Mike Smith is going to CU. NAU is unable to match CU's offer.
How much will CU offer him? He made $124K NAU in 2023. Wetmore (who is in the state employee list as "Charles Wetmore") made $170K. Probably worth it for Mike at that difference, but will be offered that?
I assume this is just base and does not include performance bonuses, correct? I make 3x what Smith makes and his job is significantly more difficult, impactful, and visible— plus he’s one of the best in the country at it. I just make PowerPoint slides nobody will read, blows my mind. I get that these are non revenue generating sports but damn. Top it off, I know some bad DIII coaches churning out 27:00 8k runners for a decade that are paid even more than Smith is. Insanity.
Crazy that you got a thumbs down for this. Have we been so brainwashed to believe weight doesn’t matter? Many things matter and your body comp is definitely one of many things that either allow you to be successful or hurt your chances. Any person trying to be successful is relying on luck if they do not consider their weight/body comp.
Weight and body composition are not synonymous. I'd take higher weight and a stronger body composition over a lower weight weakling. Last night, we saw two women who are not exactly scrawny kick the crap out of a field of other women over 5,000 meters.
How much will CU offer him? He made $124K NAU in 2023. Wetmore (who is in the state employee list as "Charles Wetmore") made $170K. Probably worth it for Mike at that difference, but will be offered that?
I assume this is just base and does not include performance bonuses, correct? I make 3x what Smith makes and his job is significantly more difficult, impactful, and visible— plus he’s one of the best in the country at it. I just make PowerPoint slides nobody will read, blows my mind. I get that these are non revenue generating sports but damn. Top it off, I know some bad DIII coaches churning out 27:00 8k runners for a decade that are paid even more than Smith is. Insanity.
They are state employees so you can look up what the state pays them each year. I am not sure if this includes bonuses. Wetmore made more in 2020 than in 2021, even though the XC teams both did better in 21. Any money they make separate from the state would not be included.
CU is a great academic institution and Boulder is a fantastic town. There is a reason so many professional athletes live there. Would Smith leave NAU with at least 1 future NCAA champion currently on his team? I don't want to denigrate Flagstaff but I would rather go to CU and live in Boulder. Maybe he can bring Sahlman with him.
The fitness guru was the primary figure to blame here and what I saw from Wetmore was that he followed guidelines and let her do the work on this, but ultimately, you have to wonder whether a) it is not totally obvious that you will not succeed in distance running if you are overweight and b) anything Wetmore does (and he is old school), Coach Prime does much worse in that circus show he is running.
You think CU will pay more for Franklin than Louisville is paying him? And, you really think Colorado will provide all the athlete funding and facilities at CU, that he is getting UofL? Righhhhhtttttt.
Would I like to see that. Yes. Would Franklin get the time to build a program in Colorado like he is in Kentucky? Nope. Colorado is cheap, and the ball sport money is not nearly as deep as it is in the South. Unless they fund him, his staff as well as the jumpers, throwers, a couple of their good sprint and the 3-4 good distance athletes they got over there to come with him, it would be a foolish move. Does anyone see that funding happening. I do not!
Realistically, Balch is 2 whiskers from being condemned, IPF is only for F-ball, and Potts field just got lighting and some okay seating a couple of years ago. There is no way you can use these facilities to recruit people in the modern college landscape to attend. Money needs to be spent first on the physical plant. Mid-majors have better facilities than CU.\
Whoever ends up in this mess is someone without as many GOOD choices, which means they will end up with someone with fewer options than Franklin. Too bad, really.
"Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Now...Now...I am offering you a 20% ride to compete here at CU. BUFF STRONG!!! Just sign the letter of intent right thur, right thur, right thur! Congrats! Have a celebratory almond. Whoa, I said one almond. Gotta keep that racing weight in the right place, OK? Alright...let's throw it back to that time I had my entire family split a small dish of Andy's frozen custard after I won a low key road race in 2021. Until you arrive on campus in August, seek beauty, work hard, and love each other!"
It's good to point out that Colorado has performed very poorly for the past few seasons as most of the athletes who want to live in altitude are going to NAU. He is losing the recruiting game.
Just a few of the notable Colorado HS runners over the past five years that did not go to CU:
-Cruz Culpepper
-Cole Sprout
-Parker Wolfe
-Zane Bergen
-Erik Le Roux
-Porter Middaugh
-Jackson Shorten
-Yasin Sado
-Harrison Witt
-Connor McCormick
-Isabel Allori
-Eva Klingeil
-Bethany Michalak
-Riley Stewart
-Brooke Wilson
-Emma Stutzman
There was a time when this level of talent drain out of state would have been unthinkable. Whether you like him or not, and regardless of what you think of the investigation, the program has been trending downward. This is the man who recruited Goucher, the Torres brothers, and Ritz. But it's been awhile. If you were a 17-year-old superstar, and you could spend your next 4-5 with Mike Smith, Dave Smith, Andy Powell, or Mark Wetmore, who would you choose? It's time, folks.
"Another staff member mentioned that emphasizing leanness during collegiate years can negatively impact bone health. The individual said a study on CU athletes found, on average, they weren’t building bone density during their time at the school—years in which it was critical for them to do so, because most people reach their peak bone density by age 25."
This can't be good. I wonder about bone density in other collegiate distance programs from freshman year through graduation: Up, down, flat?
I fully understand weight and body comp are not synonymous but a 250 lb man with low % body fat is not going to produce at a high level in XC no matter what his height is. Never. Whil thats an extreme example, the reality is that you need to be lean and strong, not heavy.
Your intel is garbage! CU just got a state of the art indoor facility a couple of years ago. And Potts Field was refurbished last year in preparation for the final Pac 12 championships this spring. It's quite nice.
Mark and Heather built an empire at CU from scratch.
Running with the Buffaloes is a classic.
He's coached heaps of Olympians and top runners. Of them, Jenny Simpson and Emma Coburn are two of the most successful US distance runners in history. His athletes for the most part, adore him.
He also engaged in some not so great stuff relating to runner's weight. It's in RWTB, pinching Steve Slattery's torso, saying that when he does it to Adam, its "paper"? Sorry, but thats...weird.
Body scans are not the way to go either. Mark was always an "old school" coach, but ignorance is not an excuse. The fact of the matter is, weight comments have enormous impact on people's lives, and you can't just keep telling everyone to "toughen up" while eating disorders run rampant in the sport on BOTH the men's and women's side. you have to change.
There was a runner in RWTB (male) who I believe had an eating disorder at the time. That person's food intake was described. it was written like a sacrifice you make when you want to be great. It's not. I think it likely impacted that person's career.