Leroy Burrell out does former Tennessee coach - cuts 30 athletes this week

He gave them all a year to prove they deserve to be on an SEC track team. BAS Cut people when she arrived and they never got a chance to compete

1)There's been no discussion because most people have no idea it happened. There haven't been any articles written about it (at least that I can find). Please tell us what happened. I just looked for a news source but havent found it.

2) If what you are saying is true, the details still seem to be very different. How you do something is often more important than what you do. If what you say is true, Leroy would be doing it at the end of the season and moving forward. Beth did it right when she got there before the season and told the athletes they couldn't even be on the team - thus not giving them the opportunity to earn marks to get a place on another team the next year. Can you imagine being a freshman and told you can't do the sport you excelled at?

3) This is 2023 - the portal makes it much easier to transfer.

4) I've always felt there often is a different reaction when a male coach and female coach do things so sexism could be playing into it but without details or knowledge of the situation it's hard to know.

Since when is kicking off unproductive members of a team something bad? That is what he SHOULD do. Looks like Auburn just became better. It absolutely should happen more often. Our sport would not be such a pathetic participation sport if this were allowed to happen everywhere.

Ya know, it’s not really productive to start a thread by insulting people for not talking about something, when the most likely reason there’s no thread about it is because nobody knew.

With that said, I’d be curious to know who got cut and what outcomes they produced this year.

Are we likely to conclude that they weren’t SEC-quality athletes and would be better off to transfer or just to graduate there and move on with life?

Isn’t that the idea of your thread - to start a discussion?

But now instead of discussing the topic you gave, we’re more interested in why people start threads with such vitriol and animosity.

To reply to myself...

You wanted a thread on this. Now you have one.

I am putting the burden on you.

Name names and give us performances they had this year.

If you don't bring the facts that I have requested, so we can have an informed conversation on the topic, they YOU are the person not talking about it, and we have the right to wonder why.

Sean Carlson and Duane Ross also cut about 25 athletes last month

Take note when we b!tch about athletes getting coaches fired.

As with most things that the NCAA creates, what started with good intentions has the opposite effect.

The portal was supposed to make it easier to transfer, now coaches use it to get rid of athletes every year. Makes it WAY easier to “cut” someone

I do know that Auburn has cut athletes. Can't confirm that it is as many as 30.

I believe SEC schools can not cut or reduce aid; athletes could be removed from roster and allowed to keep their scholarships as non athletes, or transfer.

I don't see the problem... athletes want to cash in, and that is terrific! But it does cut both ways; if you can't compete, get out of the way.

A Lot of those cut are probably men's walk on's. It is increasingly important for guys to go to schools where they are relevant and on scholarship.

I don't have any problem with cutting athletes. I was cut in college.

BUT, it seems like a bad business decision to cut a 19 year old athlete after only a year. We all know running development takes a while, adjusting to college training takes a while, etc. You are really only gonna give a 19 year old kid one year to develop?

How many Freshman/Sophomores win NCAA? Even the BEST HS recruits need years to develop (save 1 or 2 freaks)

You believed in them enough to recruit them but won't spend the 3-4 years to let them mature, grow and develop? Do you not believe in yourself as a coach? How do you keep recruiting when athletes learn you only give them a year?

Maybe there is more to the story, but if I was a coach I would rather focus on developing a average talent for 4 years than trying to only recruit HS freaks who can compete immediately. The average 22 year old still wins 95% of the time.

Yes, exactly.
well, maybe Auburn's loss is another team's gain.

I can't comment on sprints (which this is probably about). But last year 8th at SECs (last scoring point, what you could call a contributor on an SEC team) was 1:47, 3:46, 14:01

How many HSers last year are running that? 5? 10? And how many would come to Auburn? 0? 1?

And you expect all the others to get to that level in only one year? Wild to me.

If true, yeah, 30 is a big number. That being said, if coach Burrell informed the team PRIOR to the season or at the end of last season that the team was going to be re-evaluated and cuts were gonna be made, I have no problem with that. What Alford did was unfair and lame. The athlete's never had a chance to prove themselves.

1. It's the SEC. Winning matters. 2. We don't know the whole story - 'kicked off' or not invited back?

With the money spent on facilities, travel, and salaries in the SEC, the administration expects results. It is not 'Run Club'. Too many times we are expected to keep non-performers around due to roster reasons. How much of your resources are spent on those who will never compete? Coaching time, track space, shoes & gear, medical bills, support services, etc. Do you want your medical staff to focus on those competing or tied up with eating disorders in walk-ons?

I understand what you’re saying, but when you’re at this level of the game you have a good wherewithal about the potential of your athletes to develop or not. You didn’t recruit them but if you can see they have what it takes to develop into what you need for your Vision of your team you keep em. Obviously, that isn’t the case here. Some may be decent and could be good for them but maybe they are overpaid, not buying in, having other issues outside the sport(academics, socially, team culture) that culminates to this many ppl getting cut. It only looks bad when they get cut, most cases kids will quit with new staff after a year as it’s not what they signed up for.

If you're one if the athletes please enlighten us lol

If you have 30 kids (if it really is 30) on your team not buying in, or issues outside of sport, or scholarship athletes not preforming to where they are getting cut.....

you have HUGE issues with your program.

That is fine. It is a business after all, not personal.

But this coach recruited 30 bums? Or created a culture where 30 people became bums?

That too is a HUGE issue.

Also to your money point- if a young athlete is training hard, has a good attitude, but maybe isn't running conference level times it is super cheap to keep them around. Have them race at home meets unattached and give them 2 pairs of shoes and a few shirts a year. Have your assistant take over the bulk of their training. They can practice before or after your travel squad works out. Literally a few hundred bucks a year, the cost of a hotel room for one athlete for one meet. Minimal investment for someone who could very well score conference points by their senior year.