In light of the NCAA Division II President's Council's "Life in Balance" proposal, I'll wonder if we'll see many more matchups like the race in Stillwater, Okla., this Saturday.
It doesn't matter if No. 1 Adams State or No. 2 Western State beats No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Tulsa or No. 5 Northern Arizona. What matters are some awesome teams, with rich traditions (OK, maybe not Tulsa) get the chance to race each other. While I think Oklahoma State has an upper hand because they'll be running at home, I'll certainly be rooting for my alma mater and those guys from Gunnison.
The NCAA, which cannot get its clams on that biggest of money-makers -- college football and the Bowl Championship Series -- is using Division II as a petri dish. They want to limit seasons, competitions, practice hours -- you name it. This doesn't apply to cross country...yet.
This New York Times article describes the noble aim of the initiative, but contrasts it to reality: D2 athletes spend nearly as much time in their endeavors as do D1. Why is that bad? And is more regulation the answer? Does anyone care what the "student athletes" want? The effect could be a lowering of competition quality at the D2 level.
If you want to excel at anything, you have to work at it. And you have only a short window to explore your physical limits (as my aching feet and knees remind me). I was grateful that college athletics allowed for this. Of course, for me, physical excellence is on par with mental excellence. I know, I know, it's about "balance." Let's hope so.
But college and university administrators ought to be more worried about "grade inflation," "degree devaluation" and "soaring tuition" instead of "competition creep."
Elsewhere in D2-land:
- New No. 3 Grand Valley State races at Notre Dame, unfortunately relegated to the "Gold Race." They'll face good competition from some DIII Wisconsin schools, but something tells me they could more than hold their own against the Big Boys. Could Indiana State really be better than GVSU? Doubt it.
- No. 4 Chico State will travel up to Willamette, Ore., for that D3 school's meet, taking on mostly smaller, tradition-rich schools. No, the Ducks of Oregon won't be there.
- Queens (No. 5) heads to the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic, which features 76-odd teams, none of them ranked D1 squads (as far as I can tell). Let's hope they let Queens in the "big kids" race so they -- and Michael Crouch -- can show their stuff. I an interested to see how Southern Indiana (second at Pre-Nats) performs on the road.
- No. 10 Edinboro runs at Lehigh's big meet, the Paul Short. They'll match up against No. 19 North Carolina State and some top-flight D3 squads.
- No. 12 Mass.-Lowell, a team I haven't mentioned yet this season, is at Keene State, racing against a host of DIII talent, including the hosts.
- No. 6 Abilene Christian, No. 7 Colorado Mines, No. 8 Western Washington, No. 9 Stonehill are off.
