I run for a small, private D1 school of about 4000 students. It is very good academically, and I love all my teammates. However, our mens and womens cross country programs are incredibly under resourced, even compared to golf, tennis, swim, etc.
We get no backpacks. There are enough plain black Nike bags for about half the team to borrow, but that's about it. We get a uniform, warm-up suit, practice shorts, and a practice shirt, all to be returned at the end of the season. The only thing we get for free is one pair of shoes a year and the basic XY University athletics shirt that every student-athlete receives.
Our locker room is out-dated, smelly, dirty, and worse than most high school locker rooms. Plus we often cannot use it due to guest teams. The athletic trainers are incredibly rude and disregarding to us runners, and they don't even stay open long enough to accommodate our practices. We don't have sessions with a strength/conditioning coach, indoor track, or laundry hamper for our clothes after practice.
Also, we don't have the max 12.6 scholarships.
Is this the norm for college running, or are we just poorly under-funded?