College Conference Realignments From a Track & Field Viewpoint ...

posted by The Track & Field Superblog
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 1:46am EDT

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Yesterday, SI?s Andy Staples wrote about the realignment threats in college sports and where we stand right now.

Of course, in the general sports media the talk is all about football (and maybe sometimes basketball) in terms of what everyone might bring to a new conference. I look at things in terms of track and field and cross country.

The last go-round saw the Big Ten gain Nebraska and the Pac-10 gain Utah and Colorado. The Big Ten got a much better deal in terms of track.

Nebraska has been very competitive in both men?s and women?s track over recent years. As they say, though, past performance is never a guarantee of future success, so that by itself might not be a plus forever. But the Huskers do bring a few more permanent things with them. One is the Devaney Center, a giant 5,000-seat indoor facility with a hydraulically banked track. Another is a willingness to use it, as the Huskers host many indoor meets. And the Huskers have a real live fan base for their meets, regularly bringing in crowds of 1,000 to 3,000.

By comparison, the Pac-10 got little. Utah does not have a men?s track program, and until last year they did not have a track. The Utes do now, but their brand-new McCarthy Family Track Complex has a grand total of zero seats. Colorado brings massively successful cross country programs, but the winter and spring doesn?t see a whole lot in the way of whole-team track success, home meets, or fan turnout.

So how do the various players in conference realignment talk stack up in terms of track and cross country? What are their assets and liabilities? Let?s take a look.

Texas A&M
Headed from Big 12 to SEC
Plusses:
Championship-level men?s and women?s track programs
Championship-level indoor facility
Good fan base
Minuses:
No outdoor home meets, likely due to unsuitable outdoor facility
Track/XC desirability: Very High

Oklahoma
Possibly headed from Big 12 to Pac-12
Plusses:
Winning men?s track and cross country programs
Good outdoor facility
Minuses:
Little to no fan base
Does not host many outdoor meets
Track/XC desirability: High

Oklahoma State
Possibly headed from Big 12 to Pac-12
Plusses:
Championship-level men?s cross country program
Good cross country facility
Good cross country invitational
Minuses:
?De-emphasized? men?s track program
Poor indoor and outdoor track facilities
Little to no fan base
Does not host many meets
Track/XC desirability: Low

Texas
Future unknown; could go to Pac-12, ACC or go independent
Plusses:
Texas Relays, the 2nd best-attended meet in college track
Top-notch outdoor facility
Winning men?s and women?s track programs
Minuses:
Longhorn Sports Network started this mess
Track/XC desirability: Very High

Florida State
Rumored move from ACC to SEC (to even up SEC numbers)
Plusses:
Championship-level men?s track and cross country programs
Good outdoor facility
Hosts multiple outdoor meets
Minus:
Track has a small fan base by the standards of Florida State
Track/XC desirability: High

Texas Tech
Rumored to possibly go to Pac-12
Plusses:
New outdoor facility
Willingness to host meets
Above-average track and cross country programs
Minus:
Little to no fan base
Track/XC desirability: Moderate

Kansas
Rumored to possibly go to Big East
Plusses:
Kansas Relays
Championship-quality cross country course
Minuses:
Middling track and cross country programs
Future of Memorial Stadium track uncertain
Track/XC desirability: High

Kansas State
Rumored to possibly go to Big East
Plusses:
Good indoor facility
Tends to have a few star athletes
Plusses:
Hosts few meets
Little to no fan base
Teams as a whole are not competitive
Track/XC desirability: Low

Missouri
Rumored to possibly go to Big East
Plusses:
Hosts many outdoor meets
Good fan base given program?s middling success
Minuses:
Said program?s middling success
Track/XC desirability: Moderate

Baylor
Future unknown
Plus:
Reputation as ?Quartermiler U?
Minuses:
Hosts only one track meet a year
Teams as a whole are not competitive
Track/XC desirability: Low

Iowa State
Future unknown
Plusses:
High-quality indoor facility
Hosts many indoor meets
Has hosted NCAA XC Championships
Minuses:
No outdoor track facility
Teams as a whole are not competitive
Track/XC desirability: Low

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