Purpose of NCAA track and field (was Re: t-and-f: Another View on NCAA Regionals

[Conway Hill]

GH wrote:

>In the glory days of the Pac-8, starting the first week of April, each school had 5 straight weeks of full-bore in-conference dual meets. Then there was a week where the conference split in a half for the Northern and Southern Division meets. Then the next week was the conference. Of course that was when competition meant something and spectators came to collegiate meets, but i forgot that we're trying to avoid that at any cost.

>

As I have been watching this thread this question keeps popping into my head: What is the reason for NCAA track and field ??? Dual meets are almost a thing of the past ... Aside from conference championships there is little competition amongst squads within conferences ... The NCAA Championships are the one thing that everyone wants to participate in so everyone spends "the season" in search of a mark that will gain them entry into the big dance ... If you make it to the big meet then your season is a success and if you don't your season is over ... So aside from trying to get into the NCAA Championships, what is the purpose of NCAA track and field ???

Because as I see it at present, if this is the case then collegiate track is basically a sport for the collegiately elite with little opportunity for "development" of athletes ... Recruiting means finding those athletes that can come in and "score" NCAA points within a year of entering the program ... Which means little development going on in the sport outside of high school ... Or am I reading this wrong ???

Conway

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