Why do I need to let it go? I didn’t create this thread. I’m just responding to baseless accusations. If anything, the BroJos should delete this entire thread. They should not allow public figures to be slandered.
Everyone is fair game, unless you’re SB. In that case, you can’t even call him out for the things he actually said himself (Mr 9x AA).
I’m fine with coaches being criticized. I just think those criticisms should be based on verifiable things that a coach said or did. For example: it’s fair to criticize Jerry for moving BTC from Portland to Eugene, doing double duty with BTC and Oregon, not letting his athletes race enough, the way he handled the Shelby situation, etc. Those things are all verifiable. The allegations in this thread against Vin are not. They are slanderous.
The thread is full of unsupported, vague accusations. If you have some specific factual claim to report about Vin, whether from the past or now, that's fine: report it here. Otherwise, claims about common knowledge and so forth are baseless. I remember well what a head scratcher it was for him to leave Stanford at the height of his success and go to Oberlin for a year. I did not hear ever of any allegations from his time at Stanford. World's were improperly given to Eugene, true, but that was surely because of Nike's incestuous relationship with the IAAF and their common employee, Seb Coe. Vin does get things done and he brings events to wherever he works. He also has had success everywhere he's gone. UVA is taking a bit longer but they have made strides.
I’m fine with coaches being criticized. I just think those criticisms should be based on verifiable things that a coach said or did. For example: it’s fair to criticize Jerry for moving BTC from Portland to Eugene, doing double duty with BTC and Oregon, not letting his athletes race enough, the way he handled the Shelby situation, etc. Those things are all verifiable. The allegations in this thread against Vin are not. They are slanderous.
You need to chill out and stop defending one of the shadiest coaches in the NCAA. He was forced out of Stanford for screwing around with aid and scholarships. You obviously don’t coach in the NCAA or you would know this. He did not leave Stanford on his own will. He was forced out at Oregon also for the shady Track Town USA scandal and making up numbers to Nike. Anyone connected at Nike knows this. He also had a major US Department of Justice investigation. The man is a compulsive liar and has burned bridge after bridge. I did a 3 min google search and found this about his US Department investigation:
I invite the letsrun bros to look at this thread and I’m sure you’ll see it’s not the same people telling stories about Vin. You seem to be so far up Vin’s @$$ trying to defend a bad man. Why don’t you defend Charles Manson too? After all, he wasn’t at the crime scene.
Vin made his own negative reputation. Deal with it.
Why do I need to let it go? I didn’t create this thread. I’m just responding to baseless accusations. If anything, the BroJos should delete this entire thread. They should not allow public figures to be slandered.
Really, you’re comparing Vin to a murderer?! You need to get a grip.
If Vin is so universally loathed as is claimed in this thread, then how was he able to get a job at Virginia, have his contract extended, and win his bid to host this week’s national championships?
If everyone hates him, then why was he elected to the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame?
I’m fine with coaches being criticized. I just think those criticisms should be based on verifiable things that a coach said or did. For example: it’s fair to criticize Jerry for moving BTC from Portland to Eugene, doing double duty with BTC and Oregon, not letting his athletes race enough, the way he handled the Shelby situation, etc. Those things are all verifiable. The allegations in this thread against Vin are not. They are slanderous.
You need to chill out and stop defending one of the shadiest coaches in the NCAA. He was forced out of Stanford for screwing around with aid and scholarships. You obviously don’t coach in the NCAA or you would know this. He did not leave Stanford on his own will. He was forced out at Oregon also for the shady Track Town USA scandal and making up numbers to Nike. Anyone connected at Nike knows this. He also had a major US Department of Justice investigation. The man is a compulsive liar and has burned bridge after bridge. I did a 3 min google search and found this about his US Department investigation:
I invite the letsrun bros to look at this thread and I’m sure you’ll see it’s not the same people telling stories about Vin. You seem to be so far up Vin’s @$ trying to defend a bad man. Why don’t you defend Charles Manson too? After all, he wasn’t at the crime scene.
Vin made his own negative reputation. Deal with it.
I remember Mick Byrne and Vin Lananna getting into it at a meet back when Vin was at Oregon. Let’s just say everyone was on Mick’s side. Over the years Vin has been a master organizer, I’ll admit that. Most coaches disagree with Vin’s ethics and tactics. I think most people also forget to give the coaching credit to the Powell’s at Oregon. Andy Powell was doing the actual coaching.
