University of Maine veteran baseball coach John Winkin understands the principles behind the recent NCAA legislation that will significantly alter college baseball. But he doesn’t like the legislation and said teams “north of the Mason-Dixon line will be penalized the most.”

The new guidelines that were passed, effective in the 1992 season, include a reduction in scholarships from 13 to 11.7; cutting the number of games from 70 to 56 (fall and spring included); and slicing the length of the playing season from 26 to 22 weeks.

The guidelines also reduce athletically required activities to four hours a day and 20 hours per week during the season, with a guarantee of one day per week off; they also force schools to have just two full-time coaches and one part-time restricted earnings ($12,000 per year) coach.

“They (the college presidents) were concerned with the principles of making cuts and didn’t take the time to understand the problems created by making the cuts,” said Winkin. “They didn’t think of the ramifications.”

Winkin pointed out that the reduction in number of weeks will really hurt the snowbelt schools because now they will have only three weeks of fall baseball to go with 19 weeks of spring ball.

“How can you give anybody a fair tryout inside (a gym or field house)?” asked the Bear boss. “In Miami, they can have tryouts beginning in January because they can get outside. The northern schools can’t get outside in January and the presidents also failed to take into account the limited times and space our schools have with our indoor facilities. We need at least two more weeks.”

Winkin also said in reducing the number of games by 14 and the number of weeks in the season by 4, the presidents “have gone too far.”

Reducing the coaching staff is another sore point with Winkin because the ratio of number of coaches to players in a baseball program will become disproportionate. There are anywhere from 30-50 players in a baseball program depending upon whether or not there is a jayvee program.

Maine doesn’t have a JV team, but at least 50 players try out every fall.

Winkin said the presidents ensured that the top two revenue-producing sports, football and basketball, did not receive cuts that created a situation where there was a disproportionate number of coaches per players.

“You certainly need a pitching coach and a hitting coach and then you need somebody to handle the infield,” said Winkin who added that the budget cuts at the university have forced him to come to grips with it.

Mike Coutts is his only full-time assistant while part-time assistant Jay Kemble supplements his income by teaching special education at Old Town High School.