Why is Vanderbilt so noncompetitive?

The Harvard of the South is just trying to mirror the Harvard of the North.

They don't fund their men's program. For the women the only go for top talent then get left empty handed when they all go to real distance schools.

The more pertinent question is why are they even in the SEC?

I can not say I have ever seen any real research or comparisons, but I always have had a feeling that schools in the South, generally speaking, do not produce the same quality of distance runners as do schools in the rest of the country. It seems like the depth is lacking. Or they might have a good one or two years then fall off completely. It's not like they stay consistent.

I kinda speculate it is more about regional differences and cultures. In the South, football is king at both high school and college levels. I wonder how many kids that would otherwise go out for xc and track try sticking out playing football longer than they would in other places. Plus, I think the football first mentality often tends to create track coaches and programs in high school that emphasize sprinting as opposed to distance. And a lot of the colleges in the South do have good results with sprinters.

Then throw in the factor that some prominent colleges are in the SEC or ACC. My gut tells me that instead of young distance runner worrying about eating right or getting a good night sleep to prep for a Sunday long run might be tempted to hanging around a football tailgate and having a few drinks.

These little things matter.

It's not just Vanderbilt, but a lot of those ACC and SEC schools would probably lose to top D3 schools in a big meet.

Football is definitely the King sport of the Southeast, but I think the populations of XC and football do not overlap.

These days not many college kids play football and run track (seems like a lot more did it in 80s and earlier). It seems that with strength and conditioning becoming more prominent the number of athletes doing football and track are really diminished plus the emphasis on spring practice makes 2 sports difficult especially for the athlete there on a football grant in aid.

Based on population I would expect more prominent distance runners coming from Georgia. It is not like it is Montana.

Regional complaint aside for distance being bad in the south. Why are they terrible at every other event group?

Do you know how difficult it is to get into Vandy? How difficult it is to stay eligible?

They have all the challenges of the Ivy League without any of the benefits....

I’ve always wondered why the SEC doesn’t seem to have any great distance programs. It might be that attention is placed on football and so other the sports tend to get pushed aside. Weather conditions down south are also definitely not attractive to cross country training, either.

Vandy just DGAF about athletics... they like cashing that big SEC pay check they receive, but they just don't care. They are fine finishing last in every sport as long as they get those fball checks, and basketball money. They're laughing all the way to the bank. "Oh yeah... we suck soooo bad... now where's our cut of the bowl money??" That is the attitude of the Vandy management.

There's no reason to be as bad as they are, especially in a nerdy sport like XC. They are bad because they put zero effort into athletics other than what is the most minimum necessary to remain in the conference.

It's not that Vandy DGAF about all sports - they were NCAA champions in baseball a couple of years ago and runner-up the next year. I believe women's tennis was runner-up several years back as well. Otherwise...well, the women's bowling team has won two NCAA championships, but I think that's about it.

TNrunnah wrote:

Vandy just DGAF about athletics... they like cashing that big SEC pay check they receive, but they just don't care. They are fine finishing last in every sport as long as they get those fball checks, and basketball money. They're laughing all the way to the bank. "Oh yeah... we suck soooo bad... now where's our cut of the bowl money??" That is the attitude of the Vandy management.

There's no reason to be as bad as they are, especially in a nerdy sport like XC. They are bad because they put zero effort into athletics other than what is the most minimum necessary to remain in the conference.

This^, and I’ve been at meets around their female coach and doesn’t seem like much more than a stop watch holder. I highly doubt she’s developing any runners. They got showed up this past weekend by some small mid majors universities. Time to clean up shop on staff!

westerntrailrunner wrote:

I’ve always wondered why the SEC doesn’t seem to have any great distance programs. It might be that attention is placed on football and so other the sports tend to get pushed aside. Weather conditions down south are also definitely not attractive to cross country training, either.

If you put your West Coast bias aside and actually look at results, you would see that the SEC in fact does have good distance programs.

Arkansas? Ole Miss? Hell, even Georgia had their women's team qualify for NCAA's in Cross Country this year.

The weather in the southeast creates mentally strong distance runners who can handle anything just saying

The south is bad at everything. Even lost the civil war

Their men’s track and xc programs are essentially D3 with no scholarships. If they give scholarships, then they have to add another women’s program.

The men are bad because of no scholarship money. The women grossly underperform because they don’t have a good coach. Rhonda was getting things done and recruiting well.

Any university can be good at distance running, but have to have the right coach. If there wasn’t a great coach, small schools like Portland, Iona, Furman, even New Mexico would still stink!

State schools have advantages, and get athletes that have always dreamed of going there, but without a great coach, they’ll stink. For example, the new Texas coach is doing a good job!

slopenguinrunner wrote:

I can not say I have ever seen any real research or comparisons, but I always have had a feeling that schools in the South, generally speaking, do not produce the same quality of distance runners as do schools in the rest of the country. It seems like the depth is lacking. Or they might have a good one or two years then fall off completely. It's not like they stay consistent.

Yeah, you're right. Arkansas and UTEP have been pretty awful historically.

South, better dead than Red. Gocommodores

You have to look at this as a coaching flop. The old guy is not motivated and is just going through thr motions, and he has a female assistant that he just likes having around to run around timing his athletes while he just gives pats on the back and they all have a grand ole time.

They’re not recruiting hard, pushing their athletes at every aspect from the weight room to the track and all the little things in between. If Vandy were to become competitive in the SEC it’ll first need a coaching overhaul. Might be a good 3-5 years until that happens