Rookie823
D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 2:16PM Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Hi im from Texas going into my senior outdoor track season and im really interested in running in college. A little on my background-this is the first year that ive focused on running. Basketball used to be my primary sport, but i would compete on the cross country team my sophmore and junior year without any smart or consitent running training. My prs over my senior year are: xc 5K 16:36 and 4:43 for the mile. Yes slow, i know, but i firmly believe that by the end of track ill have my mile time at 4:30 or under due to more fast training on the track.

I dont have the greatest high school coach and he hasnt exactly given us the smartest training. His training program is more or less unstructured and he"ll throw in random time trials every other week when we could be getting in some good work. Also the highest mileage that ive done consistently is 40 miles per week(im currently making the transition to 50)

I believe that with proper training and time i could be a much better runner than i am currently. Do you guys know of any D1 schools in the south that are good with developing walk ons such as me? Or any good D2 schools for that matter?

Thanks for taking the time to read this
Nappy Roots
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 2:47PM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
1. LSU
2. Stephen F. Austin
3. McNeese
4. UTA
Rookie823
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 4:47PM - in reply to Nappy Roots Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
okay, so did you list these schools because of the ease of walking on there, because they are good at developing runners, or both?
And is this from experience?
Nappy Roots
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 5:12PM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Rookie823 wrote:

okay, so did you list these schools because of the ease of walking on there, because they are good at developing runners, or both?
And is this from experience?


Yes, yes, and somewhat. All schools listed have pretty solid academic programs, coaches, ability to develop runners, and are open to walk-ons. I never walked on to any program, but can assure you I've seen plenty of okay HS runners become pretty good at LSU. And having raced other runners at the other schools I listed (with similar HS credentials as myself), I think they do a great job of development as well.
Romulus
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 9:29PM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Liberty is a school known for developing walk ons
W&M is weaker than previous years, this may lead to them taking more walk ons, when they usually want recruits
App State - great training environment and take a lot of walk ons usually
VA Tech has gotten a lot faster recently
webfoot
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 9:48PM - in reply to Romulus Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Romulus wrote:

Liberty is a school known for developing walk ons


Problem with Liberty is you have to sell our soul.
a;fa;fmaflm
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 9:55PM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
You be able to finagle your way into getting a scholarship at a D2 school if you milk the bad coach stuff. You should check out queens university of charlotte they are rebuilding and have money to pass out.
Rookie823
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 10:58PM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
What do you guys think about Texas tech or Arkansas? The reason being that I've already been accepted there
sxsw
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/10/2013 11:18PM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
A guy of your talent would do well at SFA or McNeese, Texas A&M-CC, UT-A, UT-SA, That's the particular schools that I would look into, depending upon your major. McNeese won the southland conference this past year and does a great job developings 4:30 guys (as do the above mentioned schools) into conference champs while also having national class talent on the team as well, they(McNeese) are the only school listed in Louisiana though. (msu alum bias)

maybe look into Houston, HBU, UT-PA as well. Plenty of in state choices for a texas kid.
jibbyjib
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/11/2013 2:30AM - in reply to a;fa;fmaflm Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Easy Vahrenkamp...NCAA Violation.
You have no clue
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/11/2013 3:05AM - in reply to sxsw Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Sxsw. You are so behind. I don't know when you got your information, but UTA, McNeese, and UTSA could care less about 4:30 milers now. They have become much more selective over the past few years.

To even be competitive in the Southland you have to be running 4:10 indoor! Seriously check your facts before spewing nonsense.

As to the OP, yes there are plenty of schools that you could walk on to AND still receive attention. (As opposed to getting neglected at more competitive distance school) You would however be able to help schools like Sam Houston, Oral Roberts, Southeastern, and Northwestern State.
I and I
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/11/2013 7:35AM - in reply to You have no clue Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
OP, instead of going to one of these schools simply because they are easy to walk on, why not go to the best academic choice and give it your best shot? As a former D1 All-America runner, I can assure you that it is WAY more important to spend you college days focusing on academics, even if you are a solid runner.

Don't sacrifice the ability to go to a solid academic school to run at Queen's College. I am not trying to be mean, but come on... Think about what you want to do with your life and pick the best option for your future. You can always do Club Track somewhere if you don't make the Varsity team.
LR Citizen
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/11/2013 9:03AM - in reply to webfoot Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
webfoot wrote:

Problem with Liberty is you have to sell our soul.


Well this get's the creepy post of the day award. "Our soul"? GTFO, bro. You're creeping me out.
Stephen J bartowski
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/11/2013 9:18AM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
http://davidsonnews.net/blog/2012/08/29/freshman-runners-take-their-picks-at-the-73rd-cake-race/
Davidson is D1 and uses a campus wide race for Freshmen at the start of the academic year to encourage walk-ons (and to provide the XC team members with great cake).
Blowing.Rock Master
RE: D1 schools to walk on to in the south 2/11/2013 9:48AM - in reply to Rookie823 Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I'll second App State, Curcio is a good guy who knows what he's doing.

You could also try Georgia Tech. Their guys are running in the 25:00 to 27:30 range for XC right now, but they've had some exceptional guys in the past. David Krummenacker won at least one NCAA title while he was there (and a World Indoor Championship after graduating). Drosky is also a good guy. The caveat is that the school is very hard academically.