If you aspire to excellence in ALL sports, then pay what it takes.
I know athletic budgets for non-revenue sports are hurting at many schools, but ND is not one of them. I'm sure there is a donor out there that will "sponsor" the head coaching position.
Simple directive - go out and hire the best guy you can. I just wish we had someone else doing the hiring.
With other ACC programs? Thanks
He is one of the highest paid at around $1 million. Article linked says TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle ($1.4 million) and Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan ($1.25 million) are the highest.
Louisville was a below .500 team before hiring McDonnell, under McDonnell 509-203 (.702). McDonnell has won 4 Big East titles, 1 American Athletic title, and 3 ACC titles in his 11 years. He has taken UofL to 7 Super Regionals and 4 College World Series.
Louisville has spent money on the program and hired the right coach. And not really a Southern team (yeah, 265 miles south of ND) and they don't seem to have an issue playing in the big bad ACC.
All of ND's disadvantages have been discussed, but I think it can be done
Louisville was always a baseball hot bed before being better known for basketball. The high schools in the southwest part of Jefferson county were always loaded with talent but UL never capitalized on them until they started paying some big time money to coaches. People are mostly blue collar and really support their baseball teams. McDonnell is a real hero in that area.
If their academics are decent enough, I'm guessing you could help get them in to ND or another good school and have ND cover that as part of the package.
It's a rebuild for sure but the athletic department has a decent culture due to a long history of fielding good teams and student-athletes.
Recruiting won't be easy, but ND does have players doing well enough in MLB with the addition of getting a top education with a ton of support staff to help get them through the rigors of said education. I think that is the value proposition for recruiting on partial scholarships. Yes it's going to cost more on that partial scholarship, but the value of an ND degree vs attending an SEC school (graduation rates + value of particular degree) has to mean something.
There are more college players getting drafted higher than before (I wonder if MLB high school scouting is getting harder/cheaper?), but I have to figure most college baseball players know that an MLB career is a long shot. So offering the best degree/education/tutoring package possible has to help.
Facility-wise I would hope that improvements could be asked for. The SB Cubs put up a decent facility, perhaps the area around and in between the Softball and Baseball stadiums could be used to put in some top notch training facilities. Then allow the coaching staffs to run camps and training sessions for area youth (within reason/NCAA guidelines) in the hopes of developing a few local players.
Maybe hold some youth tournaments in conjunction with some local travel teams/Little League teams to bring in top players from the region to play at and see ND. I believe that a similar program might be starting to pay some dividends for ND Hockey.
I think the goal here is to get program builders like Brey and Muffet in basketball. Let's get them some nicer facilities, get them the support they need and get ND baseball and softball back on the map.
There is no point in having a poor/below average program at ND. If your are going to have it and say it is worth doing at ND there is no reason to not try succeed against the odds. That's how/why this place was built.
St. Laurence finished 2nd in 4A, St. Rita finished 3rd in 3A, Br. Rice was nationally ranked a year or two ago. I know it's not Florida, but it's Catholic schools right in ND's backyard.
Best kid I have seen in Illinois.
Also does well in baseball (and produced the brother Kmet).
They beat Marian for the state title two years ago
That hasn't produced wins, but I don't think the successor is going to find the cupboard bare, so the "rebuild" shouldn't be as challenging as what Murphy encountered (nor anywhere close).
I think facilities are badly needed for both the team, and program support. The stadium is the equivalent of a MAC school. Build in some amenities that make it attractive to go to games. More fans will equal more urge to win in the administration, or at least one would think.
Try making ND baseball games an event as much as a game. So many games are going to be played in cold weather you have to try something different. Although, winning games and hosting "big" games with ND in contention for something would do wonders as well.
They both parlayed their ND gigs into LSU and ASU jobs, respectively. Not a bad selling point at all. ND baseball coach might not be a final destination for a great coach but frankly I have no problem with ND baseball coach being somewhat of a stepping stone job. As usual the ND name makes the job attractive and opens up more and bigger opportunities than other non-traditional baseball schools. I'm not sure if our facilities could use an upgrade but if so, sell a promising coach on the fact that we're willing to spend a little money. The administration needs to sell the program a bit but I can't believe any spend would break the international bank of ND. Finally, Mary deserves a solid baseball program. I gotta believe she'd be a baseball mom if Jesus played travel ball. I'm also certain that our savior Jesus Christ could hit a curve ball with the best of them.
If nothing else
That can help plug holes. The new coach should require that this continue.
The savviest and smartest man in the athletic world did everything he could to keep from having to fire Aoki but alas it failed.