In 2019, the bid to make the volunteer positions in baseball and softball regular full-time positions failed, but after the Division I council pushed the rule ahead this week, it's expected to be rubber stamped in January and go into effect for 2023. Currently, the head coach and two assistant coaches in baseball and softball can be paid normally and recruit off campus and act as coaches do and should. The volunteer position has the on-field responsibilities of a full-time coach but can't recruit off campus and is paid through external means, such as camp money. It's a ridiculously stupid rule. So, starting next athletic calendar year, that will be remedied, and I'll be fascinated to see what schools do with the position.
Chris Cleary is Ole Miss' volunteer assistant, and it's possible to likely Mike Bianco will simply pay him a competitive salary and move forward, but now that it's full time, the pool for available coaches is much larger if a school chooses for it to be. Volunteer spots are traditionally reserved for young coaches or coaches trying to move up a level because, frankly, the pay sucks. But with this change, do schools pay that coach a salary similar to the other assistants. Carl Lafferty and Mike Clement share a salary pool of about $680,000 -- one of the top-five combined numbers in the country. Is it worth adding a couple hundred thousand to the budget and hiring a pitching coach and moving Carl to exclusively a recruiting coordinator and pitching and catching coach complementing the rest of the staff? That's nothing against Cleary. He's a good coach. But thinking out loud, this is a new level of flexibility for schools if they want to use it. Some won't for budget reasons and/or they like the current set up. Some will because they think it's worth it. There's a flexibility that will allow the top budget schools to add another considerable coaching bullet if they choose.
There's also a push to add a fourth full-time assistant, but it's unclear if that move has enough momentum to pass on this cycle. That's the sweet spot the sport hopes to get too at some point. I'm skeptical that it's now, considering the considerable pushback a few years ago to a third assistant, however the college sports world in general is moving to unlimited coaches and more scholarships in all sports eventually.
Chris Cleary is Ole Miss' volunteer assistant, and it's possible to likely Mike Bianco will simply pay him a competitive salary and move forward, but now that it's full time, the pool for available coaches is much larger if a school chooses for it to be. Volunteer spots are traditionally reserved for young coaches or coaches trying to move up a level because, frankly, the pay sucks. But with this change, do schools pay that coach a salary similar to the other assistants. Carl Lafferty and Mike Clement share a salary pool of about $680,000 -- one of the top-five combined numbers in the country. Is it worth adding a couple hundred thousand to the budget and hiring a pitching coach and moving Carl to exclusively a recruiting coordinator and pitching and catching coach complementing the rest of the staff? That's nothing against Cleary. He's a good coach. But thinking out loud, this is a new level of flexibility for schools if they want to use it. Some won't for budget reasons and/or they like the current set up. Some will because they think it's worth it. There's a flexibility that will allow the top budget schools to add another considerable coaching bullet if they choose.
There's also a push to add a fourth full-time assistant, but it's unclear if that move has enough momentum to pass on this cycle. That's the sweet spot the sport hopes to get too at some point. I'm skeptical that it's now, considering the considerable pushback a few years ago to a third assistant, however the college sports world in general is moving to unlimited coaches and more scholarships in all sports eventually.
