Why does this entire board think that the 2 year sabbatical is an advantage for BYU?

They take it when younger so that they can get married younger.

The thing is, they are 25 as freshmen and sophomores. Not a single thing stops them from doing their little missions after they are done with eligibility. They choose to be age cheats.

Part of the mission generally encourages if not requires exercise. The requirement that you stay with your mission partner in no way prevents you from running. I know it's a sample of one non-BYU Mormon, but exercise was part of the daily schedule and the person ran with their mission partner. Had they not run together, they could have still run by doing laps in a park or run on a treadmill or hill repeats while the other lifted or played basketball or whatever.

The one Mormon I know actually started running on his mission because his companion was a runner and that's what they worked out.

If the extra 2 years was truly this amazing advantage, you'd see more star talents going there, or other programs trying to game the system to get their athletes an extra 2 years.

Really good talents wouldn’t wait until 25 to turn pro, so no, you wouldn’t see star talents delay their pro career to go this route.

But it’s perfect for late bloomers who aren’t works class arcade 20/21.

I personally don’t like the advantage being 25 and still competing collegiately. I know that is not a stance held by everyone.

They get two years extra because a mission is exempted. No serious person here is arguing they go on a mission to create more running potential while competing for a school, but it is an obvious byproduct. People used to gripe about Adams St and their older runners all the time and no one batted an eye, but for some reason people on both sides of it get riled up when you point out the obvious in BYU's case.

I don't know how people can sit here and say being closer to your physical peak wouldn't improve one's running performance. It's like everyone arguing it is a teenager or someone who immediately quit exercising after college. Look at almost any major sport, the top guys tend to be 25-32 yrs old. I wonder why.

Both posts way off. Nothing is EXTRA. No EXTRA years exist. Covid gave Mormon-hating athiests who compete against BYU an EXTRA year. Nothing else has happened that gives anybody more than 4 seasons in each sport. Good luck getting that EXTRA 2 years you're looking for, because these guys didn't get them either.

What you CAN do is matriculate at the age of 30. That doesn't give you an EXTRA 12 years, but you're welcome to use your 4 years between 30 and 40. Graduating at 30, 40, or 50 isn't anything EXTRA. 4 seasons is all you get. No EXTRA. For those that claim Mantz was 25 as a Freshman (see 'they're grampas' post) how old is he now?

I went to BYU and trained with the team as a 'walk-on' my freshman year before going on a mission. I decided to only train with the team and not race with the 'B' team, thinking that I would spare my freshman year and try and make the 'A' team after my mission. That was one of my biggest regrets from college since that dream never came to fruition. I was never able to recover from the mission. By my senior year I was in really good shape since I had a sub 2:25 marathoner as a running partner and I considered trying out for the team but my training took a hit just a few weeks before the start of the cross country season. For elite college runners, such as Mantz & Clinger, maybe the recovery is easier and maybe they gain a slight benefit from the advanced age (by their senior year) but certainly not as a sophomore and probably not as a junior. On my mission, we got 30 minutes of exercise per day and if I was lucky enough to get a companion that would run, we were usually only together for a couple of months before we switched companions and would likely be back to doing sit-ups, push-ups, etc. A mission was an experience that I will always cherish and for which I am forever grateful, but a boost to my running career it was not.

Byu CAN do missions after they compete. It's simple folks. They go first to work the system and gain an unfair competitive advantage.

If they had ethics and morals then compete first, mission second.

They won't so instead have these asinine excuses.

It's always the simple answer.

"Also lds isn't exactly known for ethics."

___________________________

^ And you AIN'T exactly known for grammar. I'm unsure whether you meant to refer to Mormons in general or to BYU.

They have to be single. Most do theor mission trip around age 19-20. They return to college amd get married at 22 and finish college at 24. You are free to do mission work because the rules permit it. The rules permit foreigners to start at age 22. The riles permit a redshirt and a medical redshirt. The rules permit time I'm the military. But too many bigots don't like Mormons.

It is a disadvantage. People hit their physical peak at 21.

If they had morals and ethics they wouldn't give up two years of their lives at their own expense to teach about Christ and put everything else on the backburner!

Some of the posters are blinded by their bigotry. They seem to think that Mormons take a free vacation during college and that they get extra years of eligibility. I really think that they believe Mormons compete 5 or 6 years.

So they’re not two years older than most kids in their same class when they come back? Got it. And it is “extra” because the NCAA pauses the 5 year clock during the mission. I’m not even saying the rule should change, but to act like it isn’t helping BYU’s already very strong program is asinine.

Again being closer to prime athletic years will always allow for a higher ceiling.

Not the exact same thing as distance running but I set my power lifting max numbers in my early to mid-40s. From 18 to late-20s I grew an inch and got stronger. Besides XC season, I never really tried to be a distance runner, but being naturally stronger in my mid-twenties seems like a good thing for everyone.

By 21/22, people are close enough that age makes an incredibly small difference or none at all. Look at the age grading factors for road 5K, for example. 21: 99.61%, 22 99.96%, 23 100%.

Do you really think it's an advantage to take 2 years off of training for a theoretical 0.04% edge over a 4th-year senior, and a 0% edge over a redshirt senior?