I remember Mick Byrne and Vin Lananna getting into it at a meet back when Vin was at Oregon. Let’s just say everyone was on Mick’s side. Over the years Vin has been a master organizer, I’ll admit that. Most coaches disagree with Vin’s ethics and tactics. I think most people also forget to give the coaching credit to the Powell’s at Oregon. Andy Powell was doing the actual coaching.
You guys somehow missed the funniest rumour. Angry at Brosnan, Vin called his friend Powell to unleash the muscle in the NCAA women's 1500m.
Powell had future WWE star, the iron stork, eject Mia Barnett out the back of the lead pack on the last lap of the 1500 semi.
I remember Mick Byrne and Vin Lananna getting into it at a meet back when Vin was at Oregon. Let’s just say everyone was on Mick’s side. Over the years Vin has been a master organizer, I’ll admit that. Most coaches disagree with Vin’s ethics and tactics. I think most people also forget to give the coaching credit to the Powell’s at Oregon. Andy Powell was doing the actual coaching.
You guys somehow missed the funniest rumour. Angry at Brosnan, Vin called his friend Powell to unleash the muscle in the NCAA women's 1500m.
Powell had future WWE star, the iron stork, eject Mia Barnett out the back of the lead pack on the last lap of the 1500 semi.
I’m confused by your post. Im trying to make a point Vin causes issues with many top coaches. Credit is due as the man can organize. He’s pressed and pissed off too many coaches and athletes along the way.
I’m confused by your post. Im trying to make a point Vin causes issues with many top coaches. Credit is due as the man can organize. He’s pressed and pissed off too many coaches and athletes along the way.
Most of the accusations here are unfounded and untrue. When you mentioned Powell, it just reminded me of one other untrue accusation that had me laughing at the time.
Vin hired the Powells. He's been gracious and a friend. They only left Oregon to have full control of a program.
Back in the day Shannon Rowbury (a San Francisco girl) was interested in Stanford. When she met Lananna, he put his hand out with his championship ring - not to shake hands, but in the way that a king would have a peasent kiss his hand. Rowbury was so shocked and put off by this self-righteous gesture that she immediately crossed Stanford off her list of schools. She ended up an NCAA national champion across the county at Duke. Lananna is a complete jerk. No doubt about it.
This is a false statement.
Look, I get it some people don't like Lananna - he's too polished. My my boss at Cornell used to complain about his recruiting as being too polished (I heard Lananna once told like the president of AD of as school to walk across the main quad at 12 noon to bump into a top recruit). But let's at least be factual.
Rowbury may have not gone to Stanford because she didn't like Lananna, but she most certainly didn't win an NCAA xc title at Duke. Had she gone to Stanford, she would have won 2 as Stanford won in 2003 and 2005.
In fact, in 2005, Duke was HEAVILY favored to win but they lost in shocking fashion to Stanford. Read was Jonathan Gault wrote about it during Covid-19.
I’m surprised when Barbar begins his discussion of the women’s race with the phrase “Duke is expected to dominate,” but a little research shows the Blue Devils were favored and were led by future American record holder Shannon Rowbury. This is a day Rowbury would rather forget though: after being touted as an individual title contender, she’d fade from 6th to 55th in the final kilometer and the Blue Devils would end up third, 39 points off the win (Had Rowbury not faded, it would have been very close as she wound up 39th in the team standings).
Vin Lananna is a cheat. He abused the grant-in-aid system at Stanford and got 35 guys out for cross country on some form of financial assistance at Stanford. His wife worked her magic in the grant/admissions office at Stanford and guys were getting Farmer's Aid grants and all that. He ended up getting major NCAA violations that are all documented. This would be the reason he had to leave Stanford. Vin is perfect fit at an unethical program. Vin was right back to his unethical self at Oregon and USATF and it caught up to him once again.
I've heard the same rumors as you. That Vin cheated as Stanford and that's why he left for Oberlin but it's NEVER been put in print. And do people not realize that at Cornell, we could have 100 guys on need-based aid if they qualified?
I'd love to know why he left Stanford and Oregon but until someone prints something with their name behind it, stop acting like these are facts.
I’m fine with coaches being criticized. I just think those criticisms should be based on verifiable things that a coach said or did. For example: it’s fair to criticize Jerry for moving BTC from Portland to Eugene, doing double duty with BTC and Oregon, not letting his athletes race enough, the way he handled the Shelby situation, etc. Those things are all verifiable. The allegations in this thread against Vin are not. They are slanderous.
