Does not having mens track hurt football?

[Globetrotter]

Just read about this at UNLV and I never really considered it but it makes sense. A great athlete might just want to do both and he can't do both here.

[duckunder53]

I believe it does. I've been saying this for quite a while now. Sprinters who want to run track and play football are not going to choose BG.

[factman]

It depends on the coach, because many won't let their athletes play another sport anyway, because it interferes somewhat with spring practice. This also applies to baseball.

[takeoffeh]

I agree. Whether it's a lineman throwing shot, receiver running hurdles, or a quarterback pitching on the baseball team. A good athlete can have success at two sports in college. The only drawback is burnout, IMO. It can be a little overwhelming.

[bgsufalcon24]

I've been trying to make this case for years, that our senseless cutting of men's track early in the decade has been negatively impacting our recruiting. Now obviously outside of the decline in the program post-2004, I don't have a lot of evidence to back that up, but it just seems like we've shut ourselves out of any athletes that want to play both sports.

Honestly, it's not like men's track was a big drain on the athletic budget. Whey'd they cut it? BG already has more women's sports than men's.

[takeoffeh]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not that there are more women's sports than men's, it's that there are more male athletes than women. That's why men's track and field was cut. That was my understanding, but I've been wrong before.

And it's not like having men's track and field again would open the flood gates for all these athletes, but a couple might take advantage of it.

[MarkL]

Food for thought - two of the best Big 10 football players in the past decade, Chris Perry of Michigan and Ted Ginn of Ohio State, were both track stars at their schools.

[It's the Journey...]

I would only ask this; in the 15 year prior to men's track and field being cut how many athletes did BGSU have competing in both football and track and field? It's one thing to offer the opportunity, but I guess i'm more interested in how many have taken the opportunity.

We can, and have had threads about cutting sports and saving sports and all of that. But the simple fact is it's done and over. Hopefully the department and University can find a way to bring those programs back. It has happened before. But right now we've got 18 sports. Let's focus on making those the best possible.

[daspollak]

I say get rid of the non-revenue sports and let the sports that bring in money act like a business. They can pay for the scholly's to have a person attend a school. Track, swimming, gymnastics, and volleyball bye bye.

[h2oville rocket]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not that there are more women's sports than men's, it's that there are more male athletes than women. That's why men's track and field was cut. That was my understanding, but I've been wrong before.

And it's not like having men's track and field again would open the flood gates for all these athletes, but a couple might take advantage of it.

Correct. Blame football. If anything should be cut it should be schollies for football or football altogether. Football bleeds money anyway so drop it and move on.

As for track, back in the day it was pretty common for guys to do both football and track-(we had Jim Mullinex and MArk Pensinger-d-backs from the football team but both were much better track athletes than football players). Now unless you are likely to be a superstar track guy football coaches aren't going to let you run track. UT had Glen Smith, a great wideout and punt returner for those undefeated teams. After four years of football he came out for track as a senior after not competing since HS. Jumped 25'6", won the MAC, qualified for NCAAs and Olympic trials. Those kind of guys might get a shot but the day of the two sport athlete is fading fast.

[Flipper]

I say get rid of the non-revenue sports and let the sports that bring in money act like a business. They can pay for the scholly's to have a person attend a school. Track, swimming, gymnastics, and volleyball bye bye.

You can't do that because of Title IX...title IX falls under the purview of the Federal Government, not the NCAA. Sooooooo.... it's not like the NCAA or it's member institutions can just go out and create rules that violate the dictums of the Federales...

As a side note, so far as I know, There's never been a successful challenge to Title IX using a revenue/non-revenue paradigm.

[Rollo83]

In 1975 my counselor at Hoosier Basketball Camp in Angola, Indiana was BGSU basketball player Greg Kampe. He was a point guard on the basketball team and a punter on the football team. I am not sure if he still holds the record but at one time held the record for the longest punt...75 yards? He's now the head basketball coach at Oakland (MI) University.

So two sports athletes have happened before.

[h2oville rocket]

In 1975 my counselor at Hoosier Basketball Camp in Angola, Indiana was BGSU basketball player Greg Kampe. He was a point guard on the basketball team and a punter on the football team. I am not sure if he still holds the record but at one time held the record for the longest punt...75 yards? He's now the head basketball coach at Oakland (MI) University.

So two sports athletes have happened before.

Yep, Kampe was BG's sixth man. And when I say that I don't mean he was the first guy off the bench but was the player who checked in to give BG six players on the floor in a UT - BG game at AA years ago. Wtih about 100 people screaming at the refs to count BG's players, Kampe remained on the floor for about 45 seonds until the BG coach was able to call a timeout -no Tech was ever called. Kampe also coached at UT.

[h2oville rocket]

In 1975 my counselor at Hoosier Basketball Camp in Angola, Indiana was BGSU basketball player Greg Kampe. He was a point guard on the basketball team and a punter on the football team. I am not sure if he still holds the record but at one time held the record for the longest punt...75 yards? He's now the head basketball coach at Oakland (MI) University.

So two sports athletes have happened before.

Yep, Kampe was BG's sixth man. And when I say that I don't mean he was the first guy off the bench but was the player who checked in to give BG six players on the floor in a UT - BG game at AA years ago. Wtih about 100 people screaming at the refs to count BG's players, Kampe remained on the floor for about 45 seonds until the BG coach was able to call a timeout -no Tech was ever called. Kampe also coached at UT.

UT has had a lot of Baseball-football players including A J Sager who pitched for the Tigers, Len MAtuszek, who tood over at first for Pete Rose when he retired from the Phils was probably the best walk-on basketball player ever-talk about a tough double-hoops into March, then immediately start baseball. BG had Magnerand some other guy from the football team, I think,and UT had a football lineman help out on their basketball teams within the last few years -Bill Backensto was All-MAc in both hoops and baseball in the same year for UT back in the 60s. Lots of examples but fewer and fewer at high levels of college sports every year.

[SaxyIrishTenor]

We can, and have had threads about cutting sports and saving sports and all of that. But the simple fact is it's done and over. Hopefully the department and University can find a way to bring those programs back. It has happened before. But right now we've got 18 sports. Let's focus on making those the best possible.

If Americans had the same attitude about social equality as the one you exhibit here, we would still have slaves and I would be denied the vote.

What's the harm in having some reasonable discussion as to the viability of the men's track program?