University of Oregon's propensity to poach other programs top athletes: What do NCAA coaches/fans think?

They're all decent D1 runners but as far as I understand D1 track and field, the priority is one scoring at regionals and then nationals. More like nationals for Oregon. And most of those listed might score at regionals but a W 4:22 1500, while impressive, won't get you an all american at nationals.

At least for the Ivy grads, its a great way to use a year/season of eligability after 4 years of hard study/training. I doubt they're getting any significant scholarship money. Just a chance to train with the best and see if they might be able to take it to the next level.

polarbear wrote:

They're all decent D1 runners but as far as I understand D1 track and field, the priority is one scoring at regionals and then nationals. More like nationals for Oregon. And most of those listed might score at regionals but a W 4:22 1500, while impressive, won't get you an all american at nationals.

At least for the Ivy grads, its a great way to use a year/season of eligability after 4 years of hard study/training. I doubt they're getting any significant scholarship money. Just a chance to train with the best and see if they might be able to take it to the next level.

You mean scoring at Pac-12's - not Regionals. No such thing. By the way, many of these kids choose to transfer for zero athletic $. Maybe they get some academic money (who wouldn't at Oregon?), but many don't get a dime of athletic scholarship. Gehrich is an example of this with her 4:22. It'll score at Pac-12's but beyond that...who cares? She walked on.

What do you suppose that's costing her parents, about $30-40K more per year than Utah?

I don't have any inside information on Gehrich's transfer, but I have to think that if you're the 2X Cal 1600 meter champ, you believe you should be among the best in the NCAA and that you have a shot at a pro/Olympic career. Hell, I was an average HS runner and I entertained those thoughts (albeit delusionally). With Gehrich's 1500/mile time stagnating since her junior year in h.s., not surprised she wanted to try a change, whatever the cost may be to her parents. As a Utah alum, though, I'm disappointed she didn't stay -- I think they've built a nice distance program there recently despite a number of limitations and she probably won't get the amount of personal attention at Oregon that she got from Kepler & his staff. But it obviously wasn't producing the results she was hoping for. Not clear from her results this spring that Oregon will either, but I agree it's too early to judge.

Oregon has the money, the connections, and the talent. They've sunk over $200 million to renovate the Hayward Field into a world-class futuristic stadium. Of course the best runners are going to want to go there and follow the footsteps of Pre, Galen Rupp, and Cheserek.

What do you expect?

I have no problem with taking graduates for their last year of eligibility, but taking lots of transfers from other schools does seem a big shady. Schools take a risk when they recruit a 4:10-4:20 type. They're gambling that the kid will improve enough to become a solid collegiate runner, but plenty of these kids won't pan out. By waiting to see if kids pan out as college runners and then making an offer only after they've proven themselves, Oregon is getting the upside of athletes without taking the risk.

I don't particularly blame Oregon for this (their job is to do the best they can within the rules given the resources available to them), but maybe the rules that make it possible need to be examined.