You don't have to agree, but take Volleyball and Football out of it. I guarantee Dannen would love to have our basketball team at a high level over the baseball team. Taking your emotion for the baseball team out of it and you were the AD, would you rather have a national title in baseball or basketball? Any AD with a brain will tell you basketball.. It's not a knock on Wrestling or Baseball as I love both. It's just overall national exposure and potential dollars.
It doesn't have to be one, or the other. Or 2 of 3, or 3 of 4, etc. Emotion isn't involved. It's common sense there is 1 additional program that has, and can again, contribute to the bottom line at a much higher rate. And they're neglected.
I know who butters (FB, MBB & to a much lesser extent VB) the bread (all other teams). If you're going to drop programs because of loses - then every single program not named mentioned above, including baseball, goes first. They all are in the red more than the baseball program. WBB, gone. T&F, gone. Wrestling, gone. Swimming, gone. Golf, gone. Gymnastics, gone. Bowling, gone. Softball, post Jordy, gone. Cross Country, tennis, rifle, soccer - adios!
In the 86 years the NCAA has recognized/sponsored a tournament, Nebraska basketball has never won a game. 9 (NINE) appearances, 0 wins. Congrats on the Dollar Store tournament appearances & wins though, something baseball and all other sports don't have. Also congrats on the regular season titles, all before 1950. But hey, we got that 1 conference tournament title! Sweet.
In the 78 years the NCAA has recognized/sponsored a tournament, Nebraska baseball has won 39 NCAA post-season games (conference tournaments not included). 19 appearances, 39 wins (21 appearances actually, but I don't know the NCAA tournament W's from the 1940's). 8 regular season titles, 6 conference tournament titles, 4 regional championships, 3 super regional championships which have resulted in 3 CWS appearances (hoops equivalent to the F4, but one can argue
much harder for baseball to get to).
I won't even touch the draft picks, conference awards, All Americans, winning seasons, T25 rankings, etc, etc. Basketball is a pipe dream, but they're $4M plus in the black so I get it.
Nebraska is either a serious Athletic Department, or they're not. And right now, they're not. Increasing the budget $1M isn't going to hurt football, volleyball or men's basketball. Getting the locker-rooms and science up to snuff isn't going to hurt the exact same programs previously mentioned. Going to former baseball players, and those currently in the minors or majors, and asking for their financial support to build a new indoor facility isn't going to hurt, or negatively impact, any other sport in Lincoln. This isn't limited to those who played in the MLB either. We have former players that are worth millions of dollars from their personal & business successes as well as former MLB/<MiLB dudes who invested very well. 99% of the guys aren't giving money for the other sports, and never will, but they're interested in giving money for baseball - specifically facility improvements.
A serious Athletic Department jumps all over it. A serious Athletic Director can walk & chew gum at the same time.
No other sport, outside FB/MBB/VB in Lincoln, deserves the increase more than the baseball program.
