People who think this isnt bad for the sport are in flat out DENIAL

how about.... wrote:

Step 2: Must be an American CITIZEN, BORN in the USA.

So is Frank Shorter (born in Germany) out under your system? Or do you make an exception for white guys born in other countries?

he was born on a US military base, thus an american citizen from birth, hardly a "foreigner"

go away please wrote:

Give it 5 more years and there won't be an American in the top 10 in either race. I guarantee we will never see an American winner again. Why actually work hard in development as a coach when you can just rent a Kenyan. Mark Wetmore has it right and I hope CU wins today. Defend foreign recruiting all you want, the TRUTH is, soon no American teens wont even want to even run XC

Couldn't agree with you more. Does no one else see the irony in the US college running scene's premiere event, the NCAA Div I XC Championship being won by imported, professional level runners from overseas? What other country would allow imported professional level foreign athletes, of indeterminate age, to compete in their amateur college level running scene or any other sport at the AMATEUR college level?

We are witnessing the destruction of our amateur college distance running scene at the hands of unethical coaches in the US, starting with Oklahoma State on the men's side, and a handful of others on both the men's and women's sides. It is an outrage and will lead to the further abandonment of the sport as disgusted athletes and fans alike cry foul.

I have absolutely no problem with these professional level foreigners competing with American athletes - - in the appropriate professional forums in the US and elsewhere. But for unscrupulous US college coaches to stack their teams with these pros is a national disgrace.

Time for the NCAA, USTFCCA and others with an interest in the sanctity of the US amateur college running scene to take off the blinders, cut through the mental freeze, and take action. Now.

Am I wrong?

Yes, you are wrong. Foreign athletes have been a part of the NCAA for a long time, and yet cross country has continued to grow in popularity at the high school level. The general public doesn't care about running because they can't run themselves and they find the sport uninteresting.

If you want to blame anyone for cross country's problems, look to the rise of big-money (and big time money-losing) NCAA football/basketball programs, and ADs whose job is to support the football and basketball teams at all costs.

You are wrong! We were racing against foreigners (UTEP dominance) back in the 70s and nobody complained back then. We just laced them up and went after them as hard as we could. College XC was more popular during that period of UTEP dominance than it is now, mainly due to the strength of HS track and XC programs and the larger number of athletes in the sport. There also is an element of racism in your complaint whether you admit it or not. No one ever complains about all the Irish runners who used to dominate collegiate XC and track 25 years ago or Canadian, Irish, Aussie, NZ or South African runners who are excelling now. Quit whining and step up to the competition if you want to see more Americans up front.

I love and follow this sport, I hope my vote counts.....because I am complianting about about the foreign invasion...I dont like it!....that's all i have to say about it. IT SUCKS

People DID complain about UTEP, WSU and others back then. We just didn't have message boards to register it.

old XC geezer wrote:

You are wrong! We were racing against foreigners (UTEP dominance) back in the 70s and nobody complained back then. We just laced them up and went after them as hard as we could. College XC was more popular during that period of UTEP dominance than it is now, mainly due to the strength of HS track and XC programs and the larger number of athletes in the sport. There also is an element of racism in your complaint whether you admit it or not. No one ever complains about all the Irish runners who used to dominate collegiate XC and track 25 years ago or Canadian, Irish, Aussie, NZ or South African runners who are excelling now. Quit whining and step up to the competition if you want to see more Americans up front.

Listen up, you old cumudgeon: According to your logic you would have no problem with, say, Harvard recruiting the Russian Men's hockey team for its college level amateur team, because it would step up the competition by blowing everyone else off the ice? Don't think so. Wake up and face up to the destruction of the amateur racing scene at the college level. Period.

Just My Two Cents.

God bless.

old XC geezer wrote:

You are wrong! We were racing against foreigners (UTEP dominance) back in the 70s and nobody complained back then.

Actually, people did complain back then. A lot. Didn't do much good, however. Suleiman Nyambui used to wear a t-shirt that read "Don't be a xenophobe!"

Proponents of the allowing foreigners argue that foreigners raise the standard of competition for American collegiate athletes. Which is good.

Those against argue that foreigners are taking scholarships from Americans and also causing loss of interest within American fans.

All of you actually have valid points.

I believe I have a solution. Why not just limit each team to 1 or maybe 2 foreigners each? If you had 2 foreigners; one must be a girl.

My suggestion is that they limit the number of foreign scorers to one per team. That way you hae iternational flavor without impacting the team scores to a large degree.

Foreign athletes or no foreign athletes, I don't think it would be possible for there to be LESS interest in the sport. So throw that argument out the window.

And I wish there was half this much complaining back when Arkansas ruled NCAA XC year after year thanks to their reliance on Irish runners. I wonder how that's different?

photofinish wrote:

Results like this year after year turn off the public.

You sound like of the snapperheads yelling about how gay marriage is going to ruin the entire institution, when all you have to do is look around to see that this is completely false.

More and more foreigners in the NBA (Europe mostly, some Asia), Major League Baseball (mostly the far East) and the NHL in recent years has not diminished fan interest in these sports. Why? Because they are popular to begin with.

NOTHING is going to turn the general public on to distance running in America, and certainly not cross-country running (at least in track they can also watch the sprints in the same meet), and certainly as hell not COLLEGE cross-country running.

So give it a rest, and quit projecting your OWN views and opinions onto everyone else, especially those nonexistent potential fans.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

The fact is, Jordan Hasay should have 2 NCAA titles. If she was running just a few years earlier, she would. This problem is getting worse every year. It's almost disgusting.

maybe also if xc courses were more like xc courses than tracks.

make them run up hills, and on ground with bad footing.

Oklahoma State for example is a state university receiving state funds. How do you Americans like it when your hard earned tax dollars are going to give some foreigner( like half the OU cross country team ) a scholarship over your American son or daughter who now must borrow to get an education and finish school in debt? Especially in these difficult economic times.

IJY wrote:

Oklahoma State for example is a state university receiving state funds. How do you Americans like it when your hard earned tax dollars are going to give some foreigner( like half the OU cross country team ) a scholarship over your American son or daughter who now must borrow to get an education and finish school in debt? Especially in these difficult economic times.

Actually I love it. Just like I love my Kenyan-born, Muslim president, Barack Obama. Perhaps you and your other racist whiner friends can start a petition to secede from the NCAA.

Since I don't live in Oklahoma, I couldn't care less how they choose to spend their tax money.

how dare she! wrote:

The fact is, Jordan Hasay should have 2 NCAA titles. If she was running just a few years earlier, she would. This problem is getting worse every year. It's almost disgusting.

The fact is, should doesn't and shouldn't. Poor little Jordan Hasay. If she was faster, she would have won. It is as simple as that. What happened to America? Jesus, if you don't like being beaten by people from other countries, then train harder. If anything, these runners from other countries should inspire American athletes to train harder to beat them. The "we will never be as good as them" attitude is so weak and un-American it makes me want to vomit.

You people are ridiculous. This is just as much a reflection of the Yanks sucking in the NCAA as it is the influx of Kenyans. Stop pointing fingers and realize you guys just aren't that good.