College Track will soon be EXTINCT! And apparently NOBODY Cares?!

[@faulypi]

The problem with T&F is that it is an individual sport structured as team competition. With team sports, a clear "me vs. you" dynamic generates emotion, bringing supporters and spectators to watch their team win. This dynamic does not exist in T&F as the teams compete as individuals with much less name recognition than the teams. Until we get to the relays the feeling of "me vs. you" doesn't exist. Without the spectators, the money doesn't exist. Some of this can be addressed through marketing and promotion, however, the athletes change every season creating a problem with continuity. This is one of the problems that Grand Slam Track is attempting to address, creating predictable head-to-head completion to build season-long rivalries. There is nothing wrong with the length of track meets. As long as the finals are scheduled for the afternoon session people can arrange how much of the competition they want to see. The longer distances will suffer in any format and there is not much we can do there.

[@ronaldwesby4995]

Why wouldn't the Coaches alone make sure Track&Field is here to stay. If Track&Field goes down...American Football will pay for it. Is Swimming on the Ctting block as well. Is Wrestling,Tennis and Gymnastics All on the Cutting Blocks???🤔

[@caseysmith544]

@@ronaldwesby4995 All sports including at some schools Basketball are on the chopping block. NCAA only cares about USA Football and not any other sports including March Madness is becoming the biggest problem today even when NCAA Basketball brings in money and a good bit of money. If the Track and Field sports go, we need to have open meets that can qualify people to the elite level provided they pass the drug tests every single day or even every hour on the hour or we are going to have a death of Olympic T&F becuse of nobody going out to compete against the USA where they go straight to Pro level, Japan and Europe/UK, in places that have working universities/a program like China.

[@Tadaia]

I hear you but how's that different from any other popular individual sport like tennis, golf, boxing, car racing, etc? They do need to market the sport better however. We'll see where GST takes it this year and there appears to be others looking to get more involved in promoting the sport. I agree that the "Team" concept enhances track field when competing at a college and international level (Olympics, Worlds). Also yes, the length of track meets is not an issue, at least not for me.

[@faulypi]

@@Tadaia T&F lacks the consistent frequent head to head competition that builds rivalries in other sports. Many of the stars compete sporadically, entering only a few select meets per year. We need a GST format with eight to ten meets per year. Other pro sports have their stars competing every week with the best facing the best. NCAA comes close with the frequency of competition but most meets are essentially practice without meaningful head to head battles. I think that GST is a good attempt to try something different and if it works they need to expand the number of meets. This could be the USA Diamond League.

[@Tadaia]

@@faulypi Hopefully that’s what’s on the horizon for the sport. I look forward to the changes this year.

[@takashitamagawa5881]

Yes, it was interesting in Paris to see the Olympics T&F athletes from other countries that had competed in the NCAA.

[@caseysmith544]

Mainly lesser countries in some disciplines.

[@takashitamagawa5881]

@@caseysmith544 Yes, don't forget Armand Duplantis who took gold for Sweden at the Paris Olympics in the pole vault and who competed for LSU.

[@Tadaia]

@@caseysmith544 Many UK and other European athletes competed in NCAA over the years.

[@faulypi]

@@takashitamagawa5881 Mondo was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. LSU was his hometown university.

[@caseysmith544]

@@Tadaia Yes but their are universities/bigger clubs over in Europe for the smaller sports that are not big unlike the USA the clubs are much smaller rarely a big club unless you are talking about Boston Athletic Club or sponsored training Groups like the Brooks group for distance, a few others mainly distance the elite people can get on with little to no regard for the other sports like sprinting or field events except on the now defunct Nike track program/distance program that had field people in it as well before gray area cheating took over parts of the group and how Alberto Salzar screwed it up by trying to take over so that Nike had no say in if people in program was okay.

