November 2020

Track and Field Contents Writers of P. 1 President’s Message America P. 3 Universities Continue to Block Athletes From Talking to the Media. That’s Got to Stop. (Founded June 7, 1973) P. 4 New Virginia Beach Sports Center is a “Game-Changer” for the Hampton Roads Indoor Track Scene P. 5 Instead of Cutting College Sports, Schools Should Stop Spending Money Like Fools PRESIDENT P. 7 Gophers Leaders, Mark Coyle Get It Wrong: Men’s Program Too Good to Cut Jack Pfeifer 2199 NW Everett St. #601 P. 8 News Links Portland, Oregon 97210 P. 9 The Fall Of Lamine Diack Office/home: 917-579- P. 10 News Links 5392. Email: [email protected] P. 11 Men’s College Track Is Being Threatened In Budget-Strapped Division I Athletic Departments P. 12 Clickable University of Oregon Video of Walk-Through of New Hayward Field by the Oregon Team SECRETARY- TREASURER P. 13 Pole Vaulter Clark Speaks Out On Confederate Flagl Tom Casacky p. 14 Four Ways That Dance Has Helped Valarie Allman Excel in the P.O. Box 4288 P. 16 Catching Up With ... Jordan Gray Napa, CA 94558 Phone: 818-321-3234 P. 18 Sport Has Had to Adjust to a New Normal Before Email: [email protected] P. 19 Celebrating Women’s Running History – 50 Years Ago Today P. 20 A 100 Year Celebration of Women’s Track and Field FAST Dave Johnson P. 20 In Letter, W&M Women’s Track Athletes Threaten Boycott Linked to Sports Cuts Email: P. 21 Oregon Accepting Public Proposals for Remaining Hayward Field Salvage Materials [email protected] P. 22 NCAA Announces Championship Sites for 2022 and Beyond Phone: 215-898-6145 P. 23 Tracksmith Introduces New York Pioneer Club Collection WEBMASTER P. 24 Selection Criteria for 2020 Division I Cross Country Championships Approved Michael McLaughlin P. 24 William & Mary Reinstates Seven Eliminated Varsity Sports Email: [email protected] P. 24 Clemson to Discontinue Men’s Cross Country, Track and Field Phone: 815-529-8454 P. 25 2020 Fixtures List

NEWSLETTER EDITOR Shawn Price President’s Message Email: [email protected] What’s next? Phone: 979-661-0731 William & Mary, one of the nation’s oldest colleges, drops men’s and track and field. The women’s team says it will not compete unless the men are reinstated. The athletic director resigns. Two months later, all of the dropped sports are reinstated. Brown University, an Ivy League school, drops men’s track and field. Alumni raise millions of dollars to pay for the program for years. The athletic director declines their offer, reconsiders, reinstates the track program but holds off on the other sports. They have hired an attorney. Minnesota, of the Big Ten, drops men’s track and field. Their huge financial losses in football come under scrutiny. A state school, it gets scrutiny and push- back from legislators and taxpayers and eventually reinstates the sport, but not indoors. Clemson, an ACC school, announces that it is dropping men’s track and field. It is a college football powerhouse but claims nevertheless that it is losing millions on the sport. Is track the problem or football? They use the devious argument that the problem is Title IX, that is, that they can maintain women’s track and field but must shed the 12 men’s scholarships. Football has 95. The Clemson ath- letic director, Dan Radakovich, announced that his decision was final. Clemson now has 16 teams, the minimum required by the ACC.

Cross country The ACC, SEC and Big 12 held conference championships this fall, but the NCAA has scheduled this school year’s national championship for March 15, in Stillwater, Okla. The Pac-12 has scheduled its sea- son for January and February. The NCAA recently announced a formula (see elsewhere in this Newslet- ter) for selecting the field. Regionals will not be held. It is believed that schools that ran in the Fall can do so again in the Winter. At the high school level, some states have scheduled state championships for Spring.

