How unfair is this? Unterreiner's OK'd for a private flight to attend his Rhodes Scholarship interview & NCAAs b/c he goes to Stanford & is on athletic scholarship? And b/c d1 gets all the national attention so it makes the NCAA look better?
While D3 Annie Lydens, the TOP returner for nationals, can't go if she wants a chance at the scholarship.
Where's the equity here? It's the NCAA, neither's a pro athlete. Should be fair.
Stanford actually makes huge money for the NCAA. D3 Annies school (Craptown University) makes zero. What doesn't make sense to you?
Pretty sure Lydens would be allowed to take a private plane were someone to offer it. I think you're misunderstanding the issue.
Er... wrote:
Pretty sure Lydens would be allowed to take a private plane were someone to offer it. I think you're misunderstanding the issue.
Correct, this has to do with a donor stepping up and offering a private plane.
I think they could make it work. Louisville is only a three hour drive from Terre Haute. So the d3 girl could fly on the Stanford plane and then drive to Terre Haute. Getting back would be an issue as they'd have to make an extra stop to pick her up but it's basically on the way for a plane (due north).
It would be a great gesture if the Stanford alum would make the gesture to offer take the Pitzer athlete as well.
That being said, are we sure she really wants to race?
Miles is an 8:05, 13:46, 28:49 performer who is on the #2 ranked team in d1. It's a no-brainer for him.
Annie is on a d3 team that didn't make it.
Of course there is a disparity between D1 and D3. The very nature of the division system is structured around the fact that these schools have chosen different policies for how to administrate and allocate resources for athletics. Why do you think there are different divisions in the first place?
resources. Stanford has.
Dennis Reynolds wrote:
Stanford actually makes huge money for the NCAA. D3 Annies school (Craptown University) makes zero. What doesn't make sense to you?
That's a pretty stupid comment from yourself, because if you weren't so ignorant, you'd understand that Pomona is a very respected school academically. But then again, I bet you think Oregon is a top notch school just because their football team is good, when in reality it's a glorified community college.
Dennis Reynolds wrote:
Stanford actually makes huge money for the NCAA. D3 Annies school (Craptown University) makes zero. What doesn't make sense to you?
I realize WHY. Doesn't mean it should be that way. In a system where athletes earn their spot via performance, the amount of money a school makes the NCAA should have 0 place in deciding who does or doesn't get to attend.
Should Oregon have made it in to NCAA xc year after not qualifying just b/c they make money? Should Penn State not have any recruiting punishments just b/c they make money?
It shouldn't be about that. Obviously it is...but it shouldn't be.
And who the hell is arguing Lydens wouldn't want to race? Like somehow b/c Unterreiner has d1 level PRs he "wants" it more? That's some ignorant crap if I've ever heard it. His being fast enough to be in d1 makes him "want it more?" Lydens is a multiple time all american & the top returner in the race & she already qualified. Plus making it a d1 vs d3 issue is kind of stupid, b/c Lydens is good enough to be on most of the women's teams that qualified in D1. But then it'd be expected she get special treatment? Does that make sense?
I don't know how to compare men and women, really, but Lydens ran 21:02 for 6k last year when she finished 3rd in d3 nationals. That time would've placed her 101st at d1 nationals (obviously not an exact comparison).
So, yeah, Unterreiner's a little better. But not really that much. You all just assume the d3 runner's no good.
reggier wrote:
That's a pretty stupid comment from yourself, because if you weren't so ignorant, you'd understand that Pomona is a very respected school academically. But then again, I bet you think Oregon is a top notch school just because their football team is good, when in reality it's a glorified community college.
Oregon is a garbage academic college. They are D1 though.
reggier wrote:
That's a pretty stupid comment from yourself, because if you weren't so ignorant, you'd understand that Pomona is a very respected school academically. But then again, I bet you think Oregon is a top notch school just because their football team is good, when in reality it's a glorified community college.
Your comments were pretty good until that last part. Oregon is a top notch school in plenty of categories. You and the person you're responding to need to educate yourselves.
i don't know what the argument here is. it's not myle's problem that a donor stepped up and provided a plane.