[@Tadaia]

Thanks for the video. I get a headache at times looking at comments from people dogging the collegiate system. Over the course of Olympic history in just track and field, of 106 nations that have competed we've won a whopping 26+% of the medals (33% of the gold). The vast majority of those athletes were trained in that collegiate system. Other nations can only dream they had this colossal sporting thinktank. Many send their athletes here now to train. There is no T&F pro Jr circuit in the US to prepare young prodigies/athletes for the big time. But we do have the BEST Jr circuit in the world... in our collegiate system. The fact that they can also get an education to better their lives and careers is a bonus. As you like to say, "let's keep it a buck". Big business is trying to take over everything, including the collegiate system and amateur sports, eliminating what they feel is not "profitable". After T&F, they'll be going after more popular sports. Its a fact that other than a few D1 colleges even the most popular sports don't make a profit. Sadly people wont get alarmed about it until its too late. Our collegiate systems/programs, without regard to profit, has been the best investment our nation has ever made.

[@SCATrackandField]

Thank you for your comment as well as your perspective. I really appreciate it!

[@ultrarnr4454]

I just read Seattle pacific University here in our state, cut field events, sprints, and cut out indoor track and then they’re cutting their roster down and they’re only doing distance events for track.

[@Clemsnman]

All non revenue sports are likely to get cut by all but the few schools that specialize in them.

[@headlibrarian1996]

You can’t watch Diamond League in the US anymore, not even by paid subscription (NBC dropped it), so it is not surprising college track gets no exposure either. The NCAA needs to drop its amateur-only model, as the Olympics did. D1 football and basketball is effectively professional anyway.

[@XDF745]

FloTrack has the Diamond League rights going forward. Fortunately I'm not American so I don't have to give a horrible company like FloSports any of my money.

[@ZorshaAndHerPharaoh]

Instead of traditional heats, they should run multiple finals heats and place the pre-fastest runners together in one heat, but still have the final results be based across results of all heats. Get rid of the traditional heats and save athletes' legs. Too many runners waste energy in the semi finals especially.

[@SCATrackandField]

That is an interesting idea. It’s a step in the right direction perhaps.

[@joyce2680]

It was tried a couple of times then disbanded. I think it was in the 1980. There was a lot going on about drugging and committee taking bribes for good stuff to get done.

[@davidlard8490]

Let me answer that question. It is not true, college track and field is ok. signed....college track coach

[@NicNacYT]

I think the issue is the variety of events.. there’s simply too many to keep up with to build a fan base

[@daniellawson652]

Alright. We need a take on the new JuCo judgement for that football player and how it could impact the future of XC/ TF if it holds up.

[@Philobiblion]

Coach, this may be your greatest statement yet. I got interested in this whole endeavor as an already-old man (I'm 76). I got involved because of Katelyn Tuohy, who I believe is one of the greatest girl or boy phenomena in USA collegiate sports history, because she showed the way.. I discovered her when she was in 7th or 8th grade, when her best friend Haleigh Morales said her meets already required security. The problem was the Rockland tent was so swarmed by little girls. Fast forward to Caitlin Clark's entry to the WNBA, and before that at Iowa, packing arenas with... little girls and their parents. I'm not an athletics administrator or an economist, but it seems to me that the long view for non-ticketed sports is to unpack the specific points you just make, and to understand the many facets of the problem. Just try to stream one DI cross country and track program for one year of cross and track. How much does it cost and how hard is it to actually see the damn thing you are paying to view? If the owners' goal is to make money, there is immense potential in the non-ticketed sports. Why do little girls like Mackenzie York have their own Instagram channels?

[@kevinnash2444]

WOW! Houston we have a Problem!

[@williamford9564]

It won't be missed. As was said, no one attends the meets and no one watches on TV.

[@TranelHawkins]

Coach Rob, Track and Field does not need to follow BBall and Football. These sports will be broken off from Track and Field. D2 has shown to be successful without much money investment.

