Bringing Back Track to the MAC
- By Doug Kurtis

Last December the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees approved the decision to drop the men's track and cross country programs.   WMU became the fifth Mid American Conference school in recent years to dump Track.   Miami of Ohio was able to reinstate its track program but other MAC schools may be in jeopardy as budgets are cut and pressures are created to elevate the larger revenue generating programs such as football and basketball.

Efforts are now underway at Western and Ball State to reinstitute the tradition rich sport. "Bring Back Track", an organization made up of former athletes, coaches and supporters is dedicated to preserving WMU's most prodigious athletic program.   The university's track and XC programs have produced 4 world record holders, an Olympic Gold medalist and the Bronco's only NCAA National Champions.

70 percent of the Track and Cross Country runners come from instate, by far the largest group compared to other WMU sports. The ratio of minority students is more than 20% or five times the percentage of the general student population. The men's running programs are the least expensive to fund on a per participant basis. Last year, $7,723 was spent per athlete versus $57,919 for a basketball player. Rather than take a 5% cut across all sports, AD Kathy Beauregard decided to drop an entire athletic program that affected 48 athletes.

The decision was announced while students and athletes were on Christmas break, likely to head off negative feedback that would ensue. In the haste to cut the budget, there seemed to be little regard for the impact of losses from the tuition and fees of the majority of athletes who are not on scholarship. Nor consideration that the operation of facilities for Track and Cross Country must still be maintained for women or the financial donations the University receives from track alumni.

Track/Cross country has the greatest number of high school participants and offers the most opportunity at the University level. The goal of College sports isn't about preparing athletes for professional sports or creating another venue for television and mass audiences.   A. Bartlett Giamatti, the Commissioner of Baseball posited the educational theme of participating in college sports, "Athletics is a vehicle for individual self-discovery, self-discipline and personal growth that comes from challenge, extreme effort and the pursuit of excellence."

It is erroneous to assume that cutting men's Track and Cross Country would have less of a negative impact than cutting tennis or soccer and their community hosted tournaments. Former WMU track athlete and Gazelle running storeowner Chris Crowell has grouped together several committees aimed at bringing back track. Gazelle Sports supports the running community in Kalamazoo through many significant running events. Crowell, former Bronco's coach George Dales and their supporters have already offered to pay for the Cross Country program but were turned down.

Cutting Track and Cross Country will have a much wider impact that losing 48 athletes and the coaches at Western.   The Broncos were one of the most competitive track schools in the MAC. Without them the other MAC schools will need to look outside of their conference to create the best competition for its athletes.   The decision will also hurt high school programs throughout Southwestern Michigan and slowly erode the number of qualified coaches that have come from WMU, which graduates one of the largest groups of educators in the nation.

Former Eastern Michigan Track coach Bob Parks finds that using Title IX to drop the men's athletic programs is a poor excuse. "This is an impossible situation with football being in the equation. It is simply an attempt to make things add up on paper that cannot possibly add up. It's all about money.   The big schools add women's sports which is what Title IX intended and pay for them by raising ticket prices, getting corporate support and more donations, whereas the MAC schools just drop men's sports to the minimum requirement."

Bring Back Track will continue its quest to gather support for reinstatement. If you want to express your opinion regarding this issue you can send emails through the website www.bringbacktrack.com and to WMU president Judith Bailey at [email protected].