Budget constraints at U-S universities and colleges lacking cash-cow football and basketball programs have put revenue-negative athletic squads in peril in recent years. But at New York University, you’re seeing the rare start-up of new varsity teams playing new sports.

NYU has added men’s baseball and women’s softball to its athletic program and is competing at the NCAA division 3 level. The softball team (its first season in NYU history) is playing home contests at Fordham’s softball field.

The baseball team is back after disbanding in 1974. It plays home games at the wonderful ballpark on Coney Island used primarily by the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League.

I went to Sunday afternoon’s contest vs. Brandeis University. It was NYU’s third home game of the season. Brandeis swept a double-header between the two teams a day earlier.

Admission was five bucks. Two students working the gate gave me a ticket stub and program on the way in. The stub is a collector’s item. Printed on heavy ticket stock, it features a photo of NYU alums Ralph Branca and Eddie Yost, two NYU baseball players who would go on to have great major league careers.

You could sit wherever you wanted. Attendance was announced at just 191. Brandeis brought about half the crowd. NYU parents and friends were the other half. What I was surprised about was how few regular sports fans showed up given the bargain admission fee and the historic nature of the program’s rejuvenation. I saw one Cyclone fan/gadfly who you see at all Cyclone games but none of the college baseball fans who regularly appear at the area’s games.

There were no concession stands open. It was sunny and 40 degrees at the game‘s outset and warmed up a bit as it went on. Soon-to-be-retired (or ousted – depending on the perspective) NYU president John Sexton threw out the first pitch. It bounced one time in the dirt but did not go by the catcher. Sexton individually hugged each NYU player who was not among the nine on the field before he exited. “C’mon guys,” said Sexton. Recorded versions of NYU’s alma mater and the Star-Spangled Banner were played before first pitch.

Hurricane Sandy inflicted heavy damage on the grass field at what’s now called MCU Park and so the city has replaced it with an artificial surface intended to withstand salt water incursions. It’s really the only negative aspect of the facility. The portion of the infield that’s supposed to be dirt is also artificial grass. It’s painted brown to make it look like dirt. The only natural dirt aspects of the field are the pitcher’s mound and batting area.

Painted yard line markers were still present on Sunday. The Brooklyn Bolts of the Fall Experimental Football League used MCU Park during its inaugural season which ended last November.

NYU’s starting pitcher Cameron Serapilio-Frank had good stuff Sunday. He pitched seven and a third solid, striking out five while scattering eight hits. NYU’s defense was atrocious however. Four errors. The first miscue on a dropped popper down the left field line top three led to Brandeis’ first run. The error seemed to get under the skin of Serapilio-Frank. As he walked off the mound after that half of the frame, he appeared to initiate a scuffle with a teammate. A few other NYU players intervened and the scrum moved into the dugout out of my view. When I looked around the crowd to confirm the intense situation I had just witnessed, I was disappointed to find that nobody else seemed to be paying attention.

Whatever happened appeared to have been smoothed over when Serapilio-Frank (pictured above) returned to the mound. While he’s a very intense competitor, there was no noticeable residual effect from what looked like his confrontation with a teammate.

NYU lost 3-1 but brewed up a few rallies to make it interesting. Down 1-nil bottom seven, NYU pinch-hitter Sam Raskin blistered a single to right field. Teammate Jonathan “Jonny” Iaione tried to score from second but was thrown out at home after a laser from Brandeis rightfielder David Wagner. The play at the plate of course is a thrilling thing to witness no matter what level of baseball.

Despite a stiff wind blowing straight out, nobody came close to hitting a home run. It’s this aspect of the game that confirmed you were watching Division 3 baseball in a facility with major league dimensions. It was more small ball. Still, it was great fun at a great venue. NYU should be commended for assembling a team that plays with spirit and fire in its first year back at the varsity level. As long as it makes some kind of sense financially – or has some deep-pocketed backing from somewhere – why not play this game at a University that has such a rich academic tradition?

As I was leaving the ballpark, an usher was stationed at the exit. “Thanks for coming,” he said.

I walked over to the boardwalk for a little stroll along the ocean. Regardless of the time of year it’s an amazing sight at that stretch of sea. Then I stopped into Ruby’s for a cold one and watched the first half of Louisville/Michigan State. The F train took me home.