NCAA XC Apathy...is LetsRun dying or are you all apathetic about NCAA cross?

Couldn't care less about NCAA XC and that's the cold hard truth

Thank Flocrack.

YEAH BUDDY wrote:

Couldn't care less about NCAA XC and that's the cold hard truth

So you are not saying LetsRun is dying. I just recall more interest over NCAA cross on these boards in the past. I did see another post blaming Flotrack for this. It does make sense that some people won't tune in since they can't even stream the event. I'm afraid we are in a sad state.

I would argue from a team standpoint there is more intrigue this year than any year I can remember on both sides. For the men you've got NAU and BYU as two real heavyweights. For the women, you've got 4 really good teams without a clear favorite in NM, SF, Col and Oregon. I think these team races are the most compelling in several years but apparently not enough of you agree.

its flotrack

I'm not going to see it because I'm not going to pay 30$ to watch it. Why talk about it? I'll check the results when they become available, and have no sense of what happened during the race.

Idk I feel like maybe letsrun's average age is increasing over time? I'm 25 and I don't care at all about NCAA XC. They look like they're little kids. Pro track is where it's at.

There’s nothing to analyze at this point, since we learned nothing new about BYU or NAU at regionals. It’s been almost a month since the last game changing performance (BYU at WCCs)

I used to discus running on letsrun. The Trump trolls pretty much keep me away now though.

By teaming up with the NCAA Flotrack has gotten into bed with a corrupt organization that is more concerned with money than student athletes and promoting the sport of running. From what I've seen the quality of their broadcasts do not warrant the monthly fee they are charging.

NCAA used to offer free streaming of the NATS. The expense couldn't have been that prohibitive to continue unless Flotrack paid an inflated price for the broadcast rights. I still don't see their business model working long term for such a niche sport as XC. I could be wrong, but I'm not paying, and I probably could afford to, but I have scruples.

MUGA

YEAH BUDDY wrote:

Couldn't care less about NCAA XC and that's the cold hard truth

I mean I’ll defintely look at the results to see how my alma mater did, but other than that I don’t care.

Swaglord wrote:

Idk I feel like maybe letsrun's average age is increasing over time? I'm 25 and I don't care at all about NCAA XC. They look like they're little kids. Pro track is where it's at.

This is likely true. LRC has always had a lot of traffic from college runners. After 15 years that's a lot of people that have graduated, but some continue to come to letsrun. Maybe now we are at a point where the 25-35 group overshadows the 18-22.

Men’s XC Diehard wrote:

There’s nothing to analyze at this point, since we learned nothing new about BYU or NAU at regionals. It’s been almost a month since the last game changing performance (BYU at WCCs)

+1

I still read the commentary/opinion pieces by the Brojos on the main page, but I don't feel like I have anything to add to the discussion.

What are we supposed to do debate NAUs 5th vs BYUs 4 days out?

Debate is almost always on individuals and big programs.

Trump2020OP-the real one wrote:

By teaming up with the NCAA Flotrack has gotten into bed with a corrupt organization that is more concerned with money than student athletes and promoting the sport of running. From what I've seen the quality of their broadcasts do not warrant the monthly fee they are charging.

NCAA used to offer free streaming of the NATS. The expense couldn't have been that prohibitive to continue unless Flotrack paid an inflated price for the broadcast rights. I still don't see their business model working long term for such a niche sport as XC. I could be wrong, but I'm not paying, and I probably could afford to, but I have scruples.

MUGA

Agreed.

NCAA shoveling off responsibility to promote NCAA XC, is causing more harm than good.

It is strange that LetsRun doesn't have a post going on who's going to win individually as there is no far and away favorite like there has been the last few years. Knight, Fisher, 3 Alabama Kenyans, NAU/BYU/Middle TN have top guys as well.

The team competition is also hard to call given two clear lead teams (NAU, BYU) but as we all know it takes 5 guys to line up and perform on that given day. Anything can happen given the next 3 teams (Syracuse, Stanford, Portland) could easily disrupt NAU and BYU if everything doesn't go right.

One of the problems, in my view, is that excitement over college XC is dampened by the sheer lack of full strength, all out runs by the most competitive teams. XC team schedules are pretty watered down these days.

Another excitement killing factor is the Flotrack-NCAA deal that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

On the other hand, I’m only two hours for Louisville, so I might head down there this weekend.

vivalarepublica wrote:

One of the problems, in my view, is that excitement over college XC is dampened by the sheer lack of full strength, all out runs by the most competitive teams. XC team schedules are pretty watered down these days.

Another excitement killing factor is the Flotrack-NCAA deal that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

On the other hand, I’m only two hours for Louisville, so I might head down there this weekend.

Suggestions to the NCAA:

- 8 km races for men, including Regionals and Nationals.

- 8 km races for women.

- Early season (September) shorter race distances which would enable more mid-distance runners to have an impact on outcomes and less disruption to training cycles. Runners and teams would also run harder at the shorter distances versus treating them as tempo runs.

- Promote the sport. It's perhaps the largest participation sport in High School - shouldn't that translate into a large interested audience to draw into/keep enthused about XC?

- Hold races on Saturday instead of Friday. More fans would come to watch because they wouldn't need to get out of work or school. Athletes would have to miss as much school/study time. There are golf courses that in October and November would accommodate a Saturday race.

wejo wrote:

What are we supposed to do debate NAUs 5th vs BYUs 4 days out?

Debate is almost always on individuals and big programs.

yes we should debate this, but no one will with me

I'm apathetic. Not sure why, but this season just seems less interesting/engaging than most years.

Fisher vs. Knight is a great matchup. Knight outkicked Fisher at Wisco, while Fisher outkicked Knight at NCAA 5000m in a big upset. Fisher tempoed regionals and was only 11th, while Knight won his regionals in a slow time on a slow course.

The odds are on Knight but it is a question which of the two Canadian-born athletes will win. Strange things can happen, such as last year's upset of Cheserek. Who are the other leading contenders? Will the top guys for NAU, BYU, and Stanford go all out for the win or stick back with the team? How about Klecker of Colorado? Does he have a shot?