Indoor track and field Will there be a season? No one knows, but there are plenty of meets on the schedule. Some college meets are scheduled the first week of December. College football teams are playing; can’t their track teams? Will there be a USATF Indoor Nationals? To our knowledge, no site has been announced. The Mill- rose Games have been added to the Gold Challenge, joining the Boston Indoor Games. Both are scheduled for February. Will there be in-person fans? In a major decision, New York State announced that high school indoor track and field will be per- mitted this winter, because it is considered a low-contact sport, along with such other sports as bowl- ing and badminton. Because they are considered high-contact, wrestling, ice hockey and basketball have been tabled for the coming season.

Marathons All of this Fall’s major races were cancelled, and they have begun setting up a schedule for next Fall (see Calendar). The Boston Marathon has postponed its 2021 race from April to the Fall, date TBA. Outdoor track and field The Texas Relays, Drake Relays and Penn Relays are on the calendar. If those traditional blockbuster meets are held, what will they look like? Will they be on TV? Will there be fans in the stands? Will the college and high school divisions be separated? Will there be an Open presence? The spring and summer seasons, including the postponed Tokyo Olympics, will probably depend on the development of a vaccine. Stay tuned.

HIGH SCHOOL TRACK 1940 Jack Shepard, boys HS editor for Track & Field News and editor/publisher of the High School Track series (since 1980), along with Bob Jarvis, FAST Award winning statistician, have spent decades gathering data to con- tinue High School Track back into the pre-1950s. The first of this historic series covers the year 1940. The booklet contains 30-deep yearly lists, with meet/site/date, along with the then HS records and 10-deep all-time lists. [26 8½” x 11” pages] Send a check or money order for $20, made payable to Jack Shepard, 14551 Southfield Dr., Westminster, CA 92683. Postage is included in the price for North America. Add $2 for foreign postage. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 2 - November 2020 Universities continue to block athletes from talking to the media. That’s got to stop. For athletes at many of the nation’s top athletic programs, talking to the news media is regarded as a punishable offense By Frank LaMonte | Poynter | https://www.poynter.org/educators-students/2020/universities-continue-to-block-athletes- from-talking-to-the-media-thats-got-to-stop/ There has never been a time when America more urgently athletes say, because they control essentially every other aspect of needed to hear the voices of college athletes. players’ lives: what they eat, where they live, what medical treat- Fall sports tentatively resumed across America’s college cam- ment they receive. But speech is different, because it’s explicitly puses under the shadow of a deadly pandemic that has already cost protected by the Constitution. one college football player his life. Abusive behavior by coaches is Of all of the possible affronts to the First Amendment, courts belatedly coming to light as former athletes share their stories. most forcefully disapprove of the “prior restraint” — a blanket And the young Black men who disproportionately make up the prohibition that keeps speakers from being heard. An order rosters of revenue-generating sports are also those at greatest forbidding unauthorized contact with journalists is a classic prior personal risk of overzealous police violence. restraint. Yet for athletes at many of the nation’s top athletic programs, Let’s assume athletes have only the level of free-speech rights talking to the news media is regarded as a punishable offense. that state employees have. Fifty years of legal precedent tells us Players caught giving interviews without their athletic depart- that government employers can’t gag public employees from giving ment’s approval — about any topic, even one unrelated to sports “unapproved” interviews (even though many are unaware they’re — can be punished with sanctions including withdrawal of their breaking the law). So if athletes are regarded as “university em- scholarships, ending their college careers. ployees,” it’s unconstitutional to tell them not to give interviews. In a just-published study for the Nebraska Law Review, our But athletes aren’t employees — as colleges will be the first research team at the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information to tell you. In fact, the then-head of the NCAA popularized the