Seeing the news about Mike Smith and looking at the rapidly changing NCAA landscape, I wonder if Ed Eyestone will be the next big name college coach to leave the NCAA ranks to focus on building a pro group. Like Smith, Eyestone has already had success coaching pros, so it would be a seamless transition.
Curious, what do you guys think is going to happen to the NCAA/college running in the next few years based on recent developments? Has the system changed to the point where there's absolutely no going back? Will revenue sports split while nonrevenue sports go back to the current arrangement with [dramatically] less funding? Will college running turn into a club system where there's no athletic scholarships/school support?
Ncaa xc will mainly devolve into club running and that's a good thing
The exploitation of the Ncaa is INSANE to an outsider
Rich people sports like xc have leeched off the efforts of the revenue generators for long enough
I studied in the UK and represented my uni just fine without all the bells and whistles
This post was edited 20 seconds after it was posted.
Curious, what do you guys think is going to happen to the NCAA/college running in the next few years based on recent developments? Has the system changed to the point where there's absolutely no going back? Will revenue sports split while nonrevenue sports go back to the current arrangement with [dramatically] less funding? Will college running turn into a club system where there's no athletic scholarships/school support?
Ncaa xc will mainly devolve into club running and that's a good thing
The exploitation of the Ncaa is INSANE to an outsider
Rich people sports like xc have leeched off the efforts of the revenue generators for long enough
I studied in the UK and represented my uni just fine without all the bells and whistles
Your country doesn't get a ton of results at global championships tho. And when you do, there's a decent chance they're a former NCAA runner. As many flaws as our system has, it's been great at getting results in athletics on an international stage.
Eyestone won't leave BYU. He can balance coaching some pros on the side, but BYU is not like other universities. They have no funding issues and give all sports the resources that they need to thrive. Most of the athletes are LDS and this is THE school that they wish to attend. Eyestone and Diljeet Taylor don't have to do much recruiting and that allows them the time and the energy to coach some pros on the side. It's a nearly perfect gig and both would be foolish to leave for the cutthroat world of full-time pro coaching.
runnER/DR wrote:
Easy E is 63 years old. He's had an awesome gig at BYU for nearly 25 years. Tons of support from admin. Excellent pro group. He's not going anywhere.
Those are both valid comments, but I don’t think it’s that far fetched that Eyestone could leave BYU and focus on coaching a pro group in Utah if he doesn’t like the changes happening in the NCAA.
A lot of similar things about Eyestone and his job at BYU could be said about Nick Saban at Alabama. He had a great long-term job (16 years), successful program, fantastic salary, support from admin and alumni, a school that was attractive to top recruits, etc. But he didn’t like the changes happening in the NCAA, so he got out. It’s conceivable that Eyestone could do the same.
Nick Saban retired from coaching. Eyestone "getting out" will be retirement, not a Nike contract.
How can you be so certain? Saban isn't completely retired; he's now working as an analyst for ESPN. If an opportunity arises for Eyestone to build a pro marathon group with an eye on LA 2028, that could be enticing.
Ncaa xc will mainly devolve into club running and that's a good thing
The exploitation of the Ncaa is INSANE to an outsider
Rich people sports like xc have leeched off the efforts of the revenue generators for long enough
I studied in the UK and represented my uni just fine without all the bells and whistles
Your country doesn't get a ton of results at global championships tho. And when you do, there's a decent chance they're a former NCAA runner. As many flaws as our system has, it's been great at getting results in athletics on an international stage.
hahaha yeah so who cares about indentured servitude of a bunch of poor black kids - medals!!!
This post was edited 4 minutes after it was posted.
Curious, what do you guys think is going to happen to the NCAA/college running in the next few years based on recent developments? Has the system changed to the point where there's absolutely no going back? Will revenue sports split while nonrevenue sports go back to the current arrangement with [dramatically] less funding? Will college running turn into a club system where there's no athletic scholarships/school support?
Ncaa xc will mainly devolve into club running and that's a good thing
The exploitation of the Ncaa is INSANE to an outsider
Rich people sports like xc have leeched off the efforts of the revenue generators for long enough
I studied in the UK and represented my uni just fine without all the bells and whistles
Curious, what do you guys think is going to happen to the NCAA/college running in the next few years based on recent developments? Has the system changed to the point where there's absolutely no going back? Will revenue sports split while nonrevenue sports go back to the current arrangement with [dramatically] less funding? Will college running turn into a club system where there's no athletic scholarships/school support?
but the good news is there's a never ending pipeline of LDS runners and every so often one is good enough to go pro so they'll always have pro runners to coach.
Can we talk about this?
it may just be I don’t pay enough attention to other sports, but to me it feels like American running as a sport has an unusually large amount of elite athletes who are LDS. Like, it just seems weird that a small fraction of our population happens to fill 2 of the 3 spots on our Olympic marathon roster, usually has a couple podium finishers at NCAAs if no champions, and usually has a few elite HS runners every year.
Is this happening in other sports or am I noticing something unusual here?
His kids come in at 18, he has them for 2 years, then they go off on a 2 year mission.
They return as grown men, having gained 2 years of maturity over their peers.
They usually don't start school tell after their mission or will go one semester of school then go on a mission, then take a year to get back in shape when they get home. Some get in shape a little quicker.
but the good news is there's a never ending pipeline of LDS runners and every so often one is good enough to go pro so they'll always have pro runners to coach.
Can we talk about this?
it may just be I don’t pay enough attention to other sports, but to me it feels like American running as a sport has an unusually large amount of elite athletes who are LDS. Like, it just seems weird that a small fraction of our population happens to fill 2 of the 3 spots on our Olympic marathon roster, usually has a couple podium finishers at NCAAs if no champions, and usually has a few elite HS runners every year.
Is this happening in other sports or am I noticing something unusual here?
It’s mostly just running. The work ethic and vibe of distance running gels with a higher than you might expect percent of skinny mountain west religious kids.
Plus you really do have to give a lot of credit to Eyestone for helping build the Utah running culture. It’s not just him, but the winning leads to more and more interest in running in the region.
His kids come in at 18, he has them for 2 years, then they go off on a 2 year mission.
They return as grown men, having gained 2 years of maturity over their peers.
They usually don't start school tell after their mission or will go one semester of school then go on a mission, then take a year to get back in shape when they get home. Some get in shape a little quicker.
That stuff sounds nice on LR, but it’s not really the explanation. It has more to with the local talent base being so good and how BYU has maintained a big team (that ends next year) so there are more chances for a star to emerge when you put more of them in the grinder.
There are actually not that many examples of runners at BYU who served missions being better over 4 years, or even the just period after a non-mission kid’s eligibility would have ended, than you would have expected from their recruiting profile. It’s just a big team of high end recruits training at altitude with a coach who knows his stuff.