Do we have to have baseball as core sport?
Do we have to have baseball as core sport?
Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
Scrooge-"Are there no prisons?". "Plenty of prisons..."
Scrooge-"And the Union workhouses." . "Are they still in operation?". "Both very busy, sir..."
"Those who are badly off must go there."
"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."
Scrooge- "If they would rather die," "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
Yes, unless the Summit adds football or another men's team sport. The MBB autobid is tied into a minimum number of men's and women's team sports. The Summit is currently at the minimum number of team sports on the men's side. And baseball is at the minimum number of teams to qualify for an autobid in that sport.
But it's not like losing a baseball school would cause the Summit to immediately lose the MBB autobid. There's a two-year grace period built into the system, and the NCAA has shown a willingness to grant a waiver if the conference has a plan in place to get back into compliance. The Summit got one during UNO's final transition year. The Summit dropped to five baseball teams after Oakland left. Adding UNO got the Summit back to six, but UNO didn't officially count because they were in transition. The grace period was to end the year before UNO became eligible, so the NCAA gave the Summit a waiver to cover the one-year gap.
I have believed for a while now that the Summit should add rifle as a sport. Lot of hunters up in your neighborhood. It is coed sport, a counter for both men and women as far as I know. Also an indoor sport, so weather does not come into play.
Could lose UND and/or USD. Any other school creates problems for baseball and/or men's soccer.
Denver: MSoc
IPFW: BB, MSoc
NDSU: BB
UNO: BB, MSoc
ORU: BB, MSoc
SDSU: BB
WIU: BB, MSoc
EIU: MSoc (associate member)
Easiest solution? Trade IPFW(BB, MSoc) for UNC(BB) and UMKC(MSoc). Only maintains the status quo, but at least it does that. Helps travel a bit and creates an opportunity for Summit football if a nuclear option is needed in the future.
Travel Partners
DU/UNC - 60mi (1:20hr)
NDSU/UND - 75mi (1:15hr)
SDSU/USD - 115mi (1:45hr)
ORU/UMKC - 270mi (4:00hr)
UNO/WIU - 350mi (5:30hr)
Last edited by Hammersmith; 06-27-2017 at 05:00 PM.