sought to answer two questions: How often are public universities buzzword “student-athlete” in the 1950s in reaction to a widow’s gagging athletes from speaking to the media, and is it legal for attempt to claim employee death benefits after her husband died them to do it? playing football. Although athletes are increasingly winning the Our answers: frequently, and no. right to obtain previously-taboo financial compensation and endorsements, colleges disclaim “employee” status (and, in fact, What we found fought fiercely to defeat a unionization effort when Northwestern Our research looked at the policies at public university athletic football players sought recognition by the National Labor Rela- programs regulating student-athletes’ communications with the tions Board). media. Using a combination of public records requests and online While universities might argue that athletes have even fewer searches, we gathered rulebooks from 58 state universities that First Amendment protections than employees, because they sign compete in the NCAA’s elite Division I. (The study included only away all of their free-speech rights when they accept a scholarship, public universities, because the First Amendment doesn’t apply to that argument would likely fail. First of all, 46 percent of athletes private institutions.) who compete in Division I are walk-ons who receive no scholarship Of the 58 handbooks, 50 of them — or 86 percent — explicitly — but athletic departments don’t give them any greater freedom forbade athletes from speaking to journalists without permission to speak. And second, the Supreme Court refuses to honor broad from the athletic department. First Amendment waivers in exchange for government benefits. Some, we found, go even further. They affirmatively discourage It’s constitutional for a state agency to enforce what the courts blowing the whistle on anything within the athletic program, even call “narrowly tailored” policies that restrict no more speech than mistreatment by coaches or teammates. East Carolina University, absolutely necessary. So a college could legitimately tell athletes for instance, tells football players: “If you do not have anything not to give away secret game strategies, or to stay off the phone good to say, do not say anything at all. DO NOT COMPLAIN during pregame warm-ups. But none of the 50 speech-restrictive ABOUT THE COACHES, TEAMMATES OR THE UNIVERSITY.” policies we reviewed contains any stopping point — they apply Kent State University instructs all of its athletes: “Don’t take 24/7, regardless of whether the athlete wants to give an interview your complaints to the media. The about racial injustice, or the desig- coaches’ office is the only place for nated hitter rule. these.” Restrictions on speech can some- High as it is, the 86 percent figure times be salvaged if there is an over- almost certainly understates the whelmingly compelling justification. pervasiveness of gag rules, because But the justifications that colleges even some universities that claimed offer are the opposite of compelling: to have no written policy said coach- avoiding controversy or criticism, or es instruct their players verbally. saving athletes from making a mis- Knowing that colleges pervasively step that might cost them profes- forbid athletes from talking to jour- sional opportunities. In the land of nalists without approval, the next the First Amendment, “stopping question became: Is this legal? people from saying something they Is college sports a ‘Constitution- might regret” is the weakest possible free zone’? rationale. Undoubtedly, colleges have To determine whether it’s genu- convinced themselves that they have inely a problem for sports journal- the legal authority to control what ists to run their interview requests TAFWA Newsletter - Page 3 - November 2020 through an athletic department gatekeeper, we asked the Associ- tionable retaliation claim arises when a government official denies ated Press Sports Editors to survey member journalists about a reporter access to discretionarily afforded information or refuses their experiences. Of 32 sports editors who responded, only three to answer questions.” (9 percent) said that, when they go through a sports information But that case almost certainly came out wrong. The courts have officer to request an interview, they are always successful; 21 (66 been unmistakably clear for 50 years that any government action percent) said they were sometimes unable to get the access they meant to deter a speaker from speaking is enough to violate the needed and eight (25 percent) said they “regularly” were refused First