back to the topic: with limited athletes with Nike contracts in his current roster (only Nur and Rupp?) how will this affect the likes of Young (big Adidas deal), Grijalva and his wife and other members of Mike Smith Elite?
It will be a difficult decision, leaving NAU with their favourable recruiting situation right now.
I agree. I think Nike's plan is to shut down Bowerman and have Jerry just coach college runners and send the pro runners to a different coach.
This seems backwards. Smith is a very good college coach who genuinely motivates his athletes, gets to know them, is trusted and almost like a father-figure in a way. He gets so much out of his athletes because they want to run fast for him and their teammates.
Jerry, on the other hand, is not as touchy-feely and is kind of a loner. He is definitely not motivating a pack of 18-21 year old guys to die on the course for each other. On the other hand, he is a great pro coach and would likely be way more successful if he didn't have to deal with all of the touchy-feely stuff. Bring the professionals to Jerry and let him coach them to be the best. They can leave if they don't like it.
2024 will be Mike smiths last year at NAU, broke the news to the team today and news is spreading like wildfire. Will remain in Flagstaff as a coach however rumor has it Nike is investing in new pro groups across the US.
talks now for Provo, Boulder and Flagstaff (Where Mike would be the head Coach) big investments for LA 2024 Olympics.
Jared Cornfield to become Director and take over NAU program.
Let's see if this is true.
This is basically the rumor I heard weeks ago when the Colorado search was going on. I head Cornfeld turned down the Colorado job which makes no sense unless he was going to take over at NAU and Mike was going to leave for the pro group.
I was going to talk about it on the podcast but then someone told me they weren't sure it was all true.
back to the topic: with limited athletes with Nike contracts in his current roster (only Nur and Rupp?) how will this affect the likes of Young (big Adidas deal), Grijalva and his wife and other members of Mike Smith Elite?
It will be a difficult decision, leaving NAU with their favourable recruiting situation right now.
The article says they'd be "grandfathered in" and allowed to stay on with Mike Smith. He probably has that as a non-negotiable given his closeness to those athletes.
back to the topic: with limited athletes with Nike contracts in his current roster (only Nur and Rupp?) how will this affect the likes of Young (big Adidas deal), Grijalva and his wife and other members of Mike Smith Elite?
It will be a difficult decision, leaving NAU with their favourable recruiting situation right now.
Per Fast Women newsletter: "Smith is even better known for some of the pros he coaches, including Nikki Hiltz, Elly Henes, and his wife, Rachel Smith. According to the article, Smith’s current athletes who aren’t sponsored by Nike would be grandfathered in, and would be able to continue being coached by him, should they choose to do so."
I'd love to see what he could do as a pro coach, especially seeing what he's done with Nico. And to finally have a Nike group based in Flagstaff year round is fantastic. Highest altitude in the country, it's got an indoor track to train in year-round, Nike has the money to get the best athletes, and Smith is one of the best coaches in the world.
I've said before that OAC feels kinda like the NOP kicked up a notch (although this was largely comparing Alberto and Rupp to Dathan and his daughter, I guess now it's Smith and Nico?) with getting a great coach, moving to altitude, and putting a ton of funding into it to make it an icon of the sport. This has the potential to be similar, building a team at higher altitude, with a more talented athlete and a better coach. Plus I'm sure Nike is looking at Nico and thinking "Man, if we can get Mike Smith to coach Nico as a pro, maybe we can get his brothers/Sahlmans to sign with us so they can train with him".
And the great thing for whoever manages to land a group with him is that everyone will want to sign with you so they can join that group. He's certainly got a better reputation than Jerry did, and Flagstaff is probably a much nicer place to live as a runner than Portland or Eugene.
The fact that this is being reported at all leads me to believe it's a nearly done deal. And yet...
Smith: That, for sure, has been on my mind at times. Should we choose one or the other. Especially for family reasons. Those are big discussions we (he and Rachel) have had over time. But the thing pro coaching doesn’t have is, well, college coaching is teaching them. You’re getting them at such a pivotal time in their lives. Only one part is getting them faster. They grow and mature as people. You feel so lucky to be part of anyone’s journey like that. Pro coaching? I’m not saying you can’t have that, but it’s more transactional. In college, it is like teaching. You’re using sport to change who they are and who they want to become. To do that at NAU is a dream come true. This is my dream job.
There is, simply, no rest for Mike Smith. Not only does he like to wear black – hats, shirt, shorts – but now he’s starting to get dark circles under his eyes. Last fall’s NAU cross country season gave way to indoor track, th...
