Black Bear resignations reasonable

In a four-day span, the University of Maine lost its athletic director (Patrick Nero) and baseball coach (Paul Kostacopoulos).

It was certainly a blow to the university. But, realistically, can you blame them?

Most of us would love to make $110,000 a year. That is just the raise Nero will receive to become the America East commissioner. He will make $235,000 a year.

During his time at Maine, he was involved in every aspect of the athletic department. He was able to unify the department.

He was a tireless and productive fund-raiser in the most taxed state in the nation, a state that is 36th in per capita income – not to mention the cost of heating our homes.

He was able to lure back longtime financial boosters like Larry Mahaney, who clashed with the previous regime.

He wasn’t afraid to make difficult decisions.

He was accessible to the media and he was a straight shooter.

But Maine was also good for Patrick Nero, who was here for two years.

By hiring him, UMaine enabled him to move up the corporate ladder. The contacts he made and the exposure he received as an AD opened a lot of doors for him.

Once he stepped through those doors, his energy, work ethic, insight, and progressive attitude did the rest.

As he said, he will now receive the opportunity to impact college athletics regionally and nationally by serving on the NCAA Management Council and being a member of the Conference Commissioners Association.

It will also fast-track him to an even more prominent position down the road if he can be as productive a commissioner as he was an AD.

Nine-year baseball coach Kostacopoulos, meanwhile, will also receive a huge salary increase in his move to the U.S. Naval Academy (Md.). He will double the $78,100 he would have received next year at Maine.

At Navy, he will have to coach and recruit. Period.

He won’t have to be a fund-raiser. He won’t have to concern himself with the players’ academics because the school will take care of that.

He also won’t have to deal with the media as much.

Those are all time-consuming endeavors.

He will get to spend more time with his wife and two children.

The University of Maine has the only Division I baseball team in the state and earns a healthy share of media exposure.

Lacrosse is an important spring sport in Maryland. Johns Hopkins of Baltimore won the NCAA championship while Navy reached the quarterfinals and the University of Maryland made it to the semis.

Navy baseball isn’t high on the media priority list.

Kostacopoulos revived the Maine baseball program and averaged close to 37 wins over his past five seasons, earning two NCAA Tournament berths in the past four years.

The bottom line is that Maine is a stepping stone for many coaches and administrators. There’s nothing wrong with that.

You don’t make a ton of money and, while it’s a great place to raise a family, the social life for a single person leaves a lot to be desired.

Maine is better off having topnotch coaches and administrators for a handful of years than mediocre coaches or administrators for 20-plus years.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.