Amendment, even taking away a purely discretionary benefit access. And 29 out of 32 (91 percent) said that inability to get ac- or privilege. A news organization that loses anything of value for cess to college athletes adversely affected their coverage. speaking to an athlete — a seat in the press box, a sideline photo In an interview with investigative reporter Sara Ganim for pass, an invitation to postgame press conferences — should have a her podcast series, “Why Don’t We Know,” athlete-rights activist constitutional claim. Ramogi Huma of the National College Players Association called the gagging of athletes “unforgivable” — especially at a time when Why athletes’ voices matter colleges are risking athletes’ health as “test subjects” during a In August, Texas Tech fired women’s basketball coach Marlene pandemic. Stollings after a wave of players left the team amid the disclosure Our findings align with recent disclosures by the investigative of disturbing exit interviews with graduating players who reported college sports website, The Intercollegiate, which used public-re- that members of the coaching staff endangered their health dur- cords requests to obtain hundreds of athlete rulebooks and found ing practices, insulted them for gaining weight, and refused them a culture of obsessive control pervading every aspect of college help with depression. The University of Iowa parted ways with the athletes’ lives. One university told football players they must football program’s longtime strength coach in June, after former notify the head coach if they plan to get married, while others told players accused him of abusive treatment and racist remarks. athletes they were forbidden from speaking any language other As wave after wave of official misconduct comes to light across than English during practices. college sports — molestation of gymnasts by Michigan State physician Larry Nassar, decades of sexual abuse by an Ohio State Taking on the gatekeepers wrestling coach — the toll of gagging athletes comes into clearer While some college handbooks are silent about any type of en- focus: The enforced culture of silence leaves young people vulner- forcement mechanism, at least a few, including UCLA’s, explicitly able to exploitation by trusted authority figures. When athletes’ target the journalist — not the athlete — if an interview is sought interactions with the press and public are filtered through univer- or given without approval. (In one especially egregious example, sity image-minders, wrongdoing will go undetected and multiply. University of Oregon student journalist Kenny Jacoby was repri- There is reason to believe that the wall of silence is crumbling. manded just for phoning athletes and their parents, and told that Beginning with racial-justice awareness efforts inspired by the future infractions might result in suspending the newspaper’s NFL’s Colin Kaepernick and continuing into the present day as the basketball credentials.) national roils in outrage over racial bias in policing, athletes are It’s somewhat murkier whether a news organization would have finding their voices and engaging in — and at times, leading — the a successful First Amendment claim if the penalty fell on the jour- public debate. nalist seeking the interview, not the athlete giving it. Logically, the So far, in this season of newfound outspokenness, there is no First Amendment should protect both sides in the conversation documented instance of a college punishing either a journalist or equally. But if the punishment costs the journalist nothing more a player for violating a prohibition on interviews. So colleges may than lost access to future interviews, it’s not entirely clear that be awakening to the reality that, just as they can’t stop athletes courts will recognize a First Amendment violation. from earning money, they also can’t stop them from sharing their In an unhelpful 2006 ruling, a federal appeals court dismissed a opinions about contemporary social issues — or the conditions First Amendment claim on behalf of two Baltimore Sun reporters within their own programs. who were frozen out of access after Maryland’s governor declared them to be untrustworthy because of their unflattering coverage. Frank LoMonte is a media lawyer and director of the Brech- The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that “no ac- ner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of New Virginia Beach Sports Center is a “game-changer” for the Hampton Roads indoor track scene https://www.pilotonline.com/757teamz/vp-sp-virginia-beach-sports-center-20201005-ptzx6uiwq5a6bppyilcilii7qe-story.

