Which NCAA university would you choose?

Texas Tech.

Julian took average kids and made them damn good at Metro State (before WSU). If that guy can get some talent WSU has a chance to be that #3 pac 10 team year in year out. Still ions away from Oregon and Stanford but there is no reason they couldn't start to compete with the rest of the pac.

I'll put in a shameless plug for Washington State. They have some really high talent individuals there and I want to see them improve.

But here's some honest info: Washington State is a party school surrounded by corn fields. It's a cool campus, but the college is really the entire town. Lots of drinking on the weekends.

I've been on a couple runs through Pullman--I didn't love it. There's a trail that runs through the middle of town (only a few miles worth) and then heads off towards Moscow, ID along the highway. Eight miles of cornfields to run along on your way to the U of Idaho. This was winter time, so maybe it's a cooler run when stuff is growing. It also gets pretty windy in Pullman, and the winters can be harsh, at least for a Florida boy.

They also have some great facilities. I haven't seen their new indoor track, but I hear it's nice. And it's 200m, so you can run with the peace of mind that the brojos won't degrade your performances there. The outdoor track is also pretty cool. Don't know where they got the name Mooberry, though. Guess it goes with the town.

And WSU has some decent academic programs, depending on what you're going into. My bro went to med school with a WSU degree, so they must do some learning there when they're sober.

So basically, if you like to party, you want to be part of an up-and-coming program, and you like or at least don't mind running through brown fields all year long, WSU is your school.

I applied and sent in my numbers to UCLA, USC, Stanford, Cal as an out-of-state. My parents say they can pay but I know it will be hard for them. I will major in a hard science.

It looks like a lot of people like WSU and Penn State. Texas at Arlington and Kentucky though might have better weather for a distance runner. How hard is it to run in the winter in Pennsylvania. It seems Villanova, U of Penn and others have all been able to produce good distance runners.

no they don't like them any better than any other school. just enjoy yourself at which ever school you choose. it's a wonderful time. though it was decades ago for me i had fun in college and can't imagine kids not having fun at a thousand different colleges in the u.s. that i didn't happen to attend. have fun.

Girl Train wrote:

Im only a junior in high school, but I think I want to go to Washington, USC, or Oregon. Im not a huge mileage person and I want a good education.

USC and Washington have vastly superior academics to Oregon.

no they dont. for undergrad it doesn't matter which school you go to.

""Im only a junior in high school, but I think I want to go to Washington, USC, or Oregon. Im not a huge mileage person and I want a good education""....

Maddie, is that really you? Stay in the Pac-10 girl!

FloridaHSRunner wrote:

It looks like a lot of people like WSU and Penn State. Texas at Arlington and Kentucky though might have better weather for a distance runner. How hard is it to run in the winter in Pennsylvania. It seems Villanova, U of Penn and others have all been able to produce good distance runners.

1. Penn State

2. WSU

3. Kentucky

4. UTArlington

In that order. Why not take a gamble (since you can obviously afford out-of-state) and go somewhere geographically different than where you have lived your entire life.

If Ryan Foster can adapt to Happy Valley, PA from Tasmania then maybe you can to.

They are churning out 800 runners there.

Hmmm. Never heard anything like this about Godnak?

how do you know this?

""no they dont. for undergrad it doesn't matter which school you go to""......

Yes it does matter where you go to school for your undergraduate degree. The networking at some private schools is very impressive. Its funny how the supporters of schools like Oregon have this "it doesn't matter where you go to undergrad" philosophy. Do you think its because their school doesn't measure up academically to a UC Berkeley or a USC? Of course that is the reason.

Regarding the Wall Street Journal article: Arizona State - seriously? Must be for dumb ass marketing blonds who like to s*&^%. They seriously can't be looking for somebody to do real work.

HS Runner from Florida wrote:

For a 800/1500 guy, would you choose University of Kentucky, Kansas U, Penn State, Texas at Arlington or Washington State?

Forget those! Start off at Taft Community College, then transfer to Cal State Bakersfield. You will have the time of your life.

silly old fossil wrote:

1. Penn State

2. WSU

3. Kentucky

4. UTArlington

even though Im going to UF, if I had to pick from those colleges to run this a pretty spot on list. though Im not a fan of the cold

go to penn state man. u want to run with some legit guys, go do it.

it'll be hard to hang your first yr but then you'll adapt and be a sub 1:50 guy without thinkin too much about it cuz you'll be one of like 4 or 5 other sub 1:50s they have

whichever is best ranked for its academics. especially if cost isn't an issue.

that's probably psu?

WSU is actually surrounded by rolling wheat fields, which I personally find to be beautiful and nice to run through - 100s of miles of trail options there. Like I said before, it is a fairly remote location, which some people like and some don't -- I'd recommend a visit.

As for weather, it gets cold, but it is somewhat milder than PSU, especially when it comes to snow on the ground. WSU has a reputation as a party school, but there are thousands of students (especially the runners) who avoid that. It does not seem to be any more of a party school than any other state school (or Ivy for that matter).

As for Pete Julian, here is another tidbit from his bio:

From 2005-08,Julian was the director of Tempo Sports, the official distance center of USA Track & Field, in Boulder, Colo., managing and coordinating the elite distance training group. In the summer of 2008, Julian was an assistant coach for the Nike Oregon Project where he assisted world-class athletes leading up to the 2008 Olympic Trials. In 2007 he served as the director of the USA Cross Country Championships and World Team Trials, also in Boulder.

http://www.wsucougars.com/sports/c-xc/mtt/julian_pete00.html

I believe those world-class athletes included Olympic qualifiers Rupp and Goucher.