How many guys from other countries does it take to win a National Championship?
Good thing they all attended classes on campus the entire year..... :-)
Makes everyone feel proud to see the American Record holder on the 4th place podium.
Good luck with that argument.
I was with you on the online courses and training with the team arguments, but training U.S. athletes is more a USA swimming issue than an NCAA issue. Obviously, the coaches and athletes are intermingled to a great extent, but definitely two separate matters. I have a lot of respect for coaches that try to uphold their commitment to USA swimming while coaching NCAA swimming, but maybe they should make the occasional exception on their teams if winning matters that much to them or the university.
After seeing the results from Division II, I wonder if Division II isn't the new place for the non-elite college swimmer (bubble swimmers) and a source of scholarships. I am sure there are plenty of foreign swimmers in Division II as well, but I have to say I was surprised a bit by number of Division II programs from schools that never had programs when I was in college that fielded reasonable teams. I assume Division II will keep getting better and stronger as the depth of Division I programs diminishes. Maybe there will be a Division II Olympian someday.
Tim
Tim, as I pointed out in the letter these 3 organizations are now coordinating their efforts to try and save/grow college swimming...and I think its about time because we are all in this together. And unless there are some actual rules governing the situation then we'll continue to see some coaches take the path of least resisitance and bring in outside talent vs. spend the time to try and develop a US kid.
In Leonard's editorial he mentions the "net loss" of Div I programs (almost entirely mens but some womens and other Olympic sports are just as bad if not worse) and the increase in Div III programs and the fact the the NCAA statistics don't "hide" this situation.
Good luck with that argument.
I was with you on the online courses and training with the team arguments, but training U.S. athletes is more a USA swimming issue than an NCAA issue. Obviously, the coaches and athletes are intermingled to a great extent, but definitely two separate matters. I have a lot of respect for coaches that try to uphold their commitment to USA swimming while coaching NCAA swimming, but maybe they should make the occasional exception on their teams if winning matters that much to them or the university.
After seeing the results from Division II, I wonder if Division II isn't the new place for the non-elite college swimmer (bubble swimmers) and a source of scholarships. I am sure there are plenty of foreign swimmers in Division II as well, but I have to say I was surprised a bit by number of Division II programs from schools that never had programs when I was in college that fielded reasonable teams. I assume Division II will keep getting better and stronger as the depth of Division I programs diminishes. Maybe there will be a Division II Olympian someday.
Tim
Tim, as I pointed out in the letter these 3 organizations are now coordinating their efforts to try and save/grow college swimming...and I think its about time because we are all in this together. And unless there are some actual rules governing the situation then we'll continue to see some coaches take the path of least resisitance and bring in outside talent vs. spend the time to try and develop a US kid.
In Leonard's editorial he mentions the "net loss" of Div I programs (almost entirely mens but some womens and other Olympic sports are just as bad if not worse) and the increase in Div III programs and the fact the the NCAA statistics don't "hide" this situation.
