I think all of the FBS teams could afford them. A lot of them don't have football to spend their athletic dollars on. The power 5 schools probably all get free bats from the manufacturers so they will be seen on TV.
What's the benefit of being seen on TV? How many fans are going to run down to their local sporting goods store and buy a dozen?
you realize LSU is one of less than a dozen schools that turns a profit on baseball? seriously. the. you figure in baseball there is 330+ schools in Div 1. at most of them money is so tight, if a fan catches a ball, they have to give it back to the home team. the top half of the SEC, ACC, and maybe the Pac-12 would get free bats. Bottom half of those leagues could MAYBE afford to buy their own wooden bats. maybe. the rest.....not a chance. the money just isn’t there. think about it like this. take Nicholls St in Thibodaux. they buy a batch of Aluminum bats. at a discount from whatever company “sponsors them”. they can use those bats for years. even if just in practice. wood? that bat might last one pitch. maybe a full at bat. maybe a week worth of games. that’s not counting BP that these kids have to take. shit adds up FAST. a lot faster than the money coming in.
same as kids buying sneakers they see their favorite basketball player wearing. it’s a 3 hour commercial for Marruci and Nike if you watch an LSU baseball game right now. Nike swoosh on uni’s and cleats. Marrucci logo on bats, gloves, batting helmets. LSU has 57 regular season games available either online or on TV. more once postseason starts. so Nike and Marucci just straight gives their stuff to LSU. Someone like McNeese has maybe 3 games on TV. So these companies give them a discount on buying equipment in bulk. But it damn sure ain’t free.
mainly because i don’t know that answer. my only guess is enough kids are running out and buying it that these companies provide free shit to the teams that are always on TV. Remember up until the minor leagues, every little league, travel, high school, etc. all swing aluminum (actually composite mostly). And just like anything else, they buying the stuff they see people on TV using. i know back in 90s, everyone was buying the Easton “Black Magic” bats. mainly because LSU was roping homers at a never before seen pace with them. So everybody wanted those bats. And not the other crap that was on the shelf.
