Dear Running Community:

Your help is needed to stop Ohio University and other universities in Ohio from dropping Track and Field. Track and Field is the most popular sport in the World, the second most poplar sport in the U.S.A. and the third most popular high school sport in Ohio. Track and Field is also one of the most diverse sports in Ohio, the U.S.A., and the World.

The Mid American Conference (MAC) Universities have created a crisis in the Track and Field Community. In the past few years Ball State, Bowling Green, Toledo, Western Michigan, and former MAC school Marshall, have dropped Men's Track and Field. Ohio University plans to drop it next year.

Why is the MAC conference destroying the most popular sport in the World?

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, Boy's Track and Field has the second most schools offering the sport with 15,497 high schools sponsoring a team. It ranks third in participation with 533,985 student- athletes. In the state of Ohio, 728 high schools offer Boys' Track and Field with a total of 24,219 student-athletes. This ranks boy's Track and Field third in participation, with only 49 fewer student-athletes than baseball.

Track and Field is one of the most diverse athletic programs at the collegiate level. Many Track and Field teams have the second highest number of minorities participating among all intercollegiate athletic teams. According to the Ohio Board of Regents' 2006 Performance Report, "Ohio University is the state's least racially diverse college." By cutting Men's Track and Field, the MAC universities have eliminated opportunities for both minorities and for all male track athletes. This is in spite of the fact that Track and Field is one of the most popular sports in both high school and around the world (in fact, more countries are represented in Track and Field than any other Olympic sport).

The Title IX web site states that, "Title IX governs the overall equity of treatment and opportunity in athletics while giving schools the flexibility to choose sports based upon student body interest, geographic influence, budget restraints, and gender ratio."

The student body interest and geographical influence is clearly present so this cannot be the issue.

Budget constraints cannot be an issue at OU because the university will not save any money by eliminating the coaching staff since they will still be coaching the Women's Track and Field team. The Men's Track and Field travel budget was less $20,000. An interesting fact is that the football team lost $1.9 million during the last academic year. Yet in a three year period the overall salary for the nine assistant football coaches and the head football coach has gone from $606,640 to $896,246

In 1999, Miami University dropped their indoor Men's Track and Field team to comply with the gender ratio issue. However, they kept the outdoor team because they realized the popularity and diversity that Track and Field offers. Is this not the path Ohio University should have taken?

Title IX does not seem to be the reason for dropping Men's Track and Field, especially when the Women's Sports Foundation, probably the leading advocate for Title IX adherence, ranks Ohio University 21st - better than more than 80 percent of Division I schools.

NCCA President Dr. Myles Brand recently said, "I certainly hope no University cuts sports to comply with Title IX. There are always alternatives. The NCAA is always ready and able to work with an athletics department to identify acceptable alternatives to cutting sports. It should not be the case that men's participation opportunities are diminished to comply with Title IX." Dr. Brand also recently said he was against "eliminating student participation opportunity and would hope college would build new teams". He also said that many universities are using Title IX as a scapegoat to cut programs and believes that this "trend in very disturbing".

How can universities destroy such a popular and diverse sport?

Whether you ran in high school, run for fitness, or are just concerned about the destruction of this popular sport, which provides opportunities for a diverse student body, please help Save Track and Field at Ohio University and in the MAC.

What can you do? You can contact your University President, Athletic Director, and Board
of Trustees to voice your concerns. But I am not sure if they care about track and field.
Ohio University President - Dr. Roderick McDavis - mcdavis@ohio.edu
Ohio University Director of Athletics - Kirby Hocutt - athletics@ohio.edu

Your tax dollars help to support your university and the elected officials in Ohio and other states with MAC schools need to know about this crisis.

Write your US Congress and Senate members to voice your concern:
www.house.gov/writerep and www.senate.gov

In Ohio

Write to Governor Ted Strickland - http://governor.ohio.gov
Write the Ohio Board of Regents - regents@regents.state.oh.us
Write the President of the Ohio Senate, Bill Harris - SD19@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
Write the President of the Ohio House, Jon Husted - district37@ohr.state.oh.us

In Michigan (Bring Back Western Michigan) - http://www.bringbacktrack.com
Write:

Governor Jennifer Granholm - http://www.mi.gov/gov
Email - http://www.mi.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995-65331- -,00.html
State Senator Tom George - senTgeorge@senate.michigan.gov
State Representative Alexander Lipsey - alexanderlipsey@house.mi.gov

In Indiana (Ball State)

Write:
Governor Mitch Daniels - http://www.in.gov/gov
Email - http://www.in.gov/gov/contact/index.html
State Senators and House of Representatives - http://www.in.gov/legislative/contact

In West Virginia (Marshall and West Virginia University)

Write:
Governor Joe Manchin - http://www.wvgov.org
Email - http://www.wvgov.org/sec.aspx?ID=36
Education Chair, Senator Robert H. Plymale - bplymale@mail.wvnet.edu
Education Chair, House of Representative - Mary M. Poling - marypoli@mail.wvnet.edu

For more information on this crisis go to: www.runohio.com
http://www.runohio.com/archive/news/03-12- 07Ohio_U_Track.html
http://bringingbackohiotrack.blogspot.com

Hopefully, if we work together as a community, we can help Save Men's Track and Field at Ohio University and get the other Mid American Conference universities that dropped their programs to add Men's Track & Field back in the near future.

Sincerely,

Matt McGowan
Editor/Publisher RUNOHIO