Is a 2:24 800 (for women) good enough to walk-on at most D1 schools?

bathmu wrote:

I figured with Title IX requirements inflating the size of women's teams it'd be good enough to join most D1 teams. What do y'all think?

To walk on? Possibly. It depends on the school and their priorities. If they are trying to increase their roster size for women then it is possible, but the athlete might not get much attention and it might not be the best college/athletic experience.

I had an athlete set to go to a Division I school about twenty years ago and she was interested in walking on. She was going to go to the school whether she would run or not.

I called the coach on her behalf. She had run under 2:20 and was a state medalist for four consecutive years (a small school division in Michigan). I had looked at the university's results and found that they had not had a woman run under 2:20 in the prior season (yes, not a single time) and so I thought the coach would be interested. Nope.

She told me, "That doesn't meet our standards even for a walk on." I was surprised and a little defensive and probably responded like a jerk. "I checked your results. She would have been the best 800 runner on your team last year. You don't have a sub-2:20 runner." Her response, "Well, we're working to change that."

My athlete went to the school as planned. She did not run track.

Given that athletes are faster today, you could have a similar interaction. Or you might find that a coach is very receptive. The answer is a phone call away.

bathmu wrote:

I figured with Title IX requirements inflating the size of women's teams it'd be good enough to join most D1 teams. What do y'all think?

Probably not "most" D1 schools. Maybe some smaller D1 schools.

bathmu wrote:

I figured with Title IX requirements inflating the size of women's teams it'd be good enough to join most D1 teams. What do y'all think?

Maybe 5% of D1 schools.

Short answer, no.

They would not be able to walk on at any power 5, probably a couple fbs schools and maybe a third of mid-major schools.

I would say multiple races sub 2.20 is what you would need to walk on at “most D1 schools”.

bathmu wrote:

I figured with Title IX requirements inflating the size of women's teams it'd be good enough to join most D1 teams. What do y'all think?

Are you the athlete? Are you a parent or coach. Poster you did not specifically state if you are the 2:24.xx or so 800m runner? Is the athlete willing to participate in XC? Is the athlete willing to participate on relays, 200m legs to 1500m legs? Are the athlete's 400m & 1500m abilities nearly equal to her 800m talent?

No. You MIGHT be able to walk on to a D2. I know some really terrible D1 schools and they wouldn’t have a 2:24 walk on

Another level wrote:

No. You MIGHT be able to walk on to a D2. I know some really terrible D1 schools and they wouldn’t have a 2:24 walk on

You are wrong poster. From the moment you posted, I randomly selected three D-1 universities. It only took me three attempts to find a D-1 university with female 800m runners slower than 2:24.00, University of Illinois-Chicago. I could find a couple dozen D-1 universities with females slower than 2:24.00, 800m if I felt like putting in the time.

Letsrun massively and consistently overestimates DI standards. Power 5 is a relatively small group of schools and while 2:24 may not walk-on at more than a handful of schools there, that sentiment doesn't permeate all the day down the DI ranks.

There are a lot of schools that are either enrollment driven or have a team that just isn't all that competitive. A 2:24 would be welcomed in immediately. There are entire conferences that would allow that time as a walk-on

The WAC, Sun Belt, Southland, SWAC, NEC, MEAC, MAC, CAA, and the list likely goes on of full conferences that might not have a single team that turns down a free 2:24 walk-on if they express interest and don't seem like they'll be a chore for the coach. Hell, those conferences are littered with teams that run their sprinters in XC for compliance.

You can find a home to run at. How good they are might be wide ranging.

Your local juco might have a spot for an alternate. And you'll save a ton on your sociology classes.

We need to know more ... wrote:

Another level wrote:

No. You MIGHT be able to walk on to a D2. I know some really terrible D1 schools and they wouldn’t have a 2:24 walk on

You are wrong poster. From the moment you posted, I randomly selected three D-1 universities. It only took me three attempts to find a D-1 university with female 800m runners slower than 2:24.00, University of Illinois-Chicago. I could find a couple dozen D-1 universities with females slower than 2:24.00, 800m if I felt like putting in the time.

Having some results over 2:24 does not mean they would let you walk on. Email them and ask them. You would have to look into each college and find their walk on standards. I see college results that are slow all the time and you ask them what their standards are and they are faster than that.

Another level wrote:

We need to know more ... wrote:

You are wrong poster. From the moment you posted, I randomly selected three D-1 universities. It only took me three attempts to find a D-1 university with female 800m runners slower than 2:24.00, University of Illinois-Chicago. I could find a couple dozen D-1 universities with females slower than 2:24.00, 800m if I felt like putting in the time.

Having some results over 2:24 does not mean they would let you walk on. Email them and ask them. You would have to look into each college and find their walk on standards. I see college results that are slow all the time and you ask them what their standards are and they are faster than that.

So you are doubting that I can find d-1 universities with 2:25.xx to 2:29.xx 800m females? I will make sure to exclude multi-event athletes. You are ignoring XC. If she can run sub-24 6K XC and sub-2:25 800m, a lot of schools will take her. It is one thing to email a coach and ask if 2:24 800m is okay. It is another thing to show up for XC. I will find more universities tomorrow.

bathmu wrote:

I figured with Title IX requirements inflating the size of women's teams it'd be good enough to join most D1 teams. What do y'all think?

Another thing to consider is that even if she is allowed to walk on, a D-1 coach isn't going to be willing to pay travel expenses for a 2:24 800 runner.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

bathmu wrote:

I figured with Title IX requirements inflating the size of women's teams it'd be good enough to join most D1 teams. What do y'all think?

Another thing to consider is that even if she is allowed to walk on, a D-1 coach isn't going to be willing to pay travel expenses for a 2:24 800 runner.

You are adding to my homework. I need to find multiple universities with 2:25.xx to 2:29.xx female 800m runners whom are not multi-event athletes who travel. Anymore hurdles for me? I will find the universities.

No I am not doubting that at all. What I am doubting is that you can find a D1 that will respond and say yes they can walk on.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

Another thing to consider is that even if she is allowed to walk on, a D-1 coach isn't going to be willing to pay travel expenses for a 2:24 800 runner.

My daughter could have run for several D1 schools, instead, she chose the JC route; her high school PRs were about 2:35/5:35/11:50/19:45.

She has a great coach for her and is near the front of the pack in the JC world. When she races D1 competition she gets beat by 2 minutes in a 5k.

Oh, and the team is pretty well supplied with gear and travel opportunities (4-5 overnight bus trips and one plane flight)

No, that time isn't competitive at high school state championships. Look at smaller school's with more room to grow. Also, if that is your only decent time, you won't get many looks.

best idea is to call the coach at the school or schools she is interested in an ask the coach

I had a girl run 2:21 as a senior in HS and walked on no problem at a mid major D1 program in the MVC. She's had no problem adjusting at the college level and made the conference final indoors as a sophomore at 2:14.

V wrote:

Letsrun massively and consistently overestimates DI standards. Power 5 is a relatively small group of schools .

Why is Power 5 even a “thing” in running? It’s not. NAU, U Portland, Iona, Villinova, Georgetown, Providence, and technically Notre Dame are not “power 5”

I don’t think 800m time alone is a good indicator. 2:24 and 18:15 you’ll walk on almost anywhere. 2:24 and 24:00 and you’ll be more limited.