to effectively make change. As a colleague of mine often says, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
It's not easy during these tough economic times (and if you're students I suspect you know this), especially when UW System budgets have been cut by over $250 million in the last biennial budget cycle alone and taxpayer support has eroded from what once accounted for 2 out of every 3 dollars needed to fund the UW System to what is now only 29% support from taxpayers, you might begin to realize part of the funding struggle campuses are going through right now.
I like to think of myself as one of the biggest and proudest supporters of UWM and its athletics; being in the midst of many sides to the issues I simply have trouble saying ideas such as Brew's can't be supported by administrators. It's not that simple unfortunately.
Again, I urge all of us who care to become part of the solution. I think Brew's idea is an interesting one and one that can come to fruition at some point in time; but at what cost? Would you be willing to add a surcharge to tuition to support some of the costs that would be associated? How much could students add on to support this? Would all/most other students? Any? Should this become a top priority for the campus given the countless challenges we have?
Whew....stepping carefully off the soapbox now. Please take this post as intended; considering many sides of this issue and the complexity of what is proposed.
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Post by pnthr30 on Jan 4, 2006 11:48:08 GMT -6
Well put, uwmfan!
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Post by teddyp00 on Jan 4, 2006 12:05:30 GMT -6
I understand everything you said and its not that I fault any one person. I know all the funding numbers you gave me too. Is this an excuse for not being able to get good ideas off the ground? No. Am I saying having our baseball team play at miller park is a good idea that should be done? No. However, this discussion is very similar to the one which myself and the other person had last evening and have had before. I am a grad student and TA and he is a professor so we both have a decent idea of what is going on (him better than myself).
But I am sure you do know much more what goes on when making the decisions and I'm am sure people are trying their best to make things happen. And from what I have heard our chancellor (who I think wants to do big things) gets blocked on many fronts and I am sure this is more frustrating for him than it is for someone like me and many others.
And if I did want to get involved or at the least more educated on some of these matters what should I do, where should I look or talk to? I would love to get more involved and plan to stay involved after I finish my graduate degree this summer.
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Post by pnthr97 on Jan 4, 2006 13:04:23 GMT -6
Who to talk to? That's a really good question.
My experience as an alum, at least to the extent I've tried to get involved, has not been positive. In fact, it's been awful.
I volunteered to become involved in the School of Bus Admin about a year ago or so and met with certain individuals (won't be named) from the Alumni Assoc and School of Bus. Big ideas, but nothing came of them. I tried to follow up with email and voice mail to see where things would go from our initial meeting - never got a return call or message.
My point is, yes, it's good to dream big. But, getting anything done within the university seems, at times, impossible.
Due to my experience with the SBA, I've basically decided to devote more attention to athletics (including my donations).
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Post by uwmfan on Jan 4, 2006 13:11:23 GMT -6
Teddy, If you truly want to get involved, go to this link www.uwm.edu/UWM/Support/#gov and a world of governance opportunities will await you. Attend meetings, try to get on some of the committees (I served on the athletic board in the late 90's and it was an amazing eye opener for me). Trust me when I say I share your passion to make things better on this campus. One of the hardest parts of my time here has been learning to function within the framework and structure of the university. It's not like the private sector, so if one hopes/expects changes to be made overnight they will be sadly disappointed. Patience and clever consensus building works here. Unless of course you're Nancy Zimpher, and then having a vision and a spine will serve well. I think I only have one of those two! Again, I think we in essence want the same things. We'll get there!
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Jan 4, 2006 16:43:05 GMT -6
don't get me wrong, as a whole i think the U does a good job (asopposed to the city) there are some things i think they need to do better, this being one of them. i suppose im just impatient about the ideas i want to see become reality. for the same reason i will never work in the government, red tape is quite lame
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Post by uwmfan on Jan 4, 2006 17:03:05 GMT -6
mwu, I couldn't agree with you more, that there are things UWM could do better. Much to my own surprise, I've actually come to understand and even sometimes believe the red tape to be ok! (I think I just scared myself....) Never have I better understood the concept of balancing the demands of budget issues, dreams and how to achieve the most that we can. It's hard to explain....patience with how the campus gets things done and being able to "chip away" at getting to the goal, or considering "baby steps" is how we get the ball rolling. That's why it seems folks like Pnther30, Dylanrocks and others jump in like they do....they (we) now have some history behind us to realize that change you/we want can't take place overnight.
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Post by uwmfutbol on Jan 4, 2006 17:03:28 GMT -6
I doubt it'll happen.
Consider the soccer team: 5 straight NCAA tourney appearances with at least second round. Now that's a damn good club. And the school won't even pay for lights for the field to allow night games for bigger crowds! I mean come on people. If they won't even do that, there's no way they're going to fork over the money to rent out miller park when: 1. There's not enough fans to justify it (which I hope would change) 2. The team is not dominant. 3. Let's face it, our school is not wealthy at all.
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Post by uwmfutbol on Jan 4, 2006 17:04:52 GMT -6
And on a side note, the majority of the money spent on athletics is probably going to go to the basketball team anyway- they're our moneymaker.
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Post by pnthr30 on Jan 4, 2006 17:07:43 GMT -6
FYI - the light project is just about pushed through.
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