Topic: Herd Just Lost Two Great Recruiters

[Daherdboy]

And coaches.

Tim Donnelly, Herd Baseball's #1 assistant and this year's C-USA Assistant Coach of the Year, just accepted the same position at Middle Tennessee State.  He stated that it will be a pleasure recruiting players for MTSU's on campus baseball stadium.

Boy, that's a kick in the gut.  Hurts having one of our best assistant coaches take a lateral move to further his career.

Oh yes, the other coach is Kellie Schmitt, MU's tennis assistant under John Mercer, will be going with Tim since they will be married within a year.  Kellie is a great recruiter also and was instrumental in bringing three 5* recruits to Huntington.  Like baseball, Herd Tennis is sorely lacking in facilities.  No up to date Indoor Tennis Facility. 

Just hope John Mercer can find an adequate replacement to fill Kellie's shoes.

Being an Olympic Sport guy, this one really hurts losing Tim & Kellie.

[svherd]

Interesting that Donnelly sited baseball facilities as his big reason for moving and how well he could recruit because of it. Who'd a thunk it.
Makes you wonder how well baseball could do if we had a stadium close to campus. But the experts say we like playing in Charleston so we'll go with that.

[iherdya]

Interesting that Donnelly sited baseball facilities as his big reason for moving and how well he could recruit because of it. Who'd a thunk it.
Makes you wonder how well baseball could do if we had a stadium close to campus. But the experts say we like playing in Charleston so we'll go with that.

while i'm sure that definitely played a factor in the decision, the person he is replacing at mtsu made almost $30,000 more than tim made here last year.

[Daherdboy]

For the last year or so, Tim recruited heavily on the west coast, bringing top notch baseball players to Huntington.  These players were the reason Herd Baseball was so successful this year.  Watch MTSU skyrocket with his recruiting down at MTSU.

[mu79grad]

Here's the link from the Murfreesboro newspaper:

http://www.dnj.com/story/sports/college/mtsu/basketball/2016/07/12/mtsu-baseball-hires-marshalls-donnelly/87016680/

[BHFIOHIO]

not in the know at all but some that know more say our current guys love the semi pro place in Charleston.

[svherd]

not in the know at all but some that know more say our current guys love the semi pro place in Charleston.

I'm sure they do. I would. But it can't be denied the program would get better with a stadium in Huntington and not having one hurts its progress. Donnelly intimated as much.

[HerdKelly]

not in the know at all but some that know more say our current guys love the semi pro place in Charleston.

I seriously doubt MU could spend the money to build a nicer facility than what they play in now.  Yes it is a drive but the facility is top notch.  It's a trade off.

[FlyHawk98]

I no longer care.

Biggest waste of resources ever. Either build a stadium or drop the sport and replace it with something where we can utilize current facilities.

[herdgameplan]

Baseball is as American as apple pie!!!!! Get rid of it?????? The only thing wrong at Marshall is the political small minded who back down from those Carpetbaggers in Charleston and Morgan HOLE!
now you know why their colors are gold and blue!!! The Union army running wild in Western Virginia for over 150 years!!!

[bbcard1]

First of all, I really appreciate the great job the kids did this year.

As for baseball, there is no bigger fan than me.  I am writing this from an MLB All Star game trip to San Diego, which has been awesome. For oldtimers, I got to meet Benito Santiago, Tony Oliva and Kenny Lofton on the trip. It is awesome.

To the crux of the matter, I think a Huntington facility would be great, but on campus would be unlikely...there just isn't any room to speak of and you have the future problem of if you say yes to a baseball stadium, you are basically saying no to a couple of academic buildings or a student dorm.

Baseball will not produce revenue. Here's a right good article on the subject:
http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/when-it-comes-to-college-sports-revenue-even-a-powerhouse/article_29eb808c-edd8-11e3-9f88-0017a43b2370.html

It can however present a positive quality of life aspect for people living in the tri-state. By hosting travel baseball it could also produce a modest boon to the local economy.

You can't drop baseball. It is probably a condition of CUSA membership. Actually, even talking about it after one of our most successful seasons ever seems strange.

The price tag for a CUSA baseball stadium, last I heard, was $12 Million. By the time the unions get done getting their hands in the pie, it's probably closer to $20. It seems to me the best thing to do is to find some accessible land, preferably in a populated area where it would be likely people would attend, and begin building a stadium with a footprint that could be brought up to CUSA specs. First step would be simply to get the field and bleachers and begin by playing your OOC games there. Phase it to get the facilities up to par a step at a time. It might take 10 years, but that's better than never.

I also think Marshall couple probably get some exemptions if they were building in good faith. After all, Charlotte football did.

[iherdya]

First of all, I really appreciate the great job the kids did this year.

As for baseball, there is no bigger fan than me.  I am writing this from an MLB All Star game trip to San Diego, which has been awesome. For oldtimers, I got to meet Benito Santiago, Tony Oliva and Kenny Lofton on the trip. It is awesome.

To the crux of the matter, I think a Huntington facility would be great, but on campus would be unlikely...there just isn't any room to speak of and you have the future problem of if you say yes to a baseball stadium, you are basically saying no to a couple of academic buildings or a student dorm.

Baseball will not produce revenue. Here's a right good article on the subject:
http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/when-it-comes-to-college-sports-revenue-even-a-powerhouse/article_29eb808c-edd8-11e3-9f88-0017a43b2370.html

It can however present a positive quality of life aspect for people living in the tri-state. By hosting travel baseball it could also produce a modest boon to the local economy.

You can't drop baseball. It is probably a condition of CUSA membership. Actually, even talking about it after one of our most successful seasons ever seems strange.