I love the cynicism on these boards. Many DIII schools are, in fact, the most prestigious academic institutions around. Moreover, the difference between DI and DIII is basically scholarships. One has it and one doesn't. Moreover: to the ignorant clown that mentioned Lydens' team didn't make nationals: what does this have to do with the issue? She is a good runner. It's not like she automatically should care less about running, because she's not a DI superstar. She's the returning national champ in DIII. Something tells me she trains just as hard as many DI athletes. Even if her team didn't make the big dance, doesn't mean she shouldn't have an opportunity to run.
Got that off my chest. However, I do understand the situation here. A private donor is giving Unterreiner the plane. It's not like the NCAA is snubbing the DIII girl. (Although, let's be honest; it would in a heartbeat.)
Annie Lydens' team didn't qualify. She immediately told the NCAA that she was going to the Rhodes interview, and the NCAA already informed the next individual qualifier. It's not that she "can't go" like you said. She just didn't try to make it happen.
Miles is running for a team that could actually win the title, and he worked hard to make both work - telling people who could help about his problem. Lydens didn't do that. She made a choice and stuck with it.
It's not just about what school you go to. It's about how bad you want something and how far you're willing to go to get it. It's offensive that you imply that these opportunities were just handed to Miles.
bogus wrote:
It's not just about what school you go to. It's about how bad you want something and how far you're willing to go to get it. It's offensive that you imply that these opportunities were just handed to Miles.
Since when is having a private jet donated to you "how bad you want something" or "how far you're willing to go"? Let's congratulate and recognize this guy's real accomplishments.
Oh yes, because people donate private jets to students who don't ask for them. Miles clearly went to great lengths to ask for help and get university, NCAA, and Rhodes committee approval. Sure, he needed help from others. But this obviously took a lot of time and planning from him.
Yes, let's congratulate him and recognize that he's super accomplished, and that handouts alone won't get anyone close to this level of success.
ygfvgh wrote:
bogus wrote:It's not just about what school you go to. It's about how bad you want something and how far you're willing to go to get it. It's offensive that you imply that these opportunities were just handed to Miles.
Since when is having a private jet donated to you "how bad you want something" or "how far you're willing to go"? Let's congratulate and recognize this guy's real accomplishments.
Maybe you missed this part of the post you were replying to:
"he worked hard to make both work - telling people who could help about his problem."
If she got special treatment it would be a joke. The only reason she is considered good is because she's running against inferior runners. If you think D3 and D1 are equal, it's because you're ignorant. They couldn't be further apart. I would have been a lock multiple time All-American in D3, but wasn't remotely close to the number 1 guy on my team. He's getting special treatment for three reasons:
1) He went to a school that has alumni who are willing to offer this kind of support. You can get a general sense of alumni support that a program has before you choose it if you really want to, so it's her own fault she didn't pick a school where there are alumni who are willing to put this kind of money into an athlete.
2) He's straight up better than her. In D1, you have absolutely no idea who this girl is. At her best, she's a top 100, MAYBE top 75 girl in the country. Miles is much better than that.
3) He's running for a team. My guess is alumni are more willing to help out on this because his not being there would be detrimental to the team and not just himself. For her, she could choose not to go and it would largely only affect her. If he has to choose, it affects many different people.
On all accounts, Miles wins. He picked the better choice to receive support, and is comparatively a better athlete, and is competing for a team. Easy to see why he gets the plane and she doesn't.
LetsRun.com wrote:
That being said, are we sure she really wants to race?
Miles is an 8:05, 13:46, 28:49 performer who is on the #2 ranked team in d1. It's a no-brainer for him.
Annie is on a d3 team that didn't make it.
Is this comment f***ing serious??
wrong. Lydens and her coach looked into multiple options, doing everything short of finding a private jet. It's simply not a feasible trip to make on commercial airlines. I respect Miles' decision and it's great he can do both, but saying that she didn't want to or didn't try is completely inaccurate.