True story. I went to BYU. I completed a concurrent BS/MS. When my 5 years of track was up I returned to finish school. A couple weeks into the semester I bumped into the track coach and found out I still had another year of eligibility. I wasn't very good, so it wasn't that odd that I hadn't shown up that year, and the team certainly wasn't missing my talent. But maybe someone should look into BYU's accounting.
I don’t get what’s so hard for fans of these runners to understand. For 99% of Americans who go through the NCAA system their career ends at age 22 or 23 at the latest. That’s their last opportunity to compete in a structured environment against their peers and there’s an understanding they’ve all competed on a level playing field throughout that. Of course there are older Europeans, Aussies, and Africans to go along with the Mormons but it makes perfect sense why this would feel unfair or at least go against the spirit of the sport as most athletes experience it. We all love the top level NCAA stars but guys who are 27 struggling to keep up with super talented 19 year olds isn’t that compelling regardless of what NCAA rules say, and this message board isn’t obligated to salivate over BYU’s XC prowess when they know the reality of the situation.
Yes, they could do the two year mission after they finish their schooling. However, these missions are not just for BYU athletes. They are for the whole Church. BYU athletes don't amount so much as a pimple on an elephant's a$$. I think they do them this way so more people will go. If they waited until after they finish school the number of people would probably drop off as they head off to careers or grad school. Then they wouldn't have as many people serving their Church.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but these “I’m a bigot and hate BYU” posts are really what keep everyone coming back to LR. It’ll be great when we do this again every couple of weeks in the fall.
It’s too bad OP had to replace “Mantz” with “Clinger” though. Losing traditions is rough.
Hacker graduated in 2015. He didn't do a mission but is still competing. LoL.
This should be the real story here. At least Clinger took a couple years off of running, but this mf has been training for 7 years and he is still allowed to compete against 18 year olds straight out of high school.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but these “I’m a bigot and hate BYU” posts are really what keep everyone coming back to LR. It’ll be great when we do this again every couple of weeks in the fall.
It’s too bad OP had to replace “Mantz” with “Clinger” though. Losing traditions is rough.
Yeah he definitely didn't run for a couple of years and then all of the sudden runs for a few months and starts hitting PRs.... *wink wink* Are we supposed to believe that? lmao
The guys aren't training as hard as they would if they were on campus, but they are definitely working out and keeping fitness on the mission trips. You don't just take 2 years off running and within 3 months of coming back you are already competing at NCAAs and PRing.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but these “I’m a bigot and hate BYU” posts are really what keep everyone coming back to LR. It’ll be great when we do this again every couple of weeks in the fall.
It’s too bad OP had to replace “Mantz” with “Clinger” though. Losing traditions is rough.
It's not bigot to point out that one school has kids doing 8 years of eligibility while literally every other school in the country has kids doing 5 at the most if there is a redshirt year. Covid year aside, this is a regular thing at BYU.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but these “I’m a bigot and hate BYU” posts are really what keep everyone coming back to LR. It’ll be great when we do this again every couple of weeks in the fall.
It’s too bad OP had to replace “Mantz” with “Clinger” though. Losing traditions is rough.
It's not bigot to point out that one school has kids doing 8 years of eligibility while literally every other school in the country has kids doing 5 at the most if there is a redshirt year. Covid year aside, this is a regular thing at BYU.
What magical math are you using?
BYU athletes get 4 competitive years, Covid added year stupidity aside. Everyone else gets 4 years too.
That you compare 5 to 8 when you know a mission is just 2 years shows you are just a troll.
Yeah he definitely didn't run for a couple of years and then all of the sudden runs for a few months and starts hitting PRs.... *wink wink* Are we supposed to believe that? lmao
The guys aren't training as hard as they would if they were on campus, but they are definitely working out and keeping fitness on the mission trips. You don't just take 2 years off running and within 3 months of coming back you are already competing at NCAAs and PRing.
No, they don't get to train or keep physically fit while on their missions. This has been discussed many times before. Try to keep up.
True story. I went to BYU. I completed a concurrent BS/MS. When my 5 years of track was up I returned to finish school. A couple weeks into the semester I bumped into the track coach and found out I still had another year of eligibility. I wasn't very good, so it wasn't that odd that I hadn't shown up that year, and the team certainly wasn't missing my talent. But maybe someone should look into BYU's accounting.
Maybe you'd a been faster if you hadn't spent all your time showering with the eq manager.
Adding a year for COVID is not stupid at all. They cancelled indoor and outdoor track championships, as well as the entire outdoor track season.
The problem with the COVID year is that it's going to have a lasting effect well beyond what was intended. I could see giving seniors a COVID year. But giving freshman a COVID year is leaving rosters stuffed with 20% more players than they have space for for another few years. It's not like they held everyone back in high school an extra year.
It's not bigot to point out that one school has kids doing 8 years of eligibility while literally every other school in the country has kids doing 5 at the most if there is a redshirt year. Covid year aside, this is a regular thing at BYU.
Former missionaries don't only run for BYU. They can run at any school. Any coach could recruit them. If they have such an unfair advantage, why don't more coaches recruit guys from Utah? Nothing stopping them.
Natalie Cook is a phenomenal athlete at any age but why is a 19year old still in HS?I turned 19 in October of my sophomore year in college. I didn’t know anyone in HS that was 19.