Attendance: 4,304

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:04 am

Has anyone said they don't respect track & field players as great athletes? No, it is the core of athleticism. I think participating in track is great for football & basketball players as well to help them stay in shape and work on their athletic ability.

That doesn't change the fact that the sport is insignificant in the MAC. As I said, I'd gladly drop all the minor sports to ensure competitiveness in basketball, football, hockey, baseball, and softball. The MAC tells us those are the biggies.

The purpose of a university athletic department is to gain exposure for your university. Like it or not winning national titles in track, swimming, or golf does very little to get that exposure. It's nice, but doesn't really do that much for the university. Winning in the other sports does.

Dr. Reality · Post by **Dr. Reality** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:55 am

So the purpose of an athletic department is to gain exposure for the University and exploiting athletes is how we do this. Oh My! Clearly, you are not an educator. --- Philosophically, athletics are for the benefit of the participanta --- ir'a wonderful extention of the classroom where so many of life's lessons can be experienced/learned. And, of course, it's an entertainment venue for spectators. This is fundamental.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 3:09 pm

Dr. Reality wrote:So the purpose of an athletic department is to gain exposure for the University and exploiting athletes is how we do this. Oh My! Clearly, you are not an educator. --- Philosophically, athletics are for the benefit of the participanta --- ir'a wonderful extention of the classroom where so many of life's lessons can be experienced/learned. And, of course, it's an entertainment venue for spectators. This is fundamental.

Blah blah.

It's both.

It's (A) good for the students who get a chance to compete. I'm not going to regurgitate all the cliches, but, if nothing else, it's good and fun for the students who have the chance to compete.

And, it's (B) great exposure for the university with difficult-to-quantify benefits such as better campus morale and an improved standing among 17-year-olds deciding where to send a college application. Our I-A athletic department projects an image of Bowling Green as a university of national merit. That's hard to put a price tag on, but it helps every single one of us alumni by influencing the value of our diplomas. It also influences us to dig a little deeper when asked to give back.

The strength of our leaguemates have a measurable impact on this dynamic and our ability to pay for it.

Weaker leaguemates erode our ability to get the institutional benefits I've described in (B). They erode our ability to be on television. Consider, for instance, how much easier we have it than the Sun Belt does -- or the MAC did 20 years ago. The strength of our conference, overall, makes a difference here.

Also, our leaguemates are also one way of defining our academic peers. Do we benefit from being grouped with Eastern Michigan University?

Finally, there are some very real dollars and cents issues here. The weaker our league, the lower than chances that we can grab the dollars available to the MAC through deep runs in the NCAA tournament or appearances in one of the BCS bowl games.

I'm tired of debating this. It's so obvious, really.

h2oville rocket · Post by **h2oville rocket** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:37 pm

hammb wrote:Has anyone said they don't respect track & field players as great athletes? No, it is the core of athleticism. I think participating in track is great for football & basketball players as well to help them stay in shape and work on their athletic ability.

That doesn't change the fact that the sport is insignificant in the MAC. As I said, I'd gladly drop all the minor sports to ensure competitiveness in basketball, football, hockey, baseball, and softball. The MAC tells us those are the biggies.

The purpose of a university athletic department is to gain exposure for your university. Like it or not winning national titles in track, swimming, or golf does very little to get that exposure. It's nice, but doesn't really do that much for the university. Winning in the other sports does.

Seriously, the MAC says HOCKEY is a big sport to them? They don't even sponsor hockey do they? And I like football because its a good way to get throwers some diverse exercise before the indoor track season.

redskins4ever · Post by **redskins4ever** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:07 pm

How difficult is it for EMU to win the track and field championship each year when they have so little MAC competition.

How many MAC schools have had to cut back their track programs to the point that they are barely worth fielding.

FalconTurf · Post by **FalconTurf** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:14 pm

redskins4ever wrote:How difficult is it for EMU to win the track and field championship each year when they have so little MAC competition.

How many MAC schools have had to cut back their track programs to the point that they are barely worth fielding.

Or simply don't field one at all.

h2oville rocket · Post by **h2oville rocket** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:30 pm

Not as difficult as it was when they won every year and the MAC was one of the premier track leagues in the country. And the MAC schools have chosen to cut back, they did not have to.

Falconfreak90 · Post by **Falconfreak90** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 10:35 pm

I didn't think there were 2,000 people in the stands Friday night. The stadium isn't bad but it isn't great, either. For EMU, their football program is always gonna be a drag simply cuz scUM is right down the street. They can't win either way.

How bad is it? They have one banner in their end zone from the 1987 Cal Bowl...ouch.

We had a great time...but I feel for those EMU kids.