A bill reestablishing men’s baseball teams at two of Iowa’s public universities is up for discussion Tuesday in a House subcommittee.
House File 153 would revive Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa’s men’s baseball teams to compete at the NCAA Division I level. The legislation would require the state Board of Regents to reinstate the teams.
The regents’ lobbyists are currently listed as undecided on the bill but may give their reasoning for support, opposition or neutrality at a subcommittee with House lawmakers Tuesday evening.
Why and when were UNI, ISU’s baseball teams cut?
Both universities discontinued the teams decades ago as cost-saving measures.
UNI’s baseball team played its final game in 2009 after the university announced the program’s closure because of a drop in state funding for its athletic department. Supporters raised some money to temporarily maintain the program but didn’t collect enough, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported. The program was at UNI for 103 years.
A $1.4 million shortfall in a $20 million budget in 2001 led ISU to cut its men’s baseball and swimming programs. Iowa State coaches told the Register in 2020 that eliminating the sports forever changed the athletic department’s culture.
Bill’s author has a past with baseball
The bill’s author, House Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, is on the subcommittee Tuesday evening deciding whether to advance the bill.
Wheeler played baseball at the collegiate level himself.
He played on Grays Harbor College’s baseball team and graduated with an associate’s degree. Wheeler went on to play baseball for Northwestern College in Orange City while receiving a bachelor’s degree. He is the head coach for Unity Christian High School in Orange City.
(This story will be updated with new information.)
Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at sabine.martin@gannett.com or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin.
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