SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — State-sanctioned high school baseball in South Dakota will wait for now.
The board of directors of the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) on Wednesday morning reached a consensus to not add the sport, but to continue considering the potential in the future.
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South Dakota and Wyoming are the only two states that do not offer state-sanctioned high school baseball. SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos said he’d be checking on Wyoming’s future during the summer meeting of high school associations.
“I love baseball. It would be great to sanction it,” Swartos said during the meeting but, the survey results from high schools indicate this isn’t the time to add the sport.
Board members, who spoke but did not identify themselves during the meeting’s livestream, said like many survey respondents, they too were concerned about how the sport could impact the budget and possible difficulties for small schools to find enough players.
You can view the survey results attached below.
Item-No.-13Download
Swartos said he’s not sure the state will reach the point where the majority of schools want baseball but there are indications that schools are interested.
If the state started baseball as a sanctioned high school sport in the spring of 2027, 18% said they were likely to field a team and 12% said they were very likely to field a team. Another 24% said they were unsure. Those very unlikely or unlikely to have team totaled 56%.
The survey numbers were similar for the spring of 2028 but 34% total said they were likely or very likely to have a team and 30% total said they were unlikely or very unlikely to field a team.
Although 55% of the survey respondents said state-sanctioned high school baseball gives kids the ability to play “regardless of financial status of family” a number of schools also indicated they weren’t sure they could afford adding the sport.
Funding and budget constraints along with enrollment decline were a top concern for 70% of schools.
Swartos said schools indicate that they were concerned about adding a sport while they may be increasing class sizes and cutting staff.
Swartos compared the cost of adding baseball to adding girls softball. “The base cost would be around $15,000 without transportation,” he said.
The cost would increase as schools add teams. Schools could then be spending $50,000 to $60,000, Swartos said.
The SDHSAA also talked with the VFW and Legions who operate summer baseball programs. The South Dakota High School Baseball Association also offers spring baseball but it is not a state program.
All three groups were generally supportive, Swartos said. The VFW and Legion wanted to make sure that any high school season did not infringe on the VFW and Legion schedules.
The high school baseball association would likely continue to sponsor its own spring league if the state sanctioned baseball as a high school sport, Swartos said.
In addition to concerns about budget impacts and enrollment, several schools asked the SDHSAA to consider the classroom time lost and that if the sport is added, some schools will feel pressure to add it, even if its not affordable, Swartos said.
The survey was sent to school district superintendents and athletic directors. There were 100 responses, according to material posted with the meeting agenda.
