The UW would hate having a team in Madison. There's only so many entertainment dollars out there. Mallards get good support, but it's a cheap/free ticket. You mentioned Peoria, Cedar Rapids and the QC. None of them have a flagship state university there.
I feel like I love baseball way more than the average guy. I'm a 15-minute drive from Warner Park, where the Mallards play. I haven't considered going to a game there in years. I'll save my money and drive the 90 miles to AmFam field. I'd rather watch a Brewer game on tv than go to a Mallards game in person. If I lived 15 minutes from AmFam, I would go to so many games.
And yes, I'm aware that AAA baseball is different from the Northwoods Independent league.