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Tennessee State is bringing baseball back as an NCAA-sanctioned sport

Mike Organ, Nashville Tennessean
·4 min read

Baseball is coming back to Tennessee State.

President Glenda Glover and athletic director Mikki Allen confirmed the sport will return to the Historically Black College and University as early as 2025 and no later than 2028.

In order to remain compliant with Title IX guidelines, TSU will also add women's soccer, swimming and diving in that same span of time.

Tennessee State second baseman James Banks, left, is getting something off his chest, in this case the baseball, as Vanderbilt catcher Scotti Madison slides into second base. Vanderbilt erupted for 10 runs in the first inning for a 13-7 victory March 26, 1980, at McGugin Field, where TSU chose to play its home game with the Commodores.
Tennessee State second baseman James Banks, left, is getting something off his chest, in this case the baseball, as Vanderbilt catcher Scotti Madison slides into second base. Vanderbilt erupted for 10 runs in the first inning for a 13-7 victory March 26, 1980, at McGugin Field, where TSU chose to play its home game with the Commodores.

TSU announced last year it was adding hockey and hopes to begin play in the 2024-25 season.

"This is a shock to me and I am extremely excited that they're bringing baseball back," said Anthony Law, who played on TSU's last baseball team in 1993 and is now the football coach at Stratford. "Hopefully they'll bring some kids from Nashville to the team so that they can stay here and compete."

TSU's baseball program was shut down due to lack of funding after the 1993 season. The Tigers finished last or next-to-last in each of their final six seasons after joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 1988.

A fundraising effort was made in the fall of 1993 to restore the program.

TSU president James Heffner contacted National League president Bill White to inform him about the program's struggles. White got in touch with star players Hank Aaron and Willie Stargell and the trio attended a dinner to kick off the fundraising effort. Nashville native and former Negro Leagues star Butch McCord also helped with the effort.

The $125,000 TSU was putting into its baseball program annually at the time was not enough to sustain it. The AD at the time, Bill Thomas, said it would take at least twice that much to keep the program afloat.

Tiger Field, the location on campus where the team played, was in bad shape. The centerfield was sinking due to foundation issues and there were no dugouts, a scoreboard or lights.

The fundraising effort was unsuccessful and the program has remained dormant since then.

"It was heartbreaking at the time," Law said. "We did a couple of things with coach Butch McCord and Major League Baseball. All those guys were behind us, but it just wasn't enough. There just wasn't enough money."

Kevin Harvick's son Keenland wins at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

Keenland Harvick, the 11-year-old son of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, won round one of the Young Lions Legends Car feature race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on April 20.

Harvick qualified first and remained in the lead for the entire 25-lap race. He finished ahead of Nathan Lyons and Trayc Walker-Scott.

Memphis' Jonathan Pierre transferring to Belmont

Memphis' Jonathan Pierre (0) cheers on his teammates during the game between the University of Charlotte and the University of Memphis at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
Memphis' Jonathan Pierre (0) cheers on his teammates during the game between the University of Charlotte and the University of Memphis at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.

Former Memphis basketball forward Jonathan Pierre announced on Instagram he is transferring to Belmont.

Pierre, a native of Hallandale, Florida, is a 6-foot-9 junior, who saw action in 19 games and started in one for Memphis this past season. He averaged 1.8 points and 0.7 rebounds.

Belmont lost three of its best players after the 2023-24 season to the transfer portal − Cade Tyson, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Malik Dia. Tyson visited Tennessee earlier this month, Gillespie transferred to Maryland and Dia, who played at Vanderbilt in 2022-23, transferred to Ole Miss.

Baseball historian Skip Nipper receives Historical Commission award

Skip Nipper
Skip Nipper

Nashville baseball historian Skip Nipper is the recipient of the 2024 Achievement Award from the Metropolitan Historical Commission.

Nipper is an author, who published "Baseball in Nashville" in 2007. He is also a blogger, a longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research, and serves on the Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association executive board.

Nipper will be honored at the 48th annual Metropolitan Historical Commission Preservations Awards ceremony May 6 at the Nashville Public Library.

The commission will present its Commissioner's Award to the Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association.

Other award winners for their expertise in fields outside of sports include former Mayor John Cooper and Tom Vickstrom.

TSU using search firm to identify next women's basketball coach

TSU has retained Collegiate Consulting to help find its next women’s basketball coach. Ty Evans resigned on April 4 after four seasons.

Collegiate Consulting began its search for Evans’ replacement last week.

TSU went 11-19 and finished eighth in the OVC with an 7-11 record in 2023-24.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State is bringing baseball back as an NCAA-sanctioned sport