You need to chill out and stop defending one of the shadiest coaches in the NCAA. He was forced out of Stanford for screwing around with aid and scholarships. You obviously don’t coach in the NCAA or you would know this. He did not leave Stanford on his own will. He was forced out at Oregon also for the shady Track Town USA scandal and making up numbers to Nike. Anyone connected at Nike knows this. He also had a major US Department of Justice investigation. The man is a compulsive liar and has burned bridge after bridge. I did a 3 min google search and found this about his US Department investigation:
I invite the letsrun bros to look at this thread and I’m sure you’ll see it’s not the same people telling stories about Vin. You seem to be so far up Vin’s @$ trying to defend a bad man. Why don’t you defend Charles Manson too? After all, he wasn’t at the crime scene.
Vin made his own negative reputation. Deal with it.
This is spot on and a small example of his dishonorable ways. Lananna doesn’t have actual coaching friends. I would feel bad for the guy if he wasn’t such a jerk to everyone.
Anyone else notice a big change in Lananna Lately?
Funny you say that, Lananna is a quirky dude. I good friend of mine who trained at Stanford when Vinny was coaching there got kicked off the track for spitting on it. Vinny had an obsession with keeping the track clean, and had an issue with runners spitting on it. He would tell them that spitting was a nasty habit, and if they needed to spit for them to go out to lane 8 and spit over the outer rail. He was often seen hosing it down with water weekly. Also, does anyone question why he moved from job to job so often? Dartmouth, Stanford, Oberlin, Oregon, USATF, and now Virginia. He did amazing at each stop, but never seemed satisfied.
You can't make this stuff up!
What's the term? 7 or 8 year itch? Every coach wears out their welcome. The alumni expect success instead of enjoy it and the coaches continue to push the envelope but will never able to match their previous success.
Nick Saban won 4 titles in his first 9 years in Alabama and 5 in 11 but only 1 in the last 5.
Kids want to be a part fo the up and coming new power, not join the old winner. It's human nature.
I don't think he stayed a short period at his schools. The only place he stayed shortly was Cornell. He accepted the job, recruited for 3 months (and got 2 total studs who led them to a heps xc title) and then went back to Dartmouth as he got the head job.
Vin Lananna is a cheat. He abused the grant-in-aid system at Stanford and got 35 guys out for cross country on some form of financial assistance at Stanford. His wife worked her magic in the grant/admissions office at Stanford and guys were getting Farmer's Aid grants and all that. He ended up getting major NCAA violations that are all documented. This would be the reason he had to leave Stanford. Vin is perfect fit at an unethical program. Vin was right back to his unethical self at Oregon and USATF and it caught up to him once again.
I've heard the same rumors as you. That Vin cheated as Stanford and that's why he left for Oberlin but it's NEVER been put in print. And do people not realize that at Cornell, we could have 100 guys on need-based aid if they qualified?
I'd love to know why he left Stanford and Oregon but until someone prints something with their name behind it, stop acting like these are facts.
You heard that because it’s true. Lananna did not leave on his own just like Metcalf didn’t leave Washington on his own. You’re not going to get a written dismissal from Stanford. You know enough people to get the truth. Use your brain and ask.
I've heard the same rumors as you. That Vin cheated as Stanford and that's why he left for Oberlin but it's NEVER been put in print. And do people not realize that at Cornell, we could have 100 guys on need-based aid if they qualified?
I'd love to know why he left Stanford and Oregon but until someone prints something with their name behind it, stop acting like these are facts.
You heard that because it’s true. Lananna did not leave on his own just like Metcalf didn’t leave Washington on his own. You’re not going to get a written dismissal from Stanford. You know enough people to get the truth. Use your brain and ask.
You accuse Vin of being a cheat, but the details of your accusations are incomplete and unprofessional. 1 if a student qualifies for other financial aid, you don't have to use the athletic budget to fund them. Perfectly legal. 2 to create fake scholarships, you need the help and agreement of more people than your wife in the aid department.
If it really happened, they would have fired him for cause, rather than give him a good reference for Oberlin, Oregon and UVA.
Lananna is just a bad person. I don’t care who he coaches or coached. Vin Lananna will throw anyone under the bus for his own gain.
I once wrote Vin Lananna an unsolicited email when he was A.D. at Stanford. I was a high level runner in college and had just started coaching high schoolers. I emailed to ask him a simple question about his training regimen when he coached at Stanford. He graciously replied!
Anyway, my one experience interacting with him was more positive than it would have been with most people. I wish him the best.
I was running at the cardinal invite one year and saw a sign that said no to a certain type of spikes(I think needles) that was all I had. He was standing there and I asked him about it, and he reached into his bag and handed me a bag of spikes to use. I knew who he was, I was just a nobody post college runner in a slow heat of the 5k. So he seems ok to me
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