UTEP baseball? Stop asking

So many people continue to insist UTEP needs a baseball program. Stop it, already.

1. No money (how's UTEP going to add that many more scholarships?) UTEP has dropped men's sports, not added them, over the years.

2. No facility. Cohen is way out there. It's city-owned. No place to play on campus.

3. No fan support. Who'd go to the games?  When there was a cry for EPCC to start baseball, because of ALL THE TALENT TO PICK FROM  IN EL PASO HIGH SCHOOLS... well, any of you posters go to those games? The Tejanos play pretty decent ball because of  ALL THE TALENT TO PICK FROM  IN EL PASO HIGH SCHOOLS.

Whereas Conference USA sponsors baseball, I don't think headquarters is  saddened that UTEP doesn't field a team. Baseball requires a lot of players, and it costs quite a bit of money for travel out to El Paso. Other C-USA schools see it as a cost negative.

UTEP had baseball until the mid-1980s. The Cohen brothers, basically at no salary, ran the program because they loved baseball.

AD Bill Cords called it all off; he made the prudent decision.

No money (Title IX was kicking in)
No facility
No fan support

And it was reported that top-notch junior colleges would raid UTEP's better freshmen because they could offer better facilities and could  promise just as many pro scouts would attend their games. That was true, and still is true. Scouts know everybody, everywhere.

It would be nice to have baseball, which has proven very popular in the Southwest, South and West. But it costs money. And UTEP can't be doing too well, money-wise, with it's five losing football seasons in a row and what looks like Coach Mike Price's weakest team ever, including Weber State, Washington State and seven seasons in El Paso.

UTEP needs some football glory years, quite a few in a row, before it can even consider adding to its list of sports teams.

Comments

[Jamesb]

This is type of provencial small minded, small town thinking that keeps El Paso a backwoods and UTEP marginalized.
UTEP doesn't HAVE to be a Conference USA baseball participant (traveling to Timbuktu and the rest of the far-flung CON-USA outposts.}
Let's not be forward thinking, lets be negative, typical El Paso. Agagin I can't wait to see El Paso {resident on and off since 1969} in my REARVIEW MIRROR.

[Victor]

Maybe they need to invest less money in a losing football program. When they decided to drop the baseball program, UTEP had 90 full football scholarships and 30 half scholarships. If you go 3 deep per position, you end up with 66 plays, plus 6 kickers/punters. That is 72 players. Why in the world do they fund 18 more full scholarships and 30 half scholarships?? The 18 full scholarships alone would be enough to field a baseball team. I understand the Title IX barriers, but as far as cost, they really need to look at how much money is being wasted with scholarships to football players who will never participate in a conference USA game,

[mark p]

cut the track team, cross country, etc./ most of which are not from area players, and start a baseball program only 13 + scholarships and texas is loaded with talent !

[Oscar]

What are you talking about? Coach Mike Price weakest team ever. How can you judge a team that hasn't even taken a snap?

[Rene G.]

Your complete misunderstanding of all the subjects your write about is sometimes astounding. Then again you work for a publication that just moments ago put up a posting reading "Send us your senior pranks", so it seems like an incompetent match made in heaven.

[William Pena]

Oh, here's another reason for not fielding a baseball team:
BASEBALL IS FREAKIN' BORING!

[bill]

Why not field ANOTHER, more losses than wins, money-draining athletic team. Put your cash in the basketball team and drop football.

[Bobby Mares]

Baseball only has 11.5 scholarships anyways I play baseball at a D1 and if UTEP had a baseball team I would have really thought about staying in El Paso instead of going somewhere else. Not only does El Paso have plenty of talent in the area but they play some of the best baseball programs in the country. Rice, Houston, Tulane and Southern Miss are all top notch programs and playing NM state, UNM, tech as well as Arizona and ASU all make sense it really wouldnt cost alot. the most expensive thing would be building a stadium to attract recruits from east texas.

[Lorenzo]

Don't like the suggestion to cut Track and Cross Country. UTEP's Track teams are consistently nationally ranked and have more championships than any of the other UTEP sports teams. I know Coach Kitchens just retired but there's no reason to believe UTEP Track can't continue their success. It'd be real dumb to cut the one sport UTEP is dominant in.

I do like baseball, but I agree with Joe that there are probably too many obstacles for that to even by a viable option right now. No campus stadium is by far the biggest.

[ScoutWest]

NINE CUSA schools have a Men's baseball programs; Tulsa, SMU and UTEP dont.

There are 300 D1 baseball programs

College baseball has grown phenomenally in popularity since the 1980s and warm-weather regions, baseball has came to be considered a major sport. Northern and Midwest colleges are dropping baseball programs NOT warm weather regions. Nebraska & Wichita State are the exceptions.

University of Oregon re-instated its baseball program recently after 25 years without Mens baseball..why, Oregon State University won two national baseball championships in 2006 & 2007 so OU leadership/alumni said we must have a baseball team as well.

I'm aware of title 1X and the financial challenges that face College athletics today BUT UTEP is a warm weather region school and needs baseball....

[Dayton Flyer]

UTEP football has had something like 5 winning seasons in the last 40 years. The football program is the one to drop, not the track program or the golf program or the tiddlywinks program.

[ScoutWest]

El Paso college baseball fans see games on cable TV, Internet, or have to wait for the NCAA regionals, super regionals and College World Series on TV OR drive to Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Tucson, Phoenix, Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, Lubbock, College Station to see division 1 baseball????? There is a big void here...I do enjoy watching area High School and JUCO baseball in the area....

If no D1 college baseball in El Paso or UTEP, lets create two annual Sun City baseball Tournaments in March every year;Model it after the annual Houston Collegiate baseball classic at Minute Maid, one El Paso tournament for (6) selected D1 teams and another tournament for (6) JUCO D1 teams.

[NineteenRabbit]

Joe Munch--now THERE'S a sports writer for you. He consistently demonstrates the ego of a self-deluded incompetent and the intellect of a dull-normal adolescent.

[alvinyork]

Among the many reasons UTEP dropped baseball was because it kept getting its brains beat out.

NMSU used to host a February college tournament at Cohen Stadium. Nebraska and Oklahoma were among the D-1 schools in it. But the tournament died a quick death because few people went to the games. I'd love to see a D-1 tournament here again.

Just curious: NineteenRabbitt, what does your comment have to do with the topic?

[Barefoot Sports Shoes]

This website is disseminating valuable information to people who are most concerned of the following issues being targeted by this site. Many certainly will keep coming back to check out updated posts.

[Best Jerseys]

Forgive others but not yourself