Meet Management wrote:
Thanks for letting us know of a potential NCAA violation. If this truly was marketed as a fans bus, then they will get away with it. If it's an athlete's only bus that is being fraudulently advertised as a fans' bus, then it's a violation as it would be an extra benefit.
What a dumb comment on so many levels: 1) First of all, it is off-topic. 2) Second of all, my guess is the NCAA has more pressing oversight duties than policing whether a school is engaging in the heinous rule violation of paying for "athlete" transport under the guise of fan buses. For starters, did someone forget to tell you about the staggering deficiencies by the NCAA in policing the recruiting practices of Div. I football and basketball? 3) Thirdly, the supposition that an athlete accepting a "free" bus ride to an athletic event constitutes a breech of NCAA rules is laughable.
Columbia should be commended on herculean efforts by both Kyle Merbers and newcomer Waverly Neer, whose performance will go down in ivy league lore as one of the gutsiest by a freshman woman in HEPS history.
If the buses got more fans, or athletes for that matter, to Princeton, more power to them. They had a HEPS experience for the ages, both because of the unprecedented weather conditions, and the achievements of their runners.
My guess is Columbia will be emboldened to take a run at first place in cross country HEPS next year, both men and women.