OK, this is why Regionals suck...

[gm]

here's a reason to kill the NCAA Regional concept dead:
WEST PERFORMANCE LIST * Converted



Event 1 Men 100 Meter Dash ** Qual: 10.50 **
RANK ATHLETE YR SCHOOL SEED TIME DATE
==== ======================= == ======================= =========== =====
1 Anthony Buchanan JR Washington St. 10.10 05-18
2 Bennie Chatman SR Washington St. 10.12 05-18
3 Samie Parker SR Oregon 10.18 05-17
4 Rashad Allen SO Northridge 10.32 05-17
5 Nate Soelberg FR BYU * 10.37 05-17
6 Travis Morse SO Cal Poly-SLO 10.41 05-04
7 Ricci Dula SO California 10.42 05-03
8 Hung Nguyen JR Northridge 10.42 04-05
9 Gary Jones FR USC 10.46 03-01
10 Francis Ngapout SR Boise State * 10.49 05-16
11 Jerron Ruffin JR Idaho 10.49 05-10
12 Luiz Mello SR Arizona St. 10.50 05-17
13 James Sattem SR Portland St. 10.54 05-17 CC



Event 2 Men 200 Meter Dash ** Qual: 21.20 **
RANK ATHLETE YR SCHOOL SEED TIME DATE
==== ======================= == ======================= =========== =====
1 Wes Felix SO USC 20.79 04-26
2 Hung Nguyen JR Northridge 21.04 04-05
3 Jordan Kent FR Oregon 21.09 05-03
4 Landon Benson SR N. Arizona 21.12 04-18
5 Paul Smith FR BYU * 21.18 05-16
6 James Finks SR Boise State 21.18 05-10
7 Matt Nielsen SR BYU * 21.18 05-16

7 FREAKING GUYS IN THE 200???? HUH???

[Guest]

no one cares about the 200. dont hate caus eu sittin on your bum and not gonna make it out of your region. it really doesnt matter cause if u are fast u gonna make it any ways

[bubba]

Maybe the men's coaches in the West need to recruit better/more sprinters or for that matter just recruit better. It looks like they're good at attracting top notch talent in some events and particularly good it attracting top women in large numbers. I don't think the regionals are the cause of the problem for the West. They are just the mirror showing how weak the men are in West in many events.

But you can't just look at the qualifier count. Take a look at the women's 1500. Here are the regional qualifier counts, not including conference winners who didn't make the qualifying mark.

EAST: 55
MID-EAST: 29
MID-WEST: 22
WEST: 34

But those number aren't the whole story. On paper the West and the Mid-East have much better fields (# of wmn under 4:20) at the top end than the East and Mid-West. So how do these numbers and the one's GM cites change recruiting? This year there will be some lopsided events but over the long-term I think you'll see the numbers and quality of the fields even out between regions.

[Guest]

From an athletes point of view however, the regional system is great. I want to compete with others not race all season after a magic number. I think competition is much better than racing an invisible watch.
From a fan's point of view it is also great. You get to see people fighting it out for that last spot at nationals and just like every other sport, if you lose, you go home. I think that creates great drama and should attract fans (we'll find out in the next few years).
I am a D2 athlete so of course we don't have a regionals system yet but I think as the D1 system works out it will cycle down our way.

[gm]

OK, Bennie, we'll all conveniently forget Michael's 19.32 at Atlanta, since no one cares about the 200.

There was nothing really wrong with the previous qualifying system, and Regionals will end up financially killing our sport off (finally).

[jsquire]

>Regionals will end up financially killing our
>sport off (finally).

Huh? Explain.

[gm]

Check with a random group of D1 coaches and ask them how much extra they had to budget this year for the Regionals.

AD's already have plenty of ammunition for dropping T&F programs, and we just reloaded their guns.

[Guest]

i was talkin about college not pro gm

[jsquire]

If the majority of coaches hate it so much, why did they vote for it?

[gm]

they didn't

it was repeatedly defeated, and then, mysteriously, it was deemed "approved"

ask that same group of random coaches if they got to vote

[Guest]

The schools were all polled. In practice I guess that means the presidents/ADs voted, presumably after consulting the coaches. A majority of schools, but definitely not the top programs, favored the idea.

That vote wasn't binding. It was just a recommendation to the NCAA, but it's not true that a majority of schools opposed it. The coaches themselves weren't the voters, though I'd bet most schools voted the way their coaches recommended.

[Guest]

doesnt really matter to me. its just another touch up race for me so i can get ready for dem other athletes that i will run by at nationals.