BOWLING GREEN — A group of Bowling Green State University baseball alumni have started a fund-raising push to save their recently dropped program.
Most alumni were displeased they had no idea the program was on the brink of being cut and therefore did not have ample opportunity to act before a decision was made by university administration.
In the days that have followed, a group of former Falcons baseball players have taken matters into their own hands and started a fundraising effort that it hopes to present to the university at a later date.
"The biggest thing is it's still a bad taste in our mouth that it wasn't even an option from the beginning," said Bob Reichow, a 1996 alumnus who played for Schmitz. "We know we could have made a major impact if we knew the circumstances and what the potential outcome could be. We were never told."
Alums were particularly upset with the treatment of Schmitz, who has been Bowling Green's coach since before the 1991 season. Like most alumni, the longtime coach was unaware the program was being considered for elimination and was blindsided by the news.
"Having the winningest coach in your school's history not really aware of what was taking place, it just doesn't seem like it's very favorable or respectable or honoring to those guys involved," Mark Tamallo, a team captain in 1995, said last week.
The fund-raising effort, however, has picked up significant steam quickly, with more than 80 former players joining a conference call to start an initiative, plus many others who have expressed interest.
For now, many of the biggest contributors wish to remain anonymous, but the effort already has surpassed six figures, often more than is contributed to BGSU baseball in a single year.
BGSU estimated that dropping the program would save the department of athletics about $500,000 per year.
According to Bowling Green's Equality in Athletics Disclosure Act data for 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, baseball listed just more than $775,000 in operating expenses for one year, which includes all student aid.
The alumni group hopes to create a five-year plan and said all contributions are appreciated.
"We want to stand up for this program and we want to stand up for the tradition of Bowling Green baseball," Reichow said. "We want to stand up for coach Schmitz, the assistant coaches, and the current athletes because the way this was handled was very unprofessional.”
The group is asking interested parties to email savebgsubaseball1@gmail.com with questions or to receive information about becoming part of the campaign.
First Published May 20, 2020, 6:30 p.m.
