In 2010 and 2011, the NCAA changed scholarship rules in baseball by forcing coaches to use the same number of scholarships it has used since to 1990—11.7—and spread it out amongst 27 players with each player getting no less than 25-percent.

In recent years, some baseball programs—Virginia, North Carolina and Vanderbilt—have found loopholes to get around these rules.

The Academic Common Market (ACM), which allows an out-of-state player whose major may not be offered at one of the instate school he resides in, the opportunity to come to another school without having to pay out-of-state tuition.

Then there are academic endowments, money schools give to its students and/or student-athletes that are eligible for it services.

Clemson has been fighting against these endowment issues and the ACM in its recruiting wars for years now, plus the fact it has been behind in player facilities as well.

Clemson is fighting back, though. The Clemson baseball program is in the process of building a new $6 million addition to Doug Kingsmore Stadium that will house a new players’ clubhouse, locker room, coaches’ offices and museum.

In April of 2014, Clemson’s Board of Trustees, with the help of athletic director Dan Radakovich, passed the use of the ACM at Clemson, which will allow out-of-state students to be eligible for instate tuition.

“That is a huge advantage when it comes to recruiting the state of Georgia,” new Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee said in an exclusive interview with The Clemson Insider. “From a scholarship standpoint, it is very appealing. When you have to split up 11.7 (scholarships) between twenty-seven guys, it is appealing that there are some opportunities for a kid from the state of Georgia to have instate tuition at Clemson.

“I think it is a big advantage and it is one of the reasons why we will recruit the state of Georgia, really, really hard.”

As for the endowment issues, there is little Clemson can do about it right now. The Clemson Athletic Department’s endowment fund is around $4 million dollars and the university’s stands around $400 million. Though those are good numbers, they pale in comparison to Virginia, North Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Virginia, who just won the national championship, has an endowment fund of $5.9 billion, while Vanderbilt, last year’s national champion, stands at $4 billon and UNC’s is $2.6 billion. It’s documented these three schools use this academic means as a way to get around baseball’s 11.7 limitations to help with financial aid.

“Means based endowments do help fill in the holes, but Clemson is not in position yet to compete on that side with other schools,” Radakovich said recently.

So what is Clemson trying to do?

“I have always looked at things the same. We have to look at what our strengths are,” Lee said. “There are things that other schools may have when it comes to endowment opportunities that are very appealing about that school. I’m not going to make excuses when it comes to opportunities other schools’ have that I don’t.”

Instead, Lee is asking Radakovich and others to help him find something that makes Clemson special or gives Clemson an advantage those schools don’t have. The new players’ facility and museum are two things as well the new ACM. Clemson’s great academic programs and Vickery Hall are two others, plus the program’s great baseball tradition.

“As far as trying to make excuses that it is a disadvantage for us, I’m going to sell all the advantages of coming to Clemson. I’m the kind of guy as a coach and as a recruiter I don’t compare us to other people. I never will try to do that,” Lee said. “I’m just going to worry about us. What does Clemson sell?”

One thing Lee sells is his honesty. He says he is upfront with parents when he comes into their homes. He sells them on what Clemson has to offer their sons.

“I think parents appreciate that in recruiting,” he said. “I don’t compare us to school A, B and C. I just say, ‘Look, this is what we can do for your son if he comes to Clemson. This is the opportunity he will have if he comes to Clemson.’

“When I get this team together we are going to worry about what we need to do in order to win ballgames. We will focus on our strengths and worry about our strengths much more so than our opponent. If we do these things well, we give ourselves a chance to beat anybody.”

Lee says if he begins to worry about what others have and what they might be selling for their schools, then he puts himself in a situation where he might undersell Clemson.

“We have to worry about what we do when it comes to winning all these games, and we have to worry about what we do win it comes to winning over all these recruits,” he said. “When you start worrying about everybody else, you quit focusing on what your strengths are here. That is just my opinion. That’s just the way I have always looked at it.”