NCAA X-C system is broke

I\'m right · 2006-11-13T10:39:14-05:00

The NCAA system for awarding at large bids is broke and needs fixing. I don't care to hear nonsense from those who say that UTEP knew what the system was and took their chances. That is a lame excuse not to repair a system obviously in need of repair. When a school can beat auto qualifiers Arkansas and Alabama, only suffer a loss to two schools over the course of a season at regionals to teams ranked 2 and 14 nationally, and fail to receive one of 13 at large bids due to a flawed system then there is a problem. The fuzzy math that allows such a thing to happen must be changed. I should point out that I have no affiliation with UTEP and could care less which team wins a title. I have little patience with most of the arguments with whether a given region should have 9 bids or whether one region should only have one. If you could argue that the ran horribly at the Mountain Region I would gladly accept that rationale for their exclusion. None of these things apply. They did not run as well as they did at Arkansas but still ran very well in a tough region. I would argue that having a committee review the seasonal records of eligible teams is better than a system that compels schools to go to one meet or rewards programs for a great race in September only to see them crater later in the season. I do not buy the arguement that its fair because everyone knows the system and some choose not to play it. If the purpose of the system is to get the best teams to the national meet it cannot be so fatally flawed. There will always be arguments on the merits of various teams who get in or fail to get. These bubble teams are in this position because they are good but not great. UTEP is a great team in a region with two other great teams. They have earned the right to be at the national meet because of their performance during the course of the season and their overall competitive record. It is time the cross country coaches address this flaw and make the national championship meet what it deserves to be, a meeting of the best teams in the country.

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19 years ago 11/13/2006 7:16pm EST

re: yeppe

UTEP may not be a contender to win it all but they were a contender to get on the medal stand. The point is the system is obscenely flawed. In all other NCAA tournaments there is a selection process that properly allows for the relative strength of the regional. If we have at large we should get it right. If you want to make the point that the team that will win the meet already qualified you are right. I would counter that only the regional winners and the individual winners of the various regions should qualify for nationals. The winners win and all the rest don't matter.

19 years ago 11/13/2006 7:43pm EST

re: Did I win!?!?

Wait are you saying Nova should have made it??? Or did I just miss you point.

19 years ago 11/13/2006 8:45pm EST

re: great scott

Yeah, If you read the rules on how they pick the teams for nationals and than did it yourself with the points the teams earned than infact nova would have made it! princton would have pushed them in as they make it.

19 years ago 11/13/2006 8:58pm EST

re: whybenefical??

Just went out too hard, which is nobody's fault but their own...It ain't a two-mile, guys...Still, how many top 10 teams do you need to beat before you're in with a close third place regional finish? Seems that the points thing is what needs to be adjusted.

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