Well it seems like he’s a one and done. Signed pro and headed back to roja
Wouldn't be funny if that investigation into New Mexico a few weeks ago had to do with this guy and basically took a contract and left to cover his and the programs tracks 🤔
Rumor has it the head coach from UNM gave that guy a suspiciously high amount of money to keep him for the 2025 track season, Ishmael already had plans to return to Kenya before the outdoor season. Essentially he finessed the entire program. Not to mention how many American freshman's of the 2024 class got cut before the end of their track season, already received notice that their position on the team was in jeopardy before the indoor season even began. Very shady things going on over there in NM...
Rumor has it the head coach from UNM gave that guy a suspiciously high amount of money to keep him for the 2025 track season, Ishmael already had plans to return to Kenya before the outdoor season. Essentially he finessed the entire program. Not to mention how many American freshman's of the 2024 class got cut before the end of their track season, already received notice that their position on the team was in jeopardy before the indoor season even began. Very shady things going on over there in NM...
“Suspiciously high amount of money”? Who thinks that UNM has lots of money? And even if they do have money(😂), isn’t that the way the game is played now? Anyone notice the absurd number of sprinters signed at Georgia? Everyone just says “money talks” with a wink. Just a lot of double standards. I don’t like the look of someone signing on for a single semester and then going pro. But let’s not point fingers at a school spending “a suspiciously high amount of money” on a xc/track guy- especially at UNM. Have you looked into their football team? They are not exactly raking it in. Best guess is that the athlete joined the team for exposure and then went pro. But really we’re all just speculating.
Rumor has it the head coach from UNM gave that guy a suspiciously high amount of money to keep him for the 2025 track season, Ishmael already had plans to return to Kenya before the outdoor season. Essentially he finessed the entire program. Not to mention how many American freshman's of the 2024 class got cut before the end of their track season, already received notice that their position on the team was in jeopardy before the indoor season even began. Very shady things going on over there in NM...
I’m not sure why it’s not a win-win for Kipkurui and the program. They get a NCAA record and 10K champion, and he got a shoe contract. Finessing the program would be underperforming until after NCAAs and going pro.
Rumor has it the head coach from UNM gave that guy a suspiciously high amount of money to keep him for the 2025 track season, Ishmael already had plans to return to Kenya before the outdoor season. Essentially he finessed the entire program. Not to mention how many American freshman's of the 2024 class got cut before the end of their track season, already received notice that their position on the team was in jeopardy before the indoor season even began. Very shady things going on over there in NM...
“Suspiciously high amount of money”? Who thinks that UNM has lots of money? And even if they do have money(😂), isn’t that the way the game is played now? Anyone notice the absurd number of sprinters signed at Georgia? Everyone just says “money talks” with a wink. Just a lot of double standards. I don’t like the look of someone signing on for a single semester and then going pro. But let’s not point fingers at a school spending “a suspiciously high amount of money” on a xc/track guy- especially at UNM. Have you looked into their football team? They are not exactly raking it in. Best guess is that the athlete joined the team for exposure and then went pro. But really we’re all just speculating.
Lets just say there is a big donor pool of money that was left originally for the last coaching staff and the new staff took advantage of the situation!
New Mexico does not have the $ to compete with other schools in this new era of college sports. I’m sure they try to get the best Americans but ABQ has to be a tough sell when these kids have other options. Also, who is going to be successful developing young Americans the way things are going? Maybe a few schools but unfortunately, that’s not the way it is currently set up. Not sure why anyway would be so triggered by schools such as UNM or OSU (I don’t see Alabama and others getting the same criticism). These coaches want to keep their jobs and have performance incentives. Can you imagine other D1 sports turning down athletes most ready to perform and opting to go with high schoolers just so they can develop them? What coach would have turned down the opportunity to have Kipkuiri even for a short time? There is a lot of pressure on coaches to perform.
New Mexico does not have the $ to compete with other schools in this new era of college sports. I’m sure they try to get the best Americans but ABQ has to be a tough sell when these kids have other options. Also, who is going to be successful developing young Americans the way things are going? Maybe a few schools but unfortunately, that’s not the way it is currently set up. Not sure why anyway would be so triggered by schools such as UNM or OSU (I don’t see Alabama and others getting the same criticism). These coaches want to keep their jobs and have performance incentives. Can you imagine other D1 sports turning down athletes most ready to perform and opting to go with high schoolers just so they can develop them? What coach would have turned down the opportunity to have Kipkuiri even for a short time? There is a lot of pressure on coaches to perform.
Alabama have been criticized for their love of foreigners longer than you have been alive. I dont have a problem with Kipkurui and some of the others NM etc have recruited but many of them are overage and have run pro races. That is a violation of the NCAA's amateurism rules.
Many of the foreign recruits need to also be held at the same expectations as American recruits when it comes to academics. Many international recruits are getting freebees in their academic performance, schools like UNM “tutor” their foreigners when in reality they are doing their homework. How is that fair for a student athlete who cares for their academics when there are foreigners not caring and coaches not holding them accountable for it.
Rumor has it the head coach from UNM gave that guy a suspiciously high amount of money to keep him for the 2025 track season, Ishmael already had plans to return to Kenya before the outdoor season. Essentially he finessed the entire program. Not to mention how many American freshman's of the 2024 class got cut before the end of their track season, already received notice that their position on the team was in jeopardy before the indoor season even began. Very shady things going on over there in NM...
Many of the foreign recruits need to also be held at the same expectations as American recruits when it comes to academics. Many international recruits are getting freebees in their academic performance, schools like UNM “tutor” their foreigners when in reality they are doing their homework. How is that fair for a student athlete who cares for their academics when there are foreigners not caring and coaches not holding them accountable for it.