James Crabtree: MU administrators show no support for new baseball field

I have become very tired of all the talk by the Marshall University administrators concerning a baseball stadium.

I am especially upset about the comment made by athletic director Bob "Kayo" Marcum directed to the many Marshall fans who support the school financially (his salary included). He called some fans "big hats with no cattle." To that I say that he may just be the biggest "big hat, no cattle" person ever to ride into West Virginia.

During a dinner in Marcum's honor in Hurricane, W.Va., we welcomed him back to West Virginia and congratulated him on his new job as A.D. at Marshall University. He promised to make building a baseball stadium top of his things to-do list. Many Marshall fans were pleased to hear him say that. Many years have passed since that dinner, and there is still no stadium.

Recently, there was a small fundraiser for the baseball program at the Creekside Cafe in Hurricane. We raised more than $600 with fewer than eight people attending. We would have had more people there, but Marshall University refused to send out an e-mail blaster to all MU supporters in and around Putnam county.

Mr. Meeks, of Hurricane, has offered to give not only materials, but also the use of equipment to help build the stadium. I have tried to get a fundraiser going to help raise funds needed to begin the process and have been met with closed doors and unreturned phone calls and e-mails by Marshall administrators.

I have called and mailed letters to our senators, members of Congress, Cabell County commissioners and our governor about getting behind this campaign. I never asked any of them for monetary donations -- only to show some leadership in getting the stadium built. I am still waiting for them to show me this leadership. I have now asked the office of Marshall University president to put me on the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Governors to speak to them about the lack of support and non-movement by the university concerning this matter.

I call upon all Marshall University supporters to aid me in this quest to build our "Field of Dreams."

James Crabtree is a Culloden graduate and a 1981 graduate of Marshall University.