Ole Miss assistant Ryan VanHoy has taken a job at Cal Poly

I see this as a strategic move for the long-term. He has the coaching credibility based on his successes at Ole Miss, an SEC school. Promotion to Cal Poly will broaden his resume to include the administrative side of coaching with a “low bar” for near-term performance expectations. He will be at Cal Poly for 3-4 years getting experience and improving the program from a low base and then get a head / director job back in SEC or PAC 12 at significantly higher pay than had he just stayed and worked his way up at Ole Miss.

Would add Big 10/12 also. Could easily see Vanhoy running an Iowa State or Indiana-type school in a few years.

Something tells me he’s getting a lot more $$$. That’s usually the answer to these questions

Guessing he went from $100k to $200k.

What are you P5 fanatics going to do when the conferences dissolve and/or become mega-conferences? You'll have to start saying other schools are great as more schools enter the "P5" that traditionally sucked at distance.

Good summary here

ncaa.com

Making sense of FCS conference realignment

Here's a breakdown of the many changes to the FCS football landscape in the upcoming seasons amid major conference realignment.

Link:www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/202...

So close to connecting the dots with Cap. He’s getting a pro team from Nike with this deal.

3 big name coaches interviewed and wanted this job badly because of that. Cap wants Cal Poly to be relevant and had to get Nike involved. You are only seeing the college part, it’s much bigger than that.

Cap has so much say at Cal Poly that the school wears adidas.

Why say stuff like this but can’t name the coaches you don’t have any credibility. I’ll wait for your defensive reply

The Nike pro team has nothing to do with who sponsors the school. The team is already starting to move to the area. Others have agreed and will join after the season is over.
You would be shocked the other two people who interviewed

If it’s so shocking you should drop the names of the other two candidates so you can see how shocked we’d be

I wouldn't doubt it.. There was Zero chatter on this thread about this job.. Seemed very hush hush. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some truth to this. Union certainly just spent some quality time training down there.

Where is the Shadow Lurker when you need him?

After the wettest spring on record in Portland, I am not surprised that a club (Union Athletics?) is considering moving their operations to sunny California. The weather is better and you are not competing with BTC for track and gym time or working under their shadow. San Luis Obispo is far more conducive for training middle distance athletes than Portland.

As for Capriotti, he is still very much in the mix as a consultant. At Prefontaine, he had a reserved parking spot on Agate Street just outside of the stadium amongst those reserved for Nike and USATF dignitaries. He and his family were also hanging out in the Nike hospitality zones. Cap is also often spotted with Craig Masback at events and they are very friendly. Despite leaving Nike corporate, the man is still a big mover and shaker where The Swoosh is concerned.

School outfitting contracts change. Cal Poly probably does not cost a company very much. Nike will make a bid that is slightly better than what Adidas offers when renewal time comes around. Adidas will blink and they have no incentive to pay any more than they already do.

Capriotti was part of the interview process. Conover made$100k plus performance bonuses. They would only up the salary with special agreement from the president. There are 18 scholarships for men, 8 for women, but Cal Poly never filled all the scholarships for women, despite leaning distance the past 10 years.

Cal Poly SLO is academically excellent with a lowish tuition. It’s an engineering school located in one of the most beautiful natural settings in the US. It can be a D1 distance powerhouse.

Ol Miss is a P5 SEC school, but the south region cannot be compared to the west region when it comes to cross country. Cal Poly recruits and competes against Oregon, Colorado, Washington and NAU. It will be far more difficult to be regional coach of the year in the west. But SLO can definitely be a niche school. There is a strong running network.

I’d be sad to see field events drop off though. Does VanHoy know anything about field event staffing and scholarshipping?

for what exactly? homelessness and open-air drug use?

Have you ever been to SLO?

Colorado and NAU are in the MOUNTAIN REGION, not the west region. Sure they will have to deal with Portland, Oregon, Stanford, and Washington. But let’s not lie about the Mountain schools being in the west.

The south has FSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, MTSU, and now (probably Tennessee)

gopoly.com

Cal Poly Track & Field, Cross Country Director Mark Conover Passes - Cal Poly

@CalPolyTrack_XC

Mark Conover, Cal Poly's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country for more than 13 years and a coach of the Mustangs for 25 seasons overall, passed away Wednesday

Link:gopoly.com/news/2022/4/7/track-and-fie...

May have played a role over the last couple years