Bryan Wickline is in his first season as commissioner of the Prospect League. A 1995 Ohio University graduate, majoring in sports management with a minor in business, he visited Kelly Automotive Park for the Butler BlueSox’ home opener last week.

What is your purpose for coming to Butler?

I’m making my way around to all of the league’s ballparks as quickly as I can. I’m checking out all of the operations, the facilities, the fans’ experience first-hand, just to get a feel for things.

This is my 23rd year in this business. You discover and steal ideas from seeing what other people are doing.

How did you get involved with the Prospect League?

I worked an internship with the Chillicothe Paints of the Frontier League while I was at Ohio U. and they appointed me assistant general manager the following year.

The Paints’ franchise went dormant in 2008 and Chillicothe became part of the new Prospect League. I became a member of the board for that league right away. When the Paints’ Frontier League operation relocated to Rockford, Ill, in 2011, I went with them. But I’ve always been on the Prospect League board up until the time I was named commissioner.

What are your impressions of Kelly Automotive Park?

Beautiful facility. Artificial turf is the way to go. No tarp and little maintenance is needed. Six of the 12 teams in the league have artificial turf, six have natural grass. This park is the only facility in the league that has both.

How did the league land franchises in Jamestown (N.Y.) and Kokomo (Ind.)?

We had to find a new home for the Lorain (Ohio) Ironmen. They were losing money there. Jamestown’s Class A team moved to Morgantown and the city was looking for a new team to replace it. They looked at seven different leagues, including other minor leagues, before choosing the Prospect League, so that was a big win for us.

Kokomo built a $13 million ballpark and also looked at different leagues before opting for ours. Both of those franchises will strengthen us.

Do you anticipate further expansion?

Definitely. We’re probably going to have two new teams join the league for the 2016 season and two more may come on board for 2017. All of the prospective new franchises are within the footprint of the current league geographically.

Once we get to 16 teams, we may go to four four-team divisions. We’ll do what best suits everybody. If there’s a way to curtail travel, we’ll do it, but there will still be play outside of the divisions.

What average attendance figure is needed to maintain a viable franchise in the league?

If a team averages anywhere from 600 to 750 fans per game, it will be OK. A team’s operating budget is strictly up to the individual franchise.

A franchise can get as lavish as it wants to get ... If it wants to buy 14 different uniform combinations, go for it. It might have to average more attendance-wise is all.

Since the Prospect League is all about giving college players teams to play for in the summer, how tricky is it to try to win games while serving the needs of those players?

It’s very tricky. Pitchers are usually on pitch counts as dictated by their college coaches. You want to win games, naturally, but you don’t want to burn bridges with those coaches, either. Word gets around fast and you won’t get any players.

Butler has no worries in that regard. Rabi (Anthony Rebyanski, director of player personnel) has a tremendous relationship with college coaches that he’s built and maintained. I believe we should take care of the players first, make sure they have a positive experience in the league and get better, worry about winning second.

That’s my opinion. Others in the league may feel differently.

What is your main purpose as Prospect League commissioner?

No. 1 is to keep our current franchises healthy. No. 2 is to publicize and create growth in the league.

Other than expansion, in what way can you help the league?

We can do a better job of marketing, of promoting the league and what we’re all about. Ballpark Digest has us ranked as the fourth best collegiate summer league in the country. We want to keep climbing.