University of South Florida assistant coach Joe “Spanky” McFarland has been picked to lead the revival of the NIU baseball program which was cut at the end of the 1982 season. The decision is subject to Board of Regents approval.

In his 13 coaching years, McFarland, 36, is unaccustomed to losing. Three of the four Division I clubs he has coached with have made NCAA postseason appearances. Overall, teams he has coached with have a 448-234-3 record (.656).

In his five years with USF as a pitching and strength and conditioning coach, the Bulls won the Sun Belt Conference twice (1986, 1990) and missed a spot in the College World Series by one game (1986). In the same capacity with Georgia Tech (1983-85), McFarland helped the Yellow Jackets set a season-win record and win the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time.

Because slugging and big innings are sometime things, McFarland will build a one-run-at-a-time squad.

“If I could pick my ideal team, it would be built on speed. I think that’s very important in college ball,” McFarland said. “I’m a firm believer in the axiom, ‘speed doesn’t go in slumps.’ When the wind’s blowing out, everyone can hit a home run. When it blows in, no one can hit. I like to use bunts, the hit-and-run, stretching singles into doubles or doubles into triples. That’s exciting baseball in my opinion.”

With a slim talent pool and slimmer budget, McFarland will start from scratch on a campus where baseball has been mostly anonymous as a club sport.

“I really believe that with an enrollment of 24,000-plus, we can find some players,” McFarland said. “We’ll obviously use the walk-on process to its fullest. We may not give out any scholarships initially.”

In addition to authoring two books on pitching development, McFarland has tutored 39 pitchers who have signed professional contracts, including six who have played in the major leagues. At Florida State University (1982) McFarland worked with current Boston Red Sox reliever Jeff Gray and with the Yellow Jackets helped develop current Texas Ranger pitcher Kevin Brown.

“I feel Northern Illinois is very serious about baseball,” said McFarland. “We’re not just filling a requirement, the goal is to build an eventual NCAA contender.”