It’s a sad day on the Hilltop when a WAC Championship in2003, a national champion in discus, and a team loaded withAll-American status and potential isn’t enough to save theSMU men’s track and field program.
These world-class athletes that produce world-class results andwho have practiced in less-than-adequate facilities for the pastdecade and a half will now be only a sad memory of past glory.
The Ed Board realizes that the move made by the AthleticsDepartment to cut the men’s program was probably the outcomeof lost revenue by other sports, Title IX implications or acombination of the two.
Obviously, track and field events don’t draw the samecrowds that the flashy point-guard Bryan Hopkins and the basketballteam bring to Moody Coliseum.
And the Ed Board would love nothing more than seeing the Mustangfootball team win, but success speaks volumes when it comes togetting people into stadium seats. Keep trying fellas, we’llbe at Ford Stadium September 4).
Nineteen of our peers, roommates and friends will no longer havea place to compete in the sport about which they are clearlypassionate. Not to mention the past 16 seasons in which head coachDave Wollman has spent building up the men’s track and fieldprogram to its current national status.
It would be a complete loss if these athletes were not given achance to fulfill their scholarships through their eligibility, andthe Ed Board commends the Athletic Department for offering thisdecency to the athletes.
Limited budgets aside, the question remains: where was thereever any type of promotion for men’s track and field oncampus? Not one flashy poster with meet times and upcoming events.No parties for the team at local hot wing joints. Rarely anymention on official websites. And why weren’t we ever told ofany home track and field meets?
Next time you drive towards Central Expressway on SMU Boulevardor take a jog on Morrison-Bell Track, you’ll see why. Therewere never any home events because the facilities were not NCAAregulation for competition.
Men’s track and field brought much national exposure tothe school. Everyone in the sport knew that the Mustangs werealways going to be among the top competitors at elite events.
Hopefully, with the funding taken from this team, other teamscan eventually be successful.