Win-win for Smith either way. NAU would probably still succeed under Cornfield. As others have speculated, would be curious to know whether the intent would be for current Nike athletes (BTC, etc) or top collegians to join. No idea whether BTC will/won't disband but doesn't seem to portend well that they didn't sign anybody this summer. Back to Mike: I think he would be a great pro coach but the factor that makes him legendary in the NCAA is his ability to motivate athletes to run for their teammates and believe in something greater than themselves. We will see!
Imagine making a semi formal announcement that you are considering a Nike job and still coaching an Adidas school. Not that you’re going to take it, but you’re considering this job. It’s a slap in the face to everyone involved at Nike and NAU. Regardless of his coaching ability this entire situation has some skunk to it. It seems like Smith lead them on with U of O and now the same with Nike. It sounds like Mike Smith just needs to be relevant instead of focusing on the athletes. whoever is making this decision at Nike is really doing something backwards or lost in this process. Let’s not forget this is all a maybe. It’s sounds like Smith just wants to be the man and not worried about this athlete. It’s a classic “have your cake and eat it too”
Nike to allow all these other athletes to train in a potential Nike group is comical too. If they really wanted this group why did they let Nico Young go to Adidas ?
This would be a very smart move on Smith's part. He's made it pretty clear he will live and die in Flagstaff, and has turned down huge offers elsewhere simply because he doesn't want to leave (and I certainly don't blame him, its a special place)
But he and every other smart coach in the country is starting to see the writing on the wall. The NCAA as we know it will not exist in 5 years, if not sooner. Collegiate athletics is being stretched, with the top funded programs dropping big money on transfers and outrageous foreign talent, while for the bottom funded programs the culling has already begun. The center cannot hold.
This deal gives Smith an out, presumably with a big raise, and he gets to stay in Flagstaff, all while working significantly fewer hours than as a head coach. Of course he misses out on cultivating young athletes, but that's a trade I would make any day.
back to the topic: with limited athletes with Nike contracts in his current roster (only Nur and Rupp?) how will this affect the likes of Young (big Adidas deal), Grijalva and his wife and other members of Mike Smith Elite?
It will be a difficult decision, leaving NAU with their favourable recruiting situation right now.
It seems like it'd be well worth Nike's money to just buy the contract to outfit the entire NAU athletic department.
NAU Football: Last winning season 2017
NAU Men's Basketball: Last winning season 2019-'20
Seems like a pretty cost-effective method to have an NCAA XC title contender, a great brand for distance running, and a great pro feeder system.
I also agree with a poster above who mentioned Smith as more of a known entity on the collegiate level. Maybe like he said about Nico that once he doesn't have to worry about the demands and juggling act of an NCAA season and just focus on 10-15 athletes, we'll see a big step. And/or maybe both he and Nike know there may not be an NCAA XC meet after the 2028 Olympics.
Ben Thomas is a much better investment, you are right.
Smith's group really underperformed this year (except for Nico).
The coaches that helped male athletes win medals and top ten finishes 1500 m up to marathon at this years Paris Olympics:
1500 m Gold: Ben Thomas (Nike affiliated? But screwed over by Nike)
1500 m Bronze: Dathan Ritzenheim (On )
5,000 m and 10,000 m double Bronze: Mike Scannell (Nike affiliated?)
Marathon double top 10: Ed Eyestone (Nike affiliated through sponsored University but is he Nike affiliated as a pro coach?)
If there is truth behind the rumors it begs the question about what Nike is doing? Why would any of the Nike athletes who are having success with their current coaches get involved with Mike Smith? Does Nike even have contracts with the coaches of the athletes that produced medals for Nike?
Mike Smiths star athletes Nico Young and Louis Gravalah (sorry about my spelling) are Addidas and Hoka athletes. Abdi Nur and Woody Kincaid are Nike athletes.
Nike did nothing except kick the can down the road for the past two plus years with Jerry Schumacher and BTC. Surely the athletes were voicing their concerns long ago to Nike after Jerry Schumacher screwed them over for his own self gain. The athletes that left BTC have excelled. Kincaid, Cranny, Fisher. Those that stayed or signed on to BTC (except for Mo Ahmed who continues to do well) went down hill. Why would those that didn’t get support from Nike now want to be involved in a new Nike led group?
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Aug. 26, 2024) – After eight years coaching the Northern Arizona cross country and track and field programs, NAU's Vice President for Intercollegiate
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Aug. 26, 2024) – After eight years coaching the Northern Arizona cross country and track and field programs, NAU's Vice President for Intercollegiate