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 4 - November 2020 Instead Of Cutting College Sports, Schools Should Stop Spending Money Like Fools By Steve Magness https://thegrowtheq.com/instead-of-cutting-sports-colleges-should-stop-spending-money-like-fools/ This past week, the University of Minnesota cut its track and leadership, bond, discipline, and lessons learned on and off the field team, along with men’s gymnastics and tennis. From Akron, playing field. The opportunity afforded a diverse group of students to William and Mary, to UC-Riverside, college sports across the to represent something greater than themselves. To use their skills country are being eliminated, including the sport I love, track and to get an education and better their lives. field. They have done so under different guises. Some claim Title IX, the law that requires equal men’s and women’s sports; others Why Are College Sports Teams Being Cut? claim financial and logistical struggles related to COVID. These I have no behind the scenes information; you’ll have to ask the justifications are symptoms of the main problem: college athletics schools themselves. But what is clear is that the reasons given are is a bull market, out of control and about to burst; one that’s been often bogus. As mentioned above, financial and Title IX are the growing as all parties strive for the holy grail of bowl games, adver- two most cited causes. tising deals, and TV revenue. This is how they define success. Title IX is a piece of legislation enacted in 1972 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. The purpose and idea behind it It’s always been this way to a degree. were to give women an equal opportunity to participate in college sports. For women’s sports, it’s been a smashing success. The law “[Football] is a highly organized commercial enterprise. The athletes aimed to increase opportunities for women’s sports. Then why do who take part in it have come up through years of training; they are so many athletic departments give Title IX as a reason for cutting commanded by professional coaches; little if any personal initiative of men’s sports? ordinary play is left to the player. The great matches are highly profit- able enterprises. Sometimes the profits go to finance college sports, Title IX is an excuse. A one that lazy administrators have uti- sometimes to pay the cost of the sports amphitheater, in some cases the lized to justify cutting men’s programs. The reality is that schools college authorities take a slice of the profits for college buildings…. The can reach compliance in three ways: participation ratio, expansion, question is not so much whether athletics in their present form should and accommodation. The lazy approach is to cut men’s sports be fostered by the university, but how fully can a university that fosters so that they fall in line with the ratio. It’s dishonest and not the professional athletics discharge its primary function.” intended impact of the law, at least not by any reading of the perti- nent sections. It’s the ‘loophole’ method. And, in the end, it hurts This passage wasn’t written in 2020. It comes from a 1929, women’s sports, putting the ‘blame’ on a law designed to foster 300+ page report on the state of college sports. It aimed to provide and expand opportunities. Track and Field is particularly suscep- insight and an answer to why athletics is so intertwined with col- tible in this regard, as a single athlete potentially counts as three. lege life and whether that’s a good thing. Why? Cross-Country, Indoor, and Outdoor. So when you cut XC For a long time, we’ve battled this notion of what role athletics and track, you don’t eliminate the actual number of athletes, say plays in our collegiate system. We’ve succumbed to the idea that 50, you eliminate 150. Athletic departments use it as a loophole to college sports should be revenue-based when going back over two justify cutting non-revenue men’s sports. centuries, that hasn’t been the case. Football has been a revenue The other reason? Financial. Let’s look at this in two ways. First, generator, at least for some schools, for quite a long time. Even how much money is saved? that 1929 report makes it clear that football drives the revenue Look at the University of Akron, who cut their cross-country bus. team. A sport that’s travel budget, even for a major program, can But you know what they didn’t do in 1929? Decide that all be between $8,000 and $20,000 in a year for a single program. sports need to be revenue generators. There’s value in sports, even Whose equipment budget can be as low as a couple of hundred ones that don’t bring in money. dollars, and who needs a single coach making $40-50K a year to complete. That’s it. The financial savings are minimal, especially for We don’t cut the philosophy or music department because it’s major schools’ athletic department budgets in the $40-100 million non-revenue. We don’t demand that those kids majoring in some dollar range per year. You are talking about keeping a sport for the esoteric math are less worthy than the business school students cost of a football manager or two. who are being counted on to donate hefty sums of money back once they make it big. But when it comes to track, gymnastics, In the sport of track and field, where total budgets