From the 90s wrote:
NAU, BYU, CU put nearly all their scholarships into XC. In contrast Oregon spreads it around to win in track. Gone are the days of a Arkansas that can be great in both. And they still put all their scholarships into just jumps and distance.
I believe Johnny Mac is the best ever, but curious why those days have to be gone.
I also believe (and have believed since his days of winning individual titles at App State) that Ben Thomas is one of (and now the current) best, but his plyo heavy, speed oriented program clearly isn’t as good for distance and specifically XC. I’ve also always thought they used XC as a pesky pre season for the important stuff in the winter and spring.
All that said, isn’t there a method out there that can produce both great XC and track performances a la Johnny Mac? Again, why are those days gone?