The baseball program is the crown jewel of Tulane’s athletic program, with a $10.5 million
state-of-the-art facility, one of the highest-paid coaches in the country in Rick Jones and a rabid fan base. It has reached a place other major programs at the school can only envy, as their requests for similar upgrades face uphill battles.
The season ticket base hovered around 70 when Rick Jones arrived at Tulane in 1993 to coach baseball.
Expectations weren’t high. LSU was the team to beat. Basketball was the sport of choice.
Times certainly have changed.
In 15 years at Tulane, Jones has helped push Tulane baseball to a new stratosphere, one in which it sits among the nation’s elite programs, plays inside a plush new stadium and has a rabid fan base.
Unlike most major college athletic departments that place an emphasis on football and basketball, Tulane apparently has bucked that trend, with baseball serving as the model program.
TIMES-PICAYUNE: Baseball crown jewel at Tulane