[@Heyu7her3]

Many colleges don't even give full scholarships for track & field... mostly half or partial

[@marjorieanderson8626]

To piggyback on Clemsnman's comment. Look no further than Men's gymnastics to see how this is going to end up. There will be about 20 D1 programs in each sport besides Football, Men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball. Even the inexpensive sports will be too expensive to keep in this NIL era. The 20 programs who remain competing in each of the "Olympic" sports will be the ones who are currently elite and have a lot of money invested in that sport's infrastructure.

[@billbandoh5818]

I don’t see a link in the description coach !

[@SCATrackandField]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIrJeqCGeaufpqssi=gw_sMjvujUhj2xF9

[@billbandoh5818]

@ thanks

[@okonh0wp]

Where do you or did you coach? NCAA track and field Is so cheap that programs at GWU, W and M and Akron are alum funded

[@SCATrackandField]

Former Head coach in both NCAA D2, and NJCAA. I agree, funding is a huge issue for many programs. Including the ones I served.

[@dedgar6161]

One of the closest schools near me, Elon university in NC, only has a women's cross country program... no track, no men's team of any kind...

[@KOSMOinfinite]

The NCAA is eating itself alive because of NIL and TV money. Eventually, it’ll just boil down to football and basketball, with hockey, lacrosse, and swimming kept around for show. T&F needs to pivot to something fresh: a mini-Olympics. By this, I mean creating a major annual championship meet featuring the top 30 schools that qualify through their conferences. Make it a school vs. school competition and start building narratives and storylines for future Olympians. This approach would give the sport an opportunity to reach a global audience beyond the U.S. You could still have individual event winners, but the main focus would be on crowning the school with the most points. Make it a 5-day event, a yearly pilgrimage for T&F fans. Host it in iconic locations like Eugene or LA to add prestige and consistency. (Even a wild idea would be to upgrade the dump that is Franklin Field in Philly, which seats 70k, and rotate the event between LA, Eugene, and Philly.) To further incentivize participation, NIL can be leveraged. The meet could provide monetary incentives for top-performing athletes through sponsorship deals, appearance fees, or prize money tied to NIL rights. This would not only attract the best collegiate athletes but also make the event more competitive and appealing to fans and sponsors. Schools could also benefit indirectly, as their athletes’ success at this meet would boost recruitment and program prestige. Yes, I know this is kind of what happens now, but the key difference in my suggestion is shifting the emphasis to full teams competing for their schools. This could attract casual fans while also using the week to spotlight individual athletes and their stories.

[@Deontelewis846]

😂😂 you didn’t have to crap on Franklin field man got some great memories there. But yes I agree. A rotating “mini Olympics” in the us would be great. It gives people a chance to build a name & garner the attention of the country prior to the Olympics

[@justblaze1011]

No it’s not! SMH

[@coachbenitas]

This is why other competitions are being created

[@themadlad8540]

I have never seen a college track and field event

[@allworldzeus5935]

Think about the American culture and who made the sport popular with viewership through the roof, guys like Steve Prefontaine. To be honest, these athletes aren't figures, their celebrities. There is no story or narrative or different of opinion or ideology, it's just run my race and go home. They haven't have been tested. As I said, this is what I believe. The athletes even as I race them, there isn't anything that makes them different no matter how fast they are.

[@Heyu7her3]

Watching a marathon ain't that bad -- at least all the action lasts less than 3 hrs

[@TranelHawkins]

Track and field has always been obscure🤷🏾‍♂️

[@joyce2680]

Not at all! Until the 1980s T&F was a big thing down to the 1st grade. June 14th (Flag Day) had meets around the city for all schools to compete.. public or private. NBC had weekend meets until they dumped it for hockey. Even Cozy TV had something going for awhile. I still ❤ it to this day, but it's been messed over badly. The private elementary school I went to took us by the bus load to the Penn Relays.

[@adrainawls]

That’s mean Olympics is next , no athletes to run it.

[@aarond23]

Football players get $10 mil/year basketball $1 mil/year....anybody else? good luck!