Lars Davis, Florida (UF photo)

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Fight For Third Paid Assistant Receives New Life

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Some college baseball coaches might’ve received their lifelines.

Earlier this year, the sport was dealt a blow when the vote for a third paid assistant failed 36-25 with three votes abstaining. However, we said throughout the College World Series that the fight for a paid third assistant was far from over.

It’s just heating up … again.

The paid third assistant for college baseball and softball will again be reconsidered by the Division I Council in October. Should the vote to reconsider the legislation pass, the legislation would likely then be voted on yet again on the same day. However, the D1 Council also could vote to have another vote in April.

The legislation needs 32 votes to pass.

NCAA sources informed D1Baseball back in April that the legislation would not be voted on again for at least two years. So, what changed?

According to sources close to the situation, the issue sits with the ACC. In the tally we received, the ACC voted ‘yes’. However, several sources have confirmed that the ACC was indeed a ‘no’ vote on the D1 Council floor. That vote essentially lessened chances of the legislation passing, and sources also indicate that it caused confusion and affected the way other conferences voted on the issue. It also influenced Jim Delaney’s ‘Power Five’ vote, which accounts for four total votes.

The failure to pass the third assistant legislation has affected plenty of schools over the past few months, most recently, Indiana. Former Indiana volunteer assistant Casey Dykes was a passionate proponent of the third assistant legislation for obvious reasons. IU also was in favor of the legislation despite the Big Ten voting ‘no’. Dykes recently left IU for a job in the Yankees organization, and he’s not the only coach to go a similar route this offseason.

College baseball coaches now have something new to fight for. Many coaches reached out after the failure to pass the legislation earlier this year. But now is the time for those same coaches, especially in the Big 12, American and Big Ten, to go to their administrations to push for the legislation. The Big 12, we’re told, is a strong flip candidate, while the ACC will be an interesting vote to follow leading up to the October meetings. The American, which accounts for two votes, is another prime candidate to vote ‘yes’ in October.

Stay tuned.

Previous Vote Totals:

For: 25

Against: 36

Abstain: 3

Total: 64 (42 needed to pass)

No Votes

America East

American

Atlantic 10

Big 12

Big East

Big South

Big Ten

Big West

Ivy

Metro Atlantic

Mid-American

Mid-Eastern Athletic

Mountain West

Northeast

Ohio Valley

Patriot

Southern

SWAC

Summit

West Coast

IA Far*

Division I Conference Commissioner*

FARA*

FBS Autonomy Commissioner*

Yes Votes

ACC (this is disputed)

Atlantic Sun

Big Sky

Colonial

Conference USA

Horizon

Missouri Valley

Pac 12

SEC

Southland

Sun Belt

Western Athletic

Student Athlete Rep 1

Student Athlete Rep 2

Abstain Votes

FBS Nonautonomy Commissioner

FCS Conference Commissioner