These article beg to differ... seems like the track program has a $20 million dollar nest egg they are sitting on and are able to fund the program on interest alone. Please don't try to sell this poor woe is me story about Furman not having resources or being fully funded.
Every dollar of that goes to keep the 9 men and women’s scholarship. It take a large endowment to cover scholarships that are $75k a year. Does not add to the program, just keep it whole so that is can’t be cut.
I feel like you are losing the point here. Your argument has shifted to resources and that's why they aren't a powerhouse program. The fact is, the Garys get 4-5 uber talented kids every year and they still struggle. The number of sub 5:00/10:30 girls and sub 4:10/9:00 boys that have not progressed is eye catching. Even if they do have only 9 scholarships, it's still more spent on distance runners than most universities with full track scholarships (e.g., Oregon, Stanford, Texas, Alabama). Although the tuition is likely less, NAU has to be in a similar situation where football isn't making money and they don't have the full compliment of scholarships. According to the website below, it looks as though you can indeed stack athletic money with other aid at Furman, with the only requirement being that you must let the coaching staff know you have other aid.
It's ok to love your program and be a homer. BUT, the truth of the matter is that Furman has every single resource it needs to be successful. It has great facilities and a relatively large support staff to help their athletes, it's distance only, they don't seem to have a problem with funding and have donors that make regular sizable contributions. With the talent they get, I think they should be doing better. There is no reason in the world they should be finishing 17th at the Cowboy Jamboree or 27th at Nuttycombe and getting beat by schools like Utah Valley and Charlotte.
I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but this once powerhouse team has had a lot of struggles. Lots of money from boosters, but really bad issues this year. I don't think this will get any better for the team. While they still pulled off the win for conference, it wasn't a blowout like years past. I think in a few years (maybe even next) they won't crack top 2 in the conference. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Southern Conference with no decisive top dawg.
I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but this once powerhouse team has had a lot of struggles. Lots of money from boosters, but really bad issues this year. I don't think this will get any better for the team. While they still pulled off the win for conference, it wasn't a blowout like years past. I think in a few years (maybe even next) they won't crack top 2 in the conference. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Southern Conference with no decisive top dawg.
Werent they a young, sophomore loaded team this year?
they also add Brayden Seymour
Guess we'll have to wait and see... turns out scoring 15 and 27 points at the SoCon meet is meaningless when it comes to what counts, making it to nationals. Having neither team make it to nationals (especially when both were ranked in top 20 preseason and their social media account makes it seem like they are the best team out there), represents a downhill trajectory for sure. Not way to sugar coat it... yes, Gabe Montague didn't run, yes, they got more signed talent this year, yes, they add Brayden Seymour... BUT, they have to actually do it and not just talk about it. This is what separates the used car salesmen from actual coaches.