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Why is college baseball not popular compared with college football or college basketball??
Also college hockey is so small.
One reason would be college football and basketball are getting the top talent out of HS, where as most of the top talent in baseball goes professional. Don't get me wrong there is talent at the college level as well but most HS grads talented enough to go in the first few rounds of the draft by-pass college. Also the best all around HS athletes choose football and basketball over baseball because of scholarship money. Full rides in baseball are pretty much non-existent.
I found out that baseball has pro minor leagues. Nothing like that in fb or basketball.
Also, football started out as a college game. It went pro a few years later.
Isn't college football favored by people who went to a college and root for their alma mater - pro teams are favored more by people from all walks of life. That's my impression.
the problem with college baseball is the competition. they have to compete with the minor leagues, and their season is generally right at the end of the school year when people are dealing with figuring out what they are going to do for the summer. students and parents dealing with summer activities takes time away from attending a college game.
the other problem is with the game itself. baseball tends to be a slow motion sport at all levels. long periods of sitting around, punctuated with moments of action from time to time. compare that with basketball or football where there is fairly constant action.
I found out that baseball has pro minor leagues. Nothing like that in fb or basketball.
Also, football started out as a college game. It went pro a few years later.
Isn't college football favored by people who went to a college and root for their alma mater - pro teams are favored more by people from all walks of life. That's my impression.
Finally, why doesn't baseball have cheerleaders?
There's Arena football and Canadian football, both of which have nothing to do with the NFL. The NBA has the D-League, where guys who can't make it onto a NBA roster play in mostly smaller cities. There is a lot of natural attrition in NBA basketball, as rosters are only 15 deep, and 60 guys get drafted by league teams every year, 45 of whom you'll likely never hear of.
Some people prefer NCAA Football to NFL, and for that I'll never understand.
Baseball doesn't have cheerleaders because A) there's nowhere to put them, and B) when exactly would they cheer? Baseball has mascots instead.
College baseball is for the guys who don't get drafted high enough. They hope to make some noise at the college level, and get drafted higher once college is done. Just like basketball and football, college baseball is the last of the "glory days" for most of these players.
There's no guarantee you're getting signed if you get picked late in the draft, and you usually aren't offered much if anything (definitely no signing bonus), and in many cases you're not even offered much of an opportunity to play. So many guys go into the minor leagues every year, that if you don't perform right away (in some cases, even if you do), there's hundreds of fresh faces to take your spot next season.
I knew a guy that was drafted out of high school in the 70's by a major league team. They told him to report to a minor league affiliate. He took a bus 2/3 of the way across the country, and when he got off the bus, the team told him that they didn't need him. So back home on the bus he went, career over.
the problem with college baseball is the competition. they have to compete with the minor leagues, and their season is generally right at the end of the school year when people are dealing with figuring out what they are going to do for the summer. students and parents dealing with summer activities takes time away from attending a college game.
the other problem is with the game itself. baseball tends to be a slow motion sport at all levels. long periods of sitting around, punctuated with moments of action from time to time. compare that with basketball or football where there is fairly constant action.
You're really talking about immediate gratification. The NFL has more roster openings, thus a greater chance of going pro out of college. Conversely, much lower pay and much shorter careers. And while there are college athletes who go to pro baseball, particularly pitchers, there's also the matter of MLB looking more toward Latin countries/Carribean for talent they can sign young for cheap.
OTOH, a great all-around college athlete with excellent hand-eye coordination stands to make A TON MORE MONEY at a baseball career than football. So it is still a bit surprising that more don't choose that option.
Btw, college hockey is big in New England compared to the US as a whole while college football is meh. And college basketball brings in more TV eyeballs than football up there. That's why the whole conference realignment model breaks down when it comes to the Northeast. Keep in mind that before UConn went to the American, the women's hoops team alone - women's hoops, mind you - had a TV contract larger than the TV deals for entire athletic departments from the Sun Belt.
College baseball and even softball get very decent coverage especially during the College World Series tournaments.
College hockey is definitely far smaller... and only gets recognition when the Frozen Four is established.
I'd have to think though that popularity depends on location too.... teams in the south and west who have prominent college baseball programs probably has a strong following, and teams north like in Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, etc. get a lot of attention in hockey.
Remember too... many conferences now have their own networks so you'll get plenty of coverage of all these games on those corresponding networks.
baseball is boring .. too much waiting for something to happen and then mostly nothing happens .. i love slow pitch softball .. i tolerate fast pitch cause i`m a bama fan ...
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