Open forum on baseball discussions. WARNING: Any post at any time may be deleted for content that we do not like. This includes but is not limited to foul language, attacking other posters, or attempting to assume the identity of another person. We will always give a long rope and favor in any argument for those who USE a network54 ID. Anonymous posts are accepted, but will lose the battle in any alert to inappropriate or unwanted content of any type.
Is there enough $ to entice a big-time coach?
by fanfromafar (no login)
What does Penn State pay Wine and how does this compare in the Big Ten?
Baseball salaries in the Big Ten on the high end are $125,000. Could be a little higher but I doubt it. Penn State was or is the lowest at $75 tops. I could be off a little. Bottom line...You don't get big name coaches at Penn State to coach baseball in the "rust belt." You could, however, find an aggressive personable guy to properly recruit. That old saying goes...Can't make chicken soup out of chicken ....
and, when camps and other incentives are included, mades well north of 500K. I wonder what the average is in the Big 10 - the article I read indicated that coaches' base salaries in the Big 10 are less than half of Todd's base but, again, the less than half figure does not include camps, endorsements, etc. It seems entriely reasonable to assume that the average Big 10 baseball coach makes, when camps (typically worth well over 50K) and incentives are included, over 200K.
If Penn State expects to lure a top candidate with a base of around 75K, reduced camp $ (at Penn State the athletic camp $ is pooled and then a % doled out to the coaches - this is not very competetive when compare to other schools), and minimal endorsement $ - they are truly delusional.
I'd imagine that some figure could be negotiated even here at PSU. Hindy didn't make squat here and he's likely better off financially teaching elementary kids now. I don't really think athletics puts much effort into the lesser non-revenue sports. Let's face it, PSU baseball is still a financial load and if not for the Spikes, there would be no nice venue.
Ohio State made a commitment to athletics excellence several years ago and it's reaping its fruit now in all the sports. Bob Todd is a high caliber coach and the proof is in his team's success nearly every year. Ball players, given a choice over Tood or Wine, would likely choose Todd. He's proven, outstanding and an all-round class act. There is no strong fan base for baseball at PSU like there is elsewhere for baseball OR for other sports at PSU. Take a look at wresting. The fans demanded better coaching and what a great coaching coup in snatching up Cael. Because of his notoriety in the wrestling field, PSU will be #1 in a couple years. Just this week, he got the TOP USA ranked wrestler to commit. That scenario will repeat itself over and over. Think that will ever happen for baseball? Fans here fool themselves by thinking big nice venues bring in the recruits and revenue. Top quality coaching is what brings in both fans and $$. Wine has no draw. Hindy was disliked by his own department, but he had great assistants to pull in kids. In that respect, Hindy weas far more successful than Wine.
I like PSU baseball because it is an occasional cheap form of entertainment and a way to meet up with my retirement buddies. They aren't going to be a powerhouse, ever. I expect mediocrity and they is what we have and that's OK with me.
PSU was ranked in the top 50 in attendance in 2008 for baseball. (#49 I believe) Last year they drew about 1500 per game, a slight increase, probably still in the Top 50. The stadium is ranked in the Top 10 of stadiums IN THE COUNTRY!! PSU baseball attendance is very good, and with the number of students attending the games I got to last year (600-800)clearly showed it. Is it in with hoops or football--NO!! But, as far as baseball in the cold north--ABSOLUTELY!!
For the diggs PSU has, Wine has not shown the ability to recruit outstanding talent. He has in the past gotten some very good recruits from PA and seems to be getting more as time goes on. He and his assistants seem intent on sticking to an area he is familiar with--the southwest and Florida. Have they been outstanding in their quest--NO. I noticed this past class had more PA talent than any before, so perhaps he has learned a lesson--start at home first then go outside. We'll see.
Last year was a disaster, but their 2 best starting pitchers were not available. They will be this year from what I have seen on another site, so this should be a much improved year. We'll see. Not making the B10 tourney is abysmal, but missing 2 critical starters doesn't help ANY team. Not a total excuse now, but certainly 2 starters can make a #9 team a #5 team, and one in the tourney where anything can happen.
As for income, can't say. But with an average of $3 or $4 a game (students are cheap, adults are $5 -$6) = approx $6000 x 23 home games = $138,000. Concessions where the real money is made = approx $10 per head (which is minimal) x 1500 x 23 = $345,000 approx. (Profit about .75) So .75 x $345,000 = $258,750. Total = About $400,000 You figure the other expenses and come up with your own number. These are all rough, and I've been to many games where the students eat like there's no tomorrow so I'm probably underestimating the concessions. The profit on a burger, dog, etc, or fries is HUGE!!! The average of 1500 is skewed, but on Blue/White weekend they get about 3000-4000 per game(x3). Some cold games there are 100 people there--been to both. So the average is about right. Don't let PSU fool you into beleiving they get shafted at every corner for EVERY sport!! They skew everything to make it sound worse. Now baseball may not carry itself, but it makes a decent amount for a northern program--count on it! PSU won't tell you that though. AND, if Wine & Co would start to WIN--they could make some money on ball. Why they don't advertise the games on campus & stuff--don't know. But I do know everyone loves and will follow a winner--especially one that's MARKETED!! They do nothing to help themselves.