The price tag for a CUSA baseball stadium, last I heard, was $12 Million. By the time the unions get done getting their hands in the pie, it's probably closer to $20. It seems to me the best thing to do is to find some accessible land, preferably in a populated area where it would be likely people would attend, and begin building a stadium with a footprint that could be brought up to CUSA specs. First step would be simply to get the field and bleachers and begin by playing your OOC games there. Phase it to get the facilities up to par a step at a time. It might take 10 years, but that's better than never.

I also think Marshall couple probably get some exemptions if they were building in good faith. After all, Charlotte football did.

the #1 issue with any baseball stadium near campus or in huntington is that there isn't a lot of options as far as big enough parcels of land that is clean, and the few that do exist whenever marshall, or the city, comes sniffing around the price triples or more.

[MUalumni0912]

the #1 issue with any baseball stadium near campus or in huntington is that there isn't a lot of options as far as big enough parcels of land that is clean, and the few that do exist whenever marshall, or the city, comes sniffing around the price triples or more.

Eminent Domain...I am sure the city would crush any small slumlord, especially if they went public with the ordeal making the landlord look like a d.ick.

Make someone a nice offer...if they refuse and raise the price, issue Eminent Domain then hire an independent out of the area Real Estate appraiser and lawyer...have them legally evaluate the land (which will come substantially less than MU's offer), and re-offer MU's or face force surrendering of land, and a crappy low settlement offer.

MU just needs to grow a pair and get land. They know where they want it and need to make it known they offer and whoever is resisting, needs to be torn apart publicly. If Hamrick, each week, posted an update about what is going on and it legit shows he is trying but the other side is not cooperating, I would not hold it against him.
But as far as I know, I have no idea the progress of this whole thing.

[bbcard1]

There are several sections of Huntington where it's best possible use is to be razed.

[FlyHawk98]

Baseball is as American as apple pie!!!!! Get rid of it?????? The only thing wrong at Marshall is the political small minded who back down from those Carpetbaggers in Charleston and Morgan HOLE!
now you know why their colors are gold and blue!!! The Union army running wild in Western Virginia for over 150 years!!!

No I would LOVE to see us get an actual on campus stadium, or at least downtown.

I have just grown tired of hoping, wishing, and waiting for it. I have come to accept it will never happen in my lifetime, and I am fairly young.

[FlyHawk98]

It is not a CUSA requirement to have baseball. There are teams in this conference right now, that do not have baseball.

I do agree that we should start with what we can afford here in Huntington. Improve it over time. In the long run we would be much better off.

Only difference, is I would tell CUSA we are playing our games here. If they made a stink about it, I would tell them thats fine, but our football team will no long be playing in high school football stadiums. You want us to upgrade our baseball stadium then you upgrade your football stadiums.

[iherdya]

It is not a CUSA requirement to have baseball. There are teams in this conference right now, that do not have baseball.

I do agree that we should start with what we can afford here in Huntington. Improve it over time. In the long run we would be much better off.

Only difference, is I would tell CUSA we are playing our games here. If they made a stink about it, I would tell them thats fine, but our football team will no long be playing in high school football stadiums. You want us to upgrade our baseball stadium then you upgrade your football stadiums.

yeah, because that's how it works.

[FlyHawk98]

Man, our football program brings more to the table than ALL the baseball programs in CUSA combined.

We can throw our weight around if we want to. Heck, I thought that was one of the perks of being in CUSA?

[iherdya]

Man, our football program brings more to the table than ALL the baseball programs in CUSA combined.

We can throw our weight around if we want to. Heck, I thought that was one of the perks of being in CUSA?

i think you're a hell of a poster and bring a lot to this board, but we can't just starting making silly demands like that in the conference.

[FlyHawk98]

i think you're a hell of a poster and bring a lot to this board, but we can't just starting making silly demands like that in the conference.

I appreciate it, and I understand its not as easy as just making some demands like I suggest on a message board.


I do think we can throw our weight around more than we have been though.

If we are forced to play in subpar football stadiums then what would it hurt for those guys to play in our subpar baseball stadium? I think its a valid point, especially when you consider how much bigger of a sport football is.

[iherdya]

I appreciate it, and I understand its not as easy as just making some demands like I suggest on a message board.


I do think we can throw our weight around more than we have been though.

If we are forced to play in subpar football stadiums then what would it hurt for those guys to play in our subpar baseball stadium? I think its a valid point, especially when you consider how much bigger of a sport football is.

sure there are some bad football stadiums (and basketball arenas), it's just that the kennedy center is THAT bad and borderline dangerous for players and coaches.

[FlyHawk98]

Oh no doubt we couldn't use the current Kennedy Center facility as is. I mean, either put some money into that facility, or build something modest we can afford right now.

Obviously we can't afford a $12 million facility right now. Could we not spend $3-4 million or so and make Kennedy Center respectable?

[iherdya]

Could we not spend $3-4 million or so and make Kennedy Center respectable?

i think that's on the table and becoming a closer reality every day.

[backontrack]

The H-D reported this morning that MU's women's golf coach (Tiffany Pratts) has resigned to take the same position at USF...

[elginherd]

Oh no doubt we couldn't use the current Kennedy Center facility as is. I mean, either put some money into that facility, or build something modest we can afford right now.

Obviously we can't afford a $12 million facility right now. Could we not spend $3-4 million or so and make Kennedy Center respectable?

I have a question:

I used to live across the river, only slightly down river, from where the field is back when it was part of the Glenbriar golf course. I seem to remember that part of the course frequently flooded. Is that the case?