North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 48, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 16, 2011 Page: 6 of 8
eight pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Sean Gorman, Sports Editor
Wednesday, November 16,2011
seangorman@my.unt.edu
£
4
Cs
1
v>^
n
v
D
Photos by John McElwain/Sun Belt Conference
UN ' hopes to bring NCAA baseball team to Denton
IanJacoby
Views Editor
Situated in a hot bed of
talent and in a conference that
produced two of the past five
World Series MVPs, UNT could
be taking a swing at adding an
NCAA baseball team.
Members of the Mean
Green athletic department
have discussed bringing a
Division I baseball program
to UNT in recent months, but
acknowledge that there are
several steps needed to make
it a reality.
"It's a huge emphasis for
the athletic department,"
said senior associate athletic
director Eric Capper. "We've
discussed it at great length...
it seems to make sense in so
many ways."
What's preventing a
Division I baseball team
at UNT
In preliminary talks, Capper
and other administrators have
identified multiple parts to the
process of adding a team.
"There are lots of hurdles
and administration obstacles,
including things like satis-
fying Title IX and building
facilities," Capper said.
A federal law enacted in
1972, Title IX guarantees
gender equality in collegiate
athletics. If UNT were to add a
baseball team, steps to qualify
would include creating more
spots for female athletes to
participate in by expanding
teams or adding another
women's sport to the athletic
program.
Beyond Title IX is the
issue of creating facilities
for a baseball team, some-
thing that Capper said would
require student and commu-
nity support. In UNT's last
effort to bring a new stadium
to Denton, the student body
voted to fund the building of
Apogee Stadium through an
increase in athletic fees.
"I wouldn't mind if we had a
team," general studies junior
Ariel Vega said. "But where
would we get the funds? If it
means an increase in tuition,
then I'm not so sure."
Capper said student support
would be necessary to bring
the program to UNT.
"We'd like to build an
on-campus facility, perhaps
adjacent to the softball
fields," Capper said. "It's defi-
nitely something we want the
"It's a huge emphasis for the athletic
department. We've discussed
it at great length ... it seems to
make sense in so many ways.
-Eric Capper
Senior associate athletic director
Denton community to be on
board with."
Where baseball at UNT
stands today
Students wishing to play
baseball at UNT currently
have one option - competing
with the student-run club
baseball team.
The club team - which
plays in the National Club
Baseball Association's Gulf
Coast North Conference - has
seen success in club play in
recent years, defeating other
club teams like SMU, Baylor,
UTSA and Nebraska.
"There's several players
on the club team that would
love to play at a higher level,"
finance junior Scott Donald
said. "Not everyone's here
for fun. Some guys played
in junior college and would
love to play on a university
team."
Donald, the team's catcher,
said he believes there's
enough interest at UNT for a
baseball team to thrive.
"I think there's a huge
interest from the students,"
Donald said. "Especially
after the Rangers, every-
one's thinking baseball these
days."
Everyone maybe thinking
baseball, but that doesn't
keep talented players inside
of Dallas.
Donald believes UNT could
fill a void in the Dallas-Fort
Worth baseball landscape.
"The biggest problem is
that the only competitive
programs in DFW are SMU
or TCU," Donald said. "Those
are both expensive and diffi-
cult to get into. UNT would
offer a really great option
for star athletes that would
otherwise leave the city."
College recruiting 101
As head of baseball
recruiting for TCU for the past
two years, Tony Vitello knows
all about Dallas baseball and
its wealth of players.
"Recruiting in Dallas is a
grind," Vitello said. "There are
just so many good players and
great high school programs.
It's a blessing because there's
so much talent to draw from,
but it's a lot to cover. You
don't want to miss anyone,
and you don't want to settle,
so it makes for a lengthy
project."
As a recruiting coordinator
for Mizzou and now TCU,
Vitello's recruiting classes
were routinely ranked in the
top 25 in the nation. Vitello
said teams find the most
success building talent by
creating an identity through
recruiting.
"You have to recruit to
who you are," Vitello said.
"Everyone wants an Albert
Pujols, as they should,
because a player like that fits
with any program. But there
are only so many of those
players in the world, so it's
about building patiently and
keeping a clear idea of what
kind of baseball you want
your team to play. If you can't
recruit the big hitters, then
build a small, fast team."
Starting out, Vitello
explained it's much tougher
to create quality teams
because newer teams have
a weaker recruiting influ-
ence than more-established
programs. Connections are
the most important part of
the process, he said.
"You have to build rela-
tionships," Vitello said. "If
UNT got a program, it would
be small for a few years
and there are just too many
good players in the area to
rely completely on yourself.
High school coaches and
private trainers are really
helpful in building successful
programs."
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Pherigo, Josh. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 48, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 16, 2011, newspaper, November 16, 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth209202/m1/6/?rotate=90: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.