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Bad News for Track and Field


ZipsVoice

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Okay, this week Akron sends 6 individuals to the NCAA DI Indoor T & F Championships.  top 16 in the nation in each event get to compete.  No other non-P5 school can even come close to those numbers.  But word on Buchtel Avenue is the outdoor meets for 2019 are being cancelled due to the condition of Lee Jackson's track.  No confirmation of that, but it seems to be out there.   And that the U of A can't afford to or doesn't want to fix.  Hopefully this is temporary, as a lot of expenditures for a new football coach, budget increases for men's soccer and Cub Cadet Field and new programs in baseball and women's lacrosse are hitting the coffers at the same time.  I get it.  I have no issues with that spending or those programs.  And if the track is that bad, then the time to address it was last Fall not this Spring, as the resurfacing isn't just a one-week job.  I'm guessing anywhere from $80K to $250K will be needed, depending on how bad it is.  Have they thought of these items?

  • the team can continue to train on the surface I assume, but for how long and what injuries may be caused by poor conditions?
  • recruiting might suffer if recruits see an indoor-only program from a home meet side of things.
  • if they fix it this summer, then why not go after the City Series meets and get some revenue off the use of the facility like we do at the Natatorium?  Pay for itself quickly, I'd think.  Host a few high-level High School Invitationals as well, as pick up concession revenue too.  
  • The meets they are cancelling aren't exactly barn-burners.  Low-quality teams and lack of numbers make for lightly attended and supported meets.  So if you do it, make sure you offer the fans something in return.
  • Kent State did away with their outdoor meet program a few years back for the same reasons, and their programs have gone downhill ever since.
  • Are sponsorships or naming rights allowable, and if so....?????
  • You have three nationally-ranked NCAA DI teams at Akron....how would you treat the other two if their facilities suddenly were unsuitable?

 

Bring back outdoor track meets in 2020, and more (quality) ones at that!

Edited by ZipsVoice
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. I felt it was a mistake adding additional non-revenue sports when the ones we have already aren't properly funded. From what I understand the baseball program is supposed to be self funded. I read a week or so back how we got something close to a million dollar donation for a stadium renovation, which is nice, but I haven't heard anything about us receiving large donations to endow scholarship/coaches salary/travel costs/etc.. Is the university going to get stuck covering these costs when/if the donations dry up?

 

As for women's lacrosse, pretty much the entire conference, outside of Kent, is in the Carolinas or Florida. It can't be cheap to bus them back and forth. I have no idea why we started the program. If it was a title IX issue, we should have just not brought back baseball and cut the men's golf team. Take that savings and use it towards resurfacing the track, better funding the women's programs that perpetually underachieve (basketball, soccer, softball), or just reduce the deficit.

Edited by kreed5120
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11 hours ago, ZipsVoice said:

 

LaVar Ball isn't going to buy that, rename it Big Baller Athletics Facility, and make it a shrine to himself and his boys? Shocking. 

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On 3/4/2019 at 2:39 PM, kreed5120 said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I felt it was a mistake adding additional non-revenue sports when the ones we have already aren't properly funded. From what I understand the baseball program is supposed to be self funded. I read a week or so back how we got something close to a million dollar donation for a stadium renovation, which is nice, but I haven't heard anything about us receiving large donations to endow scholarship/coaches salary/travel costs/etc.. Is the university going to get stuck covering these costs when/if the donations dry up?

 

As for women's lacrosse, pretty much the entire conference, outside of Kent, is in the Carolinas or Florida. It can't be cheap to bus them back and forth. I have no idea why we started the program. If it was a title IX issue, we should have just not brought back baseball and cut the men's golf team. Take that savings and use it towards resurfacing the track, better funding the women's programs that perpetually underachieve (basketball, soccer, softball), or just reduce the deficit.

 

Poor prioritization abound! This is a quintessential example of the decisions that have drowned UA in debt and compromised its future. I have no faith in the Board of Trustees or the current administration. It is truly sad what our alma mater has become, and its trajectory is shameful.

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Kudos to the coaches for trying to piece something together for this season's home meets, but it sure sounds kinda pathetic.  So the first meet of the season, a "quad" meet with three other teams, will be "hosted" by Akron, but it will be held at Youngstown State University, (and YSU will be competing!) with all the running events on Friday afternoon, as well as most of the field events.  Throws will be back at Akron then on Saturday.  :(.  And the second meet, the Wright-Campbell, to honor two past T & F standouts at U of A, is still in limbo.  So, let's say I'm a senior miler from Indiana who is top 10 quality, and I'm considering Akron as my only non-P5 offer to attend and compete....do I want to go where I can't even practice on the track for fear of injuries....this could go downhill quickly, sadly.

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