College Baseball's Booming Growth Forces Schools Like Tennessee To Invest In Stadiums To Match Fan Demand
As college baseball reaches the super regional portion of the postseason this weekend, with the College World Series in Omaha around the corner, we are once again witnessing the thrill that comes with a sport stuck in the middle of basketball and football seasons.
If you haven't attended a highly touted college baseball game before, I urge you to give it a chance. You might be wondering what all the fuss is about, but you're missing the intersection between college football and basketball, with a side of pure chaos.
I've had the privilege of finding all of this out for myself over the past decade, and I'm still surprised at what I see, either in person or on television. Whether it's bubbles being blown in College Station, or Tennessee players recreating the scene from the movie ‘Blades of Glory’, the atmosphere makes the game worth it.
Looking at the remaining teams playing for a shot at a national championship in Omaha, each fan base has their own unique way of enjoying a baseball game. If you've attended an MLB and college game, I'm pretty sure you can notice the difference between the two atmospheres, not to say one is better than the other, but it's a different type of energy.
The College World Series is one of the best sporting events in the country, as NCAA Tournament continues to grow. Via: Trey Wallace
Walking around the Tennessee regional last weekend, it's the same atmosphere I witnessed in 2022 when the Vols were the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. It's more of a party than anything else, with fraternity members sitting on their balcony that overlooks the stadium, while fans start their own chants to bother the opposing pitcher.
Along with hundreds of different venues across the country, Tennessee decided to go all-in when it comes to facilities, seeing the growth in this sport. What I witnessed four years ago pales in comparison to the stadium that i was walking around in this season. The old phrase of ‘If you build it they will come’ is certainly true in this scenario.
Whether you like him or not, Tony Vitello has turned Tennessee baseball into a must-see event around Knoxville. If you listen to sports-talk radio in this town, they're discussing potential starting pitchers for the upcoming season while football is still going on. Athletic Director Danny White saw the potential for marketing this baseball team, just like any other AD around college sports that looks at additional revenue.
Colleges Continue To Renovate Baseball Stadiums Due To Demand
The problem for Tennessee, much like other campuses, is that they don't have enough seats to fill the demand. While you could probably cram upwards of 8,000 people into Lindsey Nelson Stadium, as long as the fire marshal isn't looking, Danny White and Tony Vitello knew that they needed to expand. So, that's what they did, starting with additional seats down the left-field line, along with more standing-room only sections for the stadium.
But there's more coming, with a massive renovation coming over the next few years that will have Tennessee competing with the likes of Texas A&M and Mississippi State when it comes to baseball venues. Sorry if I'm leaving other teams out, but there are only so many teams I can list that are upgrading their stadiums.
The College World Series is one of the best sporting events in the country, as NCAA Tournament continues to grow. Via: Trey Wallace
The point is that while the metrics of television ratings will not get in the same ballpark as college football or basketball, that's not the point. Teams across the country are continuing to see growth when it comes to season-ticket sales, which translates into alcohol and concession revenue.
But it's the fans that make this sport what it is today, the same way we’ve seen the sport over the last thirty-plus years. Just go down the rabbit-hole of videos from the 2016 national championship run by Coastal Carolina. I promise you it will not disappoint. There's a reason why teams hated to play in Baton Rouge, and it wasn't because the team was also good.
I still remember to this day when i took my little brothers to Tallahassee, Florida for the regionals that my South Alabama Jaguars were participating in. I think I was 19, and as I walked with my brothers into the stadium on the campus of Florida State, I was mesmerized by the atmosphere that came with it.
The reason i say all of this, and implore you to give it a chance, whether your team is still playing or you get a chance to attend next season, is that I think you will enjoy it, even if you aren't a baseball fan.
Prepare For The Chaos That Is The ‘College World Series’
I've had the honor of covering some of the biggest events in college sports during my fifteen years of being in this business. But when it comes to an event that encompasses every single fan base, it's hard to overlook the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Tucked right between a bevy of bars and one of the craziest looking aquatic centers I've ever seen lies Charles Schwab Field, home of the 10-day tournament that brings eight different fanbases to town for one massive event. Again, this is one of those events where you don't have to actually be a fan of the sport to attend, though it certainly helps.
The College World Series is one of the best sporting events in the country, as NCAA Tournament continues to grow. Via: Trey Wallace
The RVs start lining up two days before the action begins. There's a bar across the street from the stadium called ‘Rocco’s that holds the worlds largest jello-shot completion, which is one of the most entertaining challenges in all of collegiate sports. LSU shattered the record last year by purchasing 68,888 Jell-O shots, which should be a lesson as to not challenge LSU fans to an event that involves alcohol.
One of the most intriguing aspects of college baseball fans coming together in Nebraska for a week to celebrate their teams is the family-like atmosphere. Sure, there is the average trash-talk, but if you made your way to an opposing team's tailgate, you'll be greeted with food and your beverage of choice.
This event is the one thing that college football or basketball cannot touch, and it isn't close. Sure, those two sports have their weekends, and with the addition of the College Football Playoff expanding to on-campus venues next season, it will certainly add a new dynamic, but it's hard to top ten days hanging on to every pitch or fly-ball to left field.
Rocco's is the home of the Jello-Shot challenge at the College World Series
We are witnessing a new generation of fans get into the sport of college baseball, and it couldn't come at a better time with all the movement around college athletics. I won't forget my first time attending the College World Series, or the money I lost across the river at the casino. But with every new story or monumental moment that college baseball brings, they are adding new fans at the same time, which is how this sport continues to grow.
I, for one, can't wait to see who tries to break the LSU record for most Jell-O shots taken in ten days, while at the same time enjoying the atmosphere that comes with the College World Series.
And guess what? They don't send you home after just one loss in Omaha.