for teams swimming, and most other college sports, we attach a label that reach into the $1-2 million range, you might think, oh, we’ll be anyone in college sports dreads: non-revenue. It is a label designed saving lots. Well, not as much as you’d think, as wonderfully to make those sports feel thankful that they are around. That’s outlined by Jordan Carpenter on twitter. The vast majority of track some serious BS. teams are keeping their women’s team. Which means at least half of the coaches stay on staff, you still have to furnish and maintain And in fact, just like the philosophy department, athletics are a track, equipment, etc., that is largely shared between teams. revenue sports. They bring in money from donors, ticket sales, And if the issue is financial, why not try to solve that problem? and tuition. Take men’s Track, for instance, with a total scholar- Implement a competition schedule that is mainly regional and ship allotment of 12.6, that means that a team of 50 individuals local cut scholarship allotment, ax excess spending on recruiting, is paying a heck of a lot for tuition, room, and board. And just like and ask for more significant alumni donations. You know, all those their friends in the college of engineering, many chose their school things that programs had to do in the 1960s and ’70s. Is it ideal? based on the reputation of the sport of their choosing. Do I want Olympic sports budgets drained? Of course not. But if If athletics are tied to underclassmen in universities, their you’re asking me whether or not we need a sustainable model for worth shouldn’t be connected to the money they may or may not ALL sports, then the answer is yes. make the school. (That’s left for the professionals, which is another And this comes back to my original point: track and Field or conversation we can have at a later time.) The worth of a sport is any other sport isn’t required or even meant to make a profit. It’s in the same qualities that we’ve talked about for centuries: the accepted they don’t. The non-revenue level comes in as a justifica-

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 5 - November 2020 tion. An, Oh you weren’t pulling your weight so you’re gone, argu- what someone else has gone through, and how they don’t have to ment. When the deal, in the beginning, wasn’t to pursue profit but worry about the things that you or I do. The times we go through to develop people. the airport security, and everyone sees that the man of Muslim faith on the team always gets searched…randomly. The long car If the problem is financial, then it largely rests with the admin- rides through the middle of nowhere, stopping at the sandwich istration: a misappropriation of funds and budgets; a runaway shop and seeing why our African American brothers feel uncom- spending on exorbitant salaries; constant upgrading of facilities; a fortable and uneasy in such situations. And yes, even that one chasing of the golden goose of TV revenue contracts. Like a gam- time when running with a minority, a cop pulls up beside him and bler or drug addict, a craving for more, more, more, all in the hopes asks if he was involved with a burglary…because a man running that you hit the jackpot. in short shorts and no shirt obviously stole something… Being If your school is cutting sports, you went for broke. You bet around suffering through trials and tribulations. Being at our low- the farm on the golden paved road of facilities with slides and est lows together and being forced to be vulnerable is a good thing. putt-putt golf, of TV’s in every locker room. You fell for the hit of dopamine, the desire hormone that propels us forward, neglecting According to Brené Browne’s brilliant work, vulnerability comes the bigger picture. To be fair, coaches and athletes fell for it too. before trust. We need to be open, to see each other at our lowest A desire to keep up with the Jones’s, often in the guise of setting moments, to recognize the humanity in others. That vulnerabil- ourselves up for recruiting success. ity triggers a response of trust and acceptance. It creates bonds, If you are cutting sports, the fault lies in a collective push for ex- breaks down barriers. And in all my years of coaching, I’m con- cess. Not on title IX, not on the pandemic. It’s the result of chasing vinced that the best place for that to occur is out on the athletic the fortune, until the boat took on too much water, then sacrific- field. When you push yourself to the brink of exhaustion in prac- ing your own, kicking them to the curb, all to keep the ship afloat. tice and races, vulnerability follows. We see each other succumb to pressure, breakdown and cry, feel the weight of expectations Why Sports Are Needed For Real Success or disappointment, collapse on the side of the track from pure So let’s get to the main point. Why do we need sports in college? physical and emotional exhaustion. We see ourselves at our most We could around stats and figures, look at the history of vulnerable. The raw, unfiltered self. We see each other as humans, sport, and detail the research on its impact of well-being. But I’m all trying to do a little bit better. here to defend the sport I know best, track and field. Can it happen out in the real world or the classroom? It should. The “father of American college athletics” was