As for Wine's future--2 more years to produce a great program. If not, make a change!!
I have stayed away from the forum for several years but have followed PSU baseball closely along with the forum. My how times have changed. Five years ago you all were singing the praises of Robby Wine. He is going to bring big time baseball, from a big time conference to PSU. I was one of a small few that disagreed and got run off this site for telling you all to wait and see. Well, from reading the postings it sounds like you have seen enough.
I told you Coach Wine could not manage a pancake house effectively if all they were selling were pancakes. I hope now you see that it is more than just about the name of the person you hire. Coach Wine has not lived up to the standards of PSU. I told you he would fail even if he had all the resources in the world available to him. The last piece was the stadium and that still has not helped.
I will aplaud those who will step forward now and admit they were wrong. For the others, please feel free to keep losing as long as Wine is the coach. A change is needed. The question is will PSU hire someone who can get the job done????????
He won more conference games than JoPa this year. Yeah it was only one more game but that still more conference wins than the all time leader in division I history...not to shabby.
Ryan Wheeler should be the next coach. He played here in the early 90's and was drafted. He has gone on to serve as assistant coach at several D-1 programs. He is currently at U of Richmond. I remember Ryan well and he is a class act.
PSU has no commitment to baseball. Next coach will be like all the others - "who can we get for $40,000 a year or less?" There are no rich benefactors of PSU baseball, no alumni players who come back in support, nor many fans after parents of players, their girlfriends, their buddies and the league of coolaid-drinking-PSU-can-do-no-wrong puppets. So there you have it. There will always be high-school level coaches at PSU baseball. Get used to it.
I spoke to Hindy last week. He had no idea what PSU's record was and he seemed very happy and content enjoying life in Princeton, NJ. He coaches part-time at Lawrenceville Prep and has turned down numerous opportunities to return to both the college and pro ranks. His career winning record looks pretty safe. Ford and Ditch are both having struggling years.
I was joking in a way. I used to complain about Hindy all the time like a lot of people did, but hindsight being 20-20, he was never as bad as this yahoo coach now and he had a lot less to work with. But Hindy had good asst coaches so that helped. Sometimes even bad coaches can appear to be good because their assistants bring home the bacon so to speak. I guess those days are long gone until this current guy tosses in the towel. PSU just doesn't care about baseball anyhow. They probably got a cheap deal on a staff 21 and took it because it doesn't matter. Harrumpf.
Funny how everyone thought Hindy was a joke. Doesn't look too bad now, does it?
As a head coach, you better have good assistants as they do most of the "coaching". He did a nice job over the years with Ford, Ditch and his Volunteer Assistants.
Can you believe how bad this team is now? It sure does make the previous staff look a lot better. I can ony hope the rumor that PSU is eliminating baseball is true. What a stinky team representing us now. They must be the worst PSU team of all the sports.
Ohio State again in the running. Ohio State is consistently in the top tier. Why doesn't Penn State commit to getting good coaches? If they eliminate the sport then I guess it doesn't matter, would be a mercy killing IMHO.
Looked bad agin the Boilermakers. PSU can't field a decent baseball game. I'm done with them. Maybe I'll join up with the Buckeyes on this board. At least they win. :)
psu going head to head with the greatest collegiate baseball powers. they should be creaming these little girl colleges but they can't so get ready for another lackluster year. at least we don't have the crybaby parents here anymore heaping praise on a mediocre team.
First test coming when Ohio State comes in. That will set the stage because we don't really know what the team can do. Yeah they lost to some girls schools but until the conference opens, it doesn't mean anything. I'm an OSU fan anyhow, so I hope OSU sweeps.
OSU took 2. So that tells the story on who's better. Absolutely have to sweep at home to climb the ladder. Road games are tough. Watch OSU take the title once again.
Man are we ever a great team this year- their top ranked team came and we were all over them - beat 'em by a point. Yeah PSU baseball is on the road to #1!
Not bad? This is another loser Penn State Team. You exspect more from Penn State, at least I do. We suck in hoops and baseball and are on a downward slide in a few other sports. I think it's bad and at least it was a more friendly atmosphere when Hindelang and Ford were here, especially Ford.
I think Penn State oughta spend spring break in tounaments with teams of equal ability so they can be competitive and work on some basics and offense. This playing the upper tier teams doesn't really serve any purpose in my opinion. Yea, they might win one here and party up and brag on it for a few days there but they have nothing to build on to get through a conference schedule.
All in all, I think playing the better teams rases the bar so to speak. The year PSU went to Omaha, they had a disastrous pre-conference season so that tuff play likely helped. As teams get softer over the years maybe stroking is what athletes in general thing they need with positive reinforcement along the way, but I think a whack to the backside in the beginning will always benefit down the road.
