I will start by saying I ran Track and Field and Cross Country at UNC from 2000-2004 and I loved every second of it. My heart belongs to that school, but I am FURIOUS at our athletic department...again! Regardless of whether or not you are a Tar Heel fan, track fans should be outraged by the plan just quietly announced under the radar in the May/June issue of the Carolina Alumni review. There, in a middle of the magazine article about how Carolina is joining the "indoor football movement", was the mention that the new indoor football facility would take over the space currently occupied by my beloved Carolina blue track. Near the end of the article they mentioned a track would be built OFF CAMPUS in the Finley Field area. Anyone who has ever run a cross country meet may know that's the area cross country races started (at least from 2000-2005) that is in a flood zone and is half the time under water. It is also a couple miles from campus. The final statement in the article was:
"The new track site has no stadium nor plans for one. Bunting said that to host a track meet, UNC would bring in temporary bleachers and restrooms."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! No one is going to want to come to a meet like that, and frankly no one is going to want to run for a school that places their track team that far down the totem pole. I am infuriated that they would make a plan that would basically ruin recruiting and eventually probably end the team so our stupid football team to have more space. Our football team is not exactly good, nor have they done anything but bring shame to our otherwise wonderful University. They're going to shove the track team right off of campus for them! Our track team which is full of an extremely diverse group of mostly scholar athletes! Please join me in fighting this decision in the interest of Carolina, ACC, and NCAA track athletes in general. We are more important than this :(