a man named It doesn’t nearly enough. We can hold on to our facade of tough- Charles Follen. How did he attain such a distinction? In 1824, he ness and put-togetherness, keep to ourselves, stay in our group, took as many students as he could from Harvard on a run. “The ignore the discomfort. But one place I KNOW it does happen is on entire body of students, except the few lame and the fewer lazy, the track—a place where discomfort finds you. The military -un on a run without pause, from the Delta to the top of the hill now derstands this concept, recognizing that going through adversity, crowned by the most conspicuous of the Somerville churches, physical and emotional suffering, brings a squadron together. The and back again after a ten-minute halt.” In a way, modern college same holds true for athletics. When you’re part of a diverse team, sports are all thanks to a professor taking his students on a run… who all come together and have to make sense of this new bubble Track is an interesting sport. It’s sometimes thought of as an of a world they live, eat, and train in. individual sport that comes together as one. But I tend to see the sport of track and field as a reflection of society. So in this moment of recognition of injustice and inequality, taking away a sport so valuable that opens eyes is just not right. A group of individuals tied together by a commonality that may I’m not saying track and field is perfect or the cure-all. It isn’t. But not have the same background or perform the same job as their having been involved in it from the age of 12, I can assure you that neighbor, but for society to function best, they need to put those it changes perspective. And we desperately need more of that. differences aside and function as one. So as we head down the path of cutting track and field from That’s a track team: Sprinters, jumpers, throwers, distance ath- universities, let’s at least understand what we are losing. We are letes, multi’s, pole vaulters. And if we peer into those groups, we willfully giving away the most diverse sport, the most egalitarian see diversity. A collection of athletes from a myriad of countries. one. A place where your spot on the starting line is determined by Of every race and ethnicity. Coming from suburbs, the inner city, your performance. Not favoritism or bias. But what you’ve done. border towns, small islands, and every point along the socioeco- nomic status spectrum. All come together, mixing and matching. When American colleges adopted sport, they did so for a reason. It wasn’t to make money, though that may have come in some And that’s the beauty of the sport. Great teams figure out a way sports. It was because it aided in the development of the person. It to come together. And they thrive in seeing and understanding helped the school, providing outlets and an experience. those differences. Some of the proudest moments in my coach- We may have strayed far from that ideal. We may have gone so ing career aren’t victories or records, but moments of humanity. far down the rabbit hole that we can’t see how ridiculous the arms Moments where walls were broken down, where perspective was race in facilities and spending has become. We can’t see that we changed. It’s the kids who grew up in a small town, never inter- are sacrificing the experience of athletes on campus and genera- acting with a black person, becoming deeply close and connected tions to come, all in the name of the all mighty dollar. The quest with one. It’s seeing the elimination of prior prejudices and biases. for glory in a few sports (read: football, and maybe, for a select few Ones that were a product of where they grew up, more than what schools, basketball). The quest for titles, promotions, and glory. All was in their heart. It’s when in the moment of one of your greatest the while, we portray our athletic departments doing everything successes, you take the focus off yourself and show humanity and for those we are put in charge of developing. Funny, right? compassion to your teammates. “We’re here to lean on each other, when we need each other.” There are still programs left that value their real mission. Who willfully let students voices be heard, who support their athletes Now more than ever, we need sports like track. Ones where we and staff, who fight to keep opportunities available. Kudos to bring together individuals from a wide variety of places and races. you. But if you have not, if you have chosen the easy route and And they are forced to interact, to become a family, to see that the eliminated sports without even a whiff of trying to ask how can we world is much larger. Every day I see the benefits of those experi- keep these opportunities available—even if that means significant ences. The breaking down of racial divides, the understanding of adjustments—then you’ve failed TAFWA Newsletter - Page 6 - November 2020 The Gophers’ Loyd LaMois made it 45 feet, 10 inches to win what was called the hop, step and jump -- now known as the -- in the 1948 NCAA meet. Gophers Leaders, Mark Coyle Get It Wrong: Men’s Track And Field Program Too Good To Cut Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle should have made other decisions, and found the money necessary in football’s fat budget to save the men’s track team. By Patrick Reusse | Star