Message being sent to D3 Track athletes

Don't they go to D3 just to party? In all seriousness though, that's unfortunate and not right. Since there's no money in track and XC, the people in power just scrap them without any empathy for the hard working athletes, robbing them of great and important life experiences.

I do think it's really unfortunate, especially for the graduating seniors who probably don't have eligibility left (don't think most in D3 use the fifth year anyway).

I don't necessarily think it's right or wrong though.

A couple considerations: the main reasoning behind the meets being cancelled is that there would be low attendance. Most D3 contenders are small liberal arts colleges with condensed campuses. They may not have the budget or the bodies to go all online or risk exposing athletes to the virus.

And just based on what I've seen and heard, there really is/was no solid "plan" for NCAA championships anyway. It was always pretty much assumed that they're not going to happen. And this problem is across the conferences, not just per sport.

Zante wrote:

It was always pretty much assumed that they're not going to happen.

Maybe not the right wording, perhaps "up in the air."

I've heard news someone might host their own nationals for anyone that wants to come.

The Ivies claim it's because they follow the science. You know, the same scientists that claimed that if the NCAA had a football season that 5-7 players would die? They stopped tracking all the college kids getting covid because very few were getting hospitalized and virtually none were dying (less than a typical flu season). The New York Times counter stopped updating in early December when they had about 400,000 cases and almost no deaths. Truth is, the shutdowns were based in poor science and kids were robbed of seasons, individuals and teams were robbed of championships, professional athletes were robbed of revenue and fear gripped the nation over nothing.

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Long-term-Effects-of-COVID-19-in-Athletes.aspx

Heck, the basketball player from Florida that collapsed that everyone was freaking out about was not COVID related.

This is neither here nor there, but I'm surprised there's no YouTube vlogging presence for anyone D3. Or maybe there is?

D3 Coach wrote:

2 years in a row indoor NCAA nationals has been canceled, and that makes 4 straight championships for D3 runners. The message being sent to our kids is very clear. Especially as we see D1,2 xc/tf happening all over the country. It's also sad to me that the coverage of this from Letsrun and USTFCCCA has bascially been non existent. As part of the running community Id love to see people rise to the occosaion and help these athletes.

don't really blame NCAA for saying there wasn't enough participation in the season -- how many D3 conferences are competing?

D3 Coach wrote:

2 years in a row indoor NCAA nationals has been canceled, and that makes 4 straight championships for D3 runners. The message being sent to our kids is very clear. Especially as we see D1,2 xc/tf happening all over the country. It's also sad to me that the coverage of this from Letsrun and USTFCCCA has bascially been non existent. As part of the running community Id love to see people rise to the occosaion and help these athletes.

This is why you don't go D3. You are only an expense to the NCAA and your college. They don't really care if you are adequately funded, or if you have quality coaching, are about to travel to compete against quality competition, etc. They see it as recreation. I'm not surprised so many athletic departments just shut down in D3, while the NAIA and D2s are trying to provide as much of a normal experience as possible.

Trying to decide between walking on at a D1 or stepping into a bigger role at a D3. This isn't helping my two D3 schools' chances.

This definitely sucks but the national championships are just another race... makes sense that the NCAA is not hosting a national championship with so many schools not running/doing other sports... it sucks way more for the kids at schools/conferences that aren’t racing/playing at all.

It seems close to half of the d3 schools are competing and having conference races... this whole mess may be a good way to see what d3 schools actual value athletics (many do) and which schools have an adequate budget (many do) to support athletics.

Most DII and many DI’s don’t actually care about any of that for XC/Track teams either...they just have to pretend to right now so they can keep pretending playing football and basketball wasn’t just about the money. The blood bath of these DI/DII programs is still coming because they aren’t needed. Many DIII schools however desperately need their XC/Track teams because of the tuition/housing dollars they bring in...

Definitely a brutal outcome for D3 athletes, especially as there are plenty who are very talented athletes. Seems wrong for the NCAA to take away three, maybe four straight track championships. I feel for the class of 2021 as they won't have had a chance to nationally compete since their Sophomore years. Absolutely brutal.

This is why I turned down Swarthmore. Athletics are a risk at DIII.

Only 57 teams had competed as of last weekend out of almost 300. The majority of teams in diii are in the northeast and those areas are more cautious with COVID. If you look at the ncaa rankings for diii right now they are a joke as there are teams ranked that wouldn’t even get people into good diii conference meets let alone nationals. It sucks that it is cancelled but what kind of championship is it when over half of the teams (and the majority of the good teams) are not competing.

D3 sports are money makers for colleges. Those kids do not get athletic scholarships so they are PAYING to be there including tuition. This is why a lot of D3's added football. You get a large number of kids who still want to play football and are willing to pay to play.

The NCAA has enough money under normal conditions from March Madness to fund these.

The message is there is a pandemic and the money to put on the event is not there. March Madness pretty much funds the NCAA and all the championships; without that money, things have to be cut.

have you ever considered that it might have less to do with the harm to the athletes and more to do with being a link in the transmission of the virus?

joed1rtty2 wrote:

The Ivies claim it's because they follow the science. You know, the same scientists that claimed that if the NCAA had a football season that 5-7 players would die? They stopped tracking all the college kids getting covid because very few were getting hospitalized and virtually none were dying (less than a typical flu season). The New York Times counter stopped updating in early December when they had about 400,000 cases and almost no deaths. Truth is, the shutdowns were based in poor science and kids were robbed of seasons, individuals and teams were robbed of championships, professional athletes were robbed of revenue and fear gripped the nation over nothing.

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Long-term-Effects-of-COVID-19-in-Athletes.aspx

Heck, the basketball player from Florida that collapsed that everyone was freaking out about was not COVID related.

The NCAA will fold without march madness. Many DI track teams will be cut in the next year or two. I'd honestly rather be DIII right now.

Cooper the p ooper wrote:

The NCAA will fold without march madness. Many DI track teams will be cut in the next year or two. I'd honestly rather be DIII right now.

D1 sports programs are going to be hurting and looking to cut costs to fuel their mega expensive basketball and football programs after this year and the last. I'd rather be d3 for the next couple years, where basketball at least is only on par with other teams in terms of expense. The exception is scholarship athletes.