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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As far as college chances. I have not seen a state of chaos in D1 track and field asi have seen now.

Roster and scholarship limits have been raised. A good thing on its face.

But the Power 4 arrangement will not last and once the top 40 (or so) break away from the NCAA programs will begin to cut track, particularly on the men’s side.This isnt my prediction but that of a long time Big 10 and mid major coach who I refer people to.

Throw into the mix that it is much easier to recruit a foreign athlete or an athlete off the transfer portal to score immediate points in the conference - so even if you are an excellent student and a competitive sprinter - let’s say a high school 47 second 400 meter runner - very very good - scholarships and walk on spots tied to admission will begin to melt away. With 4 conferences things are insanely competitive.

D3 schools look increasingly like places where athletes can still be developed, but they often reflect a different type of school than D1’s in the past. My friends in high school often took offers at Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Eastern, Western and so on. They at times beat Univ of Illinois. Those days are long gone. So a challenging landscape - and glad I was in the ACC in the early 80’s. [/quote]

Thank you for responding. You seem to know a lot. I know very little as it’s a fairly new sport for dc and we have zero experience in it. What are the recent changes you mentioned? I know zero unfortunately.

I’ve been on line looking at times and dcs times are solid but I don’t really know what that means. Dc has heard from a few schools here and there. But realistically we are looking at d3 which is maybe ok for dc, I don’t know. [/quote]

The NCAA has actually raised roster limits and scholarship limits.  When I attended the limit for men was 14; until now it was 12.6.  When had 3 scholarships, and I was one of them.  The school because of its excellence could attract good walk-ons.  But make no mistake, our Olympian in the 1500m was a monster talent from Timonium and everyone recruited him.  A full ride guy and a national record holder.  He could run sprints with the best of them but also won the  IC4A cross country meets (6 miles).

But the Big 10 coach I talk to says don't be fooled.  Money on the men's side is for football and the increased limits won't help.  Schools like James Madison and West Virginia and Vanderbilt and Northwestern (and on and on) don't have men's programs.  And powerhouse schools like UCLA are intending to drop cross country.  Maybe the right thing for their recruiting demographics
but not a plus for the program. This is a school with more Olympians than any other save for USC. Smaller schools like Loyola Marymount have just dropped track - no football - they want too save money for basketball. Maryland's coach is a good guy but they essentially have no men's program - they don't score in the conference and don't have a recruiting budget.  Maryland used to be a powerhouse and my son-in-laws father was an ACC champ in the 70's in the triple jump.

The SEC likely will continue to invest in sprints and field events but not in a way helpful to domestic athletes.  They recruit quite a bit from overseas and don't really want to develop athletes.  Witness Julien Alfred at Texas the recent gold medal winner in the 100 (a nice person by the way having met her).  Or witness the SEC champ in the 1500 from Florida and India, who just got busted for EPO and apparently lied about his age to the tune of understating 8 years of age.  It is much easier to get a foreign athlete who can immediately win the conference. And due diligence isn't important any longer.  And note the foreign athletes need full rides to come here - VISA restrictions don't permit them to collect NIL money and they need to be sustained after coming here from far away..  The days where a coach can stay 25-30 years at the D1 level and develop quality people are gone.  The pie is much smaller.

It is difficult to tell what is a good fit without times/distance/height marks.  And the progression matters.  There are great D3 programs, but you have to look carefully. If it is helpful, I ran a 4:10 mile as a 10th grader in the 70's and was very heavily recruited.  Even today that would attract attention.

D2 schools for some odd reason are not an academic fit.  Schools like Colorado School of Mines stand out but there are for some reason very few in that category.

The old saw is don't choose a school for its track program.  But if you can find a place to compete, it is a great sport. [/quote]

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