On January 11, NCAA Baseball coaches across the country received news they had long been awaiting.
After wide speculation a move was coming, the NCAA Division 1 Council announced the incorporation of a third full-time assistant to college baseball staffs across the country, ending a bitter battle between volunteer coaches and the NCAA.
For decades NCAA Division 1 staffs have been limited to a full-time head coach and two full-time assistant coaches while also customarily adding a volunteer position. The volunteer position comes with no benefits, often no housing, and usually limited money often via a program's camps and clinics. While larger, Power 5 schools will have 'volunteer coaches' that can make large amounts of money due to the investment made into those programs, smaller mid-majors will regularly have volunteers who make less than $20,000.
"The word 'volunteer' scares potentially good coaches away," UMass Lowell head coach Ken Harring said. "While they are giving it everything they have because they love the game, those individuals are more often than not forced to go out and get second jobs just to pay rent. It's unsustainable in a lot of cases."
