ED EYESTONE THROWS SERIOUS SHADE AT SUDBURY, GAUSON, AND SMITH FOR INTERNATIONAL RECRUITING

Of course. I would have been an NCAA legend with two years off like that.

Never thought I would write this, but...

I feel kind of bad for the NCAA.

Why?

They have to be tired of getting sued into oblivion, and can't really make any rules that will slow much of this down.

Try to slow down unfettered transfers? Get sued.

Try to limit income streams? Get sued.

Try to have a strict age limit? Get sued.

Try to limit how many foreign-born (international student) athletes you have? Get sued.

And good luck making the case that the NCAA would win any of those kind of cases in the current environment. Obviously I don't mean to speak in absolutes and claim the NCAA is completely powerless, but you get my point and it is largely true.

EDIT TO ADD: If the point of the conversation is to say that athletic departments or coaches should recruit American students as a matter of policy or personal ethics, then I think that discussion is certainly interesting.

Like when some athletes go on a 2 year mission and then come back older than most other athletes

I understand the complaints about foreign athletes, but that's not the part that bothers me so much.

To me, the bigger (and simpler) issue is the age issue. Set a cap at 24, no exceptions. Even the Mormons could graduate HS at 18, do a two-year mission, and still be 24 as seniors. And don't give me any of this "some kids are 19 at HS graduation" BS. If a whole bunch of basketball players can manage to reclassify and graduate HS a year early, some Mormon cross country runner can do that too. For everybody else, there would be some wiggle room with redshirting or dealing with injuries. If you've spent 4-5 years in school, you've had enough time to finish a degree. At that point, if you're not valuable enough to become a professional athlete, it's time for you to move on and get a job in the real world.

Fisher has duel citizenship, was born an American and has lived in the U.S. since age 4. By your logic, Frank Shorter is German.

Around the world? Here in the Sacramento area, I’ve seen them pedaling around in 100 degree weather.

On average, a Mormon missionary recruits 4 people per year, so requiring a 2 year commitment is not productive.

What is currently happening with some NCAA schools and international recruiting services is essentially slave trade.
“Ok, [insert NCAA school], we will work on falsifying person X’s documents for a fee of $X. You can pay us $Y in exchange for [insert athlete]. We ensure they will increase the productivity of your business.”

Agreed. NCAA should be developmental and full of younger athletes.

I love college cross country, I mean, I really love it. But when I look at what its become, I wonder, why exactly does college cross country exist? Back when I ran, the sport steered me into a school I would not have otherwise considered and when I competed, my network of family and friends paid some attention to that school – as did the kids I ran with who were still in high school, who aspired to do what I was doing, or heaven forbid were just looking or a place to continue their education. And while it wasn’t exactly front page news, when I did something, or my college team did something, the sports info dept. sent releases to my home town media, which had interest because of the local connection. So, there was not just value to guys like me, there was some value to the university, at least in terms of exposure and enrollment. But what value does a university receive a sport with a tiny roster that’s filled with overseas pros from places 8,000 or 9,000 miles away? The team might win big, but will it generate any real value to the university?

If you consider naturally aging and running about 15 miles a week on their mission "getting stronger", then sure.

It is kind of ironic the school thah usually has the oldest team is complaining about others being old.

BYU also is losing their massive rosters with new headcount rules coming. No more 40 men on the squad.

I get it, it is tough. BYU is also crushing it though. Like come on Eyestone!!! You can’t have it allllll. Fastest marathon group, fastest female college runner, fastest steeple group, two teams that are always in the trophy hunt for XC!!!

...and lose out on 2 years of quality aerobic training. Sure it comes back quick but you miss out on those 2 pivotal years of further development.

Also remember when they won NCAAs in 2019?

I do, this guy Danny Carney was 17th at nationals! A full 8 years after he ran NXN!

Maybe other schools should have complained to their local paper about BYU cheating!

Everyone seems quick to forget that just a couple years ago, Dan Waters — yes, the same Director at Alabama — proposed an age-limit rule stating that once an athlete turns 25, their eligibility would be exhausted. And what happened? The COACHES voted it down. Let that sink in. The same coaches who are now crying foul as things spiral “out of hand” are the ones who refused to put boundaries in place when given the chance.

Yet the programs being criticized today are operating fully within the current rules. Every athlete competing has cleared the NCAA Eligibility Center. They are eligible, period. So we can keep placing blame on the coaches who are simply navigating the system as it exists, or the coaching community can finally come together and establish guardrails they failed to support before.

I’d also like to point out the selective outrage here. Where was this energy when the women’s 1500 was predominantly Caucasian internationals? Or when the men’s discus saw a similar dynamic? Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but it’s hard not to notice that the loudest complaints right now are coming almost exclusively from the distance coaching side — and aimed at one particular race of athletes. Rhetorical or not, that question deserves attention.

And let’s address another uncomfortable truth: there are plenty of Black and Brown American middle- and long-distance runners who would benefit tremendously from full-ride scholarships. Yet coaches like Ed and Rita consistently funnel scholarships to “silver spoon” American athletes who can already afford college, while overlooking the American athletes who actually need that support. If we’re going to talk about hypocrisy regarding “American opportunities,” maybe start by fixing the inequities within your own programs before pointing fingers outward.

Someone from LRC needs to ask those coaches in the press conference if they are embarrassed for the number of internationals on their team.

Its a legit question that a real journalist would ask, especially after Ed's comments bringing light to it.

A little more data on the 2019 heroic classy win by BYU totally overcoming international competition.

1. Mantz- 22 years old

2. Carney- 8 year senior

3. Heslington- 25 years old

4. Garnica- 20! College aged

5. Owen’s- 6 years removed from high school.

Think of all they overcame! Strong, classy, independent

imagine being CU and lining up 5 American normal aged guys and not complaining

People are upset with all internationals, including white internationals and those of normal college age.

But the extremely overage, pro Kenyans that are likely doping are clearly the most unfair.

So it's 100% acceptable to call out that group first. Kipchoge was a 28 year old freshman who has been receiving pro money for nearly 10 years before joining the NCAA.

Did Paul Pilkington game the system when he won the 1994 Los Angeles Marathon - as the rabbit?