Story is from Steve Cotton. Link from Herdzone but the story originally appeared in the Herd Insider.
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MU Baseball: 2015 Season Preview
- Thread starter mubaseballking
- Start date
I got up this morning and read the local paper to see the Herd was in Tallahassee this weekend. Unfortunately I drove to Huntington today and missed a golden opportunity to see them play.
If you're a fan of college baseball in general, I found this site over on our message boards. Lots of good info at your disposal.
http://www.d1baseball.com/
http://www.d1baseball.com/
MU baseballKING.....Had to get me "some Baseball-fix." Therefore, I journeyed to Myrtle Beach over the weekend for the Caravelle Tournament, hosted by Coastal Carolina in the annual Classic. Marshall & WVU played in the tournament last February.
Western Ky laid the wood [actually metal] on Coastal yesterday, 8-3. Maryland beat the Hilltoppers Friday. When I departed around 6:00 PM Saturday (TOO COLD, once the sun went down)...Old Dominion was getting ready to play The Terps. FIU & Canisius College were also in the field.
Speaking of Coastal Carolina...they are still working on adding more seats to the Springs Brooks Stadium. It currently seats 2500 and they are adding more seating down the foul lines.
IT'S ON CAMPUS (Conway, SC). Renovations are about $16.5 million and here's a member of the Big South Conference with a baseball field ON CAMPUS with a minor league stadium (Myrtle Beach Peligans) about 5-6 miles from them.
I just sit there & my ass wants to chew tobacco that MARSHALL still does NOT have a stadium AT/OR NEAR campus! I go to Wingate University, Wingate, NC [2500 students at this NCAA II Division private school] and sit in their stadium and say----"Why not Marshall?" I go to Winthrop University, 6,170 students (Rock Hill Univ, Rock Hill, SC...member of the Big South).....Gardner Webb, about 5,000 students (Boiling Springs, NC, private school, plays in the Big South Conference)....AGAIN---Why Not MARSHALL.
Now for the clincher.....C-USA NEW MEMBER=====CHARLOTTE 49ers.....Robert & Mariam Hayes Stadium... baseball seating is 1,100 (seated) and about 3,000 (standing). Undergrads..22,216; total students at about 27, 251.
UNC-Charlotte has Classy facilities for sports. They put us [Marshall] to shame! Once they get their football seating & lights to about 45,000-50,000-----they won't be long for C-USA. They will be invited to a Top Five Conference...I will bet Big $$$ on Charlotte, located in a major city, an international airport, professional sports (Panthers & Hornets) to have their doors beaten down. It is also a very good academic institution with $upport from Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, BB&T, PNC, & Sun Trust banks!
Yet, some short-sighted folks on Herd Nation say..."What the Hell does Charlotte bring to the table?" JUST Wait...Just Wait...Just Wait....
I wonder what folks said in 1837 when MARSHALL was founded....Originally known as the Marshall Indians in 1903; The Thundering Herd name came from a novel by Zane Grey in 1925. ROME was not built in a day or year...give the Charlotte 49ers a break. We have already lost to them in basketball, will lose to them in baseball & softball, Track & Field, soccer, swimming, probably in Corn Hole too!
I get ill when I think of what our Baseball Program has to deal with. It's JUST NOT RIGHT!
HerdZilla22 (Gary Sweeney) in Charlotte
Western Ky laid the wood [actually metal] on Coastal yesterday, 8-3. Maryland beat the Hilltoppers Friday. When I departed around 6:00 PM Saturday (TOO COLD, once the sun went down)...Old Dominion was getting ready to play The Terps. FIU & Canisius College were also in the field.
Speaking of Coastal Carolina...they are still working on adding more seats to the Springs Brooks Stadium. It currently seats 2500 and they are adding more seating down the foul lines.
IT'S ON CAMPUS (Conway, SC). Renovations are about $16.5 million and here's a member of the Big South Conference with a baseball field ON CAMPUS with a minor league stadium (Myrtle Beach Peligans) about 5-6 miles from them.
I just sit there & my ass wants to chew tobacco that MARSHALL still does NOT have a stadium AT/OR NEAR campus! I go to Wingate University, Wingate, NC [2500 students at this NCAA II Division private school] and sit in their stadium and say----"Why not Marshall?" I go to Winthrop University, 6,170 students (Rock Hill Univ, Rock Hill, SC...member of the Big South).....Gardner Webb, about 5,000 students (Boiling Springs, NC, private school, plays in the Big South Conference)....AGAIN---Why Not MARSHALL.
Now for the clincher.....C-USA NEW MEMBER=====CHARLOTTE 49ers.....Robert & Mariam Hayes Stadium... baseball seating is 1,100 (seated) and about 3,000 (standing). Undergrads..22,216; total students at about 27, 251.
UNC-Charlotte has Classy facilities for sports. They put us [Marshall] to shame! Once they get their football seating & lights to about 45,000-50,000-----they won't be long for C-USA. They will be invited to a Top Five Conference...I will bet Big $$$ on Charlotte, located in a major city, an international airport, professional sports (Panthers & Hornets) to have their doors beaten down. It is also a very good academic institution with $upport from Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, BB&T, PNC, & Sun Trust banks!
Yet, some short-sighted folks on Herd Nation say..."What the Hell does Charlotte bring to the table?" JUST Wait...Just Wait...Just Wait....
I wonder what folks said in 1837 when MARSHALL was founded....Originally known as the Marshall Indians in 1903; The Thundering Herd name came from a novel by Zane Grey in 1925. ROME was not built in a day or year...give the Charlotte 49ers a break. We have already lost to them in basketball, will lose to them in baseball & softball, Track & Field, soccer, swimming, probably in Corn Hole too!
I get ill when I think of what our Baseball Program has to deal with. It's JUST NOT RIGHT!
HerdZilla22 (Gary Sweeney) in Charlotte
Hey, Zilla, its easy to point out what others HAVE and MU DOESN'T HAVE. But you should point out that Huntington AIN'T Charlotte. MU does NOT HAVE any "sugar daddy" corporations available to provide much needed financial, entrepreneurial and other support needed to attain the Academic and Athletic goals we all want for the school. No BB&T, Sun Trust, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc. Hell, when I was at MU in the 60s Huntington still had industries- -Houdaille, Holland Suco (dye plant on 5th Ave), Owens Illinois, Fesenmeier Brewery, a much larger (employment wise) nickel plant (INCO), ACF plant was in full operation, etc. ALL GONE now. Even Ashland Oil moved corporate HQs to Northern Ky. and I believe massive Armco Steel plant in nearby Ashland is no longer in operation. Huntington Pop. down from mid 80,000s in 1950s to less than 50,000 now and Cabell County population is static, now 4th largest in state instead of 2nd. How does that compare with Charlotte and its population and economy of the 50s/60s and the same factors today?
Remember, Zilla, in the 60s MU was a small, landlocked campus, from 3rd to 5th Ave. between 16th and 18th streets. School was in process of slowly expanding between 18th and 20th streets. Remember an abandoned old Kroger store building on 5th Ave. where the Twin Towers dorms are now? Even today, campus still lacks some land between 16th and 20th, where the stuck in the 70s Glaser Furniture and Fat Patty's locations on 3rd Ave. remain the only commercial lots. MU has expanded east of 20th Street, mainly Edwards Stadium and parking, and those locations didn't come cheap. All entities surrounding MU campus, no matter how deteriorated and run down, will squeeze MU for exorbitant amounts if they think MU wants/needs their property/land. Today's Huntington paper noted MU just bought a rather modest lot and commercial building on 4th Ave. for three quarters of a million. So think of the amount of land necessary for a quality baseball facility, parking etc. Mayor Williams of Huntington has indicated that Finding the necessary amount of land in Huntington for a baseball facility has been the biggest problem to date (at a price that MU and Huntington can afford). The ACF land east of campus is a prime location for a baseball facility but the corporate owners are apparently unwilling to sell for anything approaching a reasonable price.
So, HerdZilla, unless you or any other poster has several Mil $$$$$ laying around that you have absolutely no other use for that could be donated to Marshall for a baseball facility, or other needed facilities, what is your solution to MU's problems and athletic facility deficiencies?
One suggestion that I have is that you, and any other readers, MU fans/alums/friends, become acquainted with the 10 year Marshall Campus master plan that was approved by MU's Board of Governors and West Virginia's Higher Ed Policy Commission in November 2013. This plan contains a very specific and detailed description of campus facility updates, renovations, and new facility construction for the next decade. You can find the plan at the MU website: www.marshall.edu/mplan. You may be surprised that this plan outlines a total or nearly $450 million in campus improvements, including athletic facilities (baseball park, upgrades to the Henderson Center, Gullickson Hall, and improvements/enhancements to the Joan C. Edwards Stadium). ALL PEOPLE TRULY CONCERNED WITH THE GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT OF MU AND ALL ITS PROGRAMS, ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC, SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE PLAN AND ACTIVELY VOICE THEIR SUPPORT OF SAME, INCLUDING URGING MU AND HIGHER ED POLICY OFFICIALS, STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, ELECTED AND OTHERWISE, TO FULLY IMPLEMENT SAID IMPROVEMENTS, SO FAR AS IT POSSIBLE, IN THE TIME FRAME SET FORTH IN THE PLAN.
FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN WV AS A WHOLE, AND CERTAINLY FOR THE GROWTH AND BETTERMENT OF MU AND THE GREATER HUNTINGTON AND SOUTHWESTERN WV AREA, THIS PLAN CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO LAY AROUND, UNIMPLEMENTED, AND COLLECT DUST!!! THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PLAN SHOULD BE AMONG THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES OF THE NEW YET-TO-BE-NAMED MARSHALL PRESIDENT, THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS UNDER WHOM HE OPERATES, AND ALL MU ALUMS, FANS AND SUPPORTERS.
This post was edited on 2/15 8:46 PM by oldeherd
Remember, Zilla, in the 60s MU was a small, landlocked campus, from 3rd to 5th Ave. between 16th and 18th streets. School was in process of slowly expanding between 18th and 20th streets. Remember an abandoned old Kroger store building on 5th Ave. where the Twin Towers dorms are now? Even today, campus still lacks some land between 16th and 20th, where the stuck in the 70s Glaser Furniture and Fat Patty's locations on 3rd Ave. remain the only commercial lots. MU has expanded east of 20th Street, mainly Edwards Stadium and parking, and those locations didn't come cheap. All entities surrounding MU campus, no matter how deteriorated and run down, will squeeze MU for exorbitant amounts if they think MU wants/needs their property/land. Today's Huntington paper noted MU just bought a rather modest lot and commercial building on 4th Ave. for three quarters of a million. So think of the amount of land necessary for a quality baseball facility, parking etc. Mayor Williams of Huntington has indicated that Finding the necessary amount of land in Huntington for a baseball facility has been the biggest problem to date (at a price that MU and Huntington can afford). The ACF land east of campus is a prime location for a baseball facility but the corporate owners are apparently unwilling to sell for anything approaching a reasonable price.
So, HerdZilla, unless you or any other poster has several Mil $$$$$ laying around that you have absolutely no other use for that could be donated to Marshall for a baseball facility, or other needed facilities, what is your solution to MU's problems and athletic facility deficiencies?
One suggestion that I have is that you, and any other readers, MU fans/alums/friends, become acquainted with the 10 year Marshall Campus master plan that was approved by MU's Board of Governors and West Virginia's Higher Ed Policy Commission in November 2013. This plan contains a very specific and detailed description of campus facility updates, renovations, and new facility construction for the next decade. You can find the plan at the MU website: www.marshall.edu/mplan. You may be surprised that this plan outlines a total or nearly $450 million in campus improvements, including athletic facilities (baseball park, upgrades to the Henderson Center, Gullickson Hall, and improvements/enhancements to the Joan C. Edwards Stadium). ALL PEOPLE TRULY CONCERNED WITH THE GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT OF MU AND ALL ITS PROGRAMS, ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC, SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE PLAN AND ACTIVELY VOICE THEIR SUPPORT OF SAME, INCLUDING URGING MU AND HIGHER ED POLICY OFFICIALS, STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, ELECTED AND OTHERWISE, TO FULLY IMPLEMENT SAID IMPROVEMENTS, SO FAR AS IT POSSIBLE, IN THE TIME FRAME SET FORTH IN THE PLAN.
FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN WV AS A WHOLE, AND CERTAINLY FOR THE GROWTH AND BETTERMENT OF MU AND THE GREATER HUNTINGTON AND SOUTHWESTERN WV AREA, THIS PLAN CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO LAY AROUND, UNIMPLEMENTED, AND COLLECT DUST!!! THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PLAN SHOULD BE AMONG THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES OF THE NEW YET-TO-BE-NAMED MARSHALL PRESIDENT, THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS UNDER WHOM HE OPERATES, AND ALL MU ALUMS, FANS AND SUPPORTERS.
This post was edited on 2/15 8:46 PM by oldeherd
ARMCO was bought out, and is now AK Steel. The Ashland Oil refinery is still operating under Marathon, with headquarters in NW Ohio. There are also several other corporations still running in the area (Special Metals, WV Steel, Huntington Steel, Calgon), but you're correct - nothing like there used to be.
I glanced over the Master Plan, and I drive by campus frequently. Good stuff, and I hope MU keeps improving their facilities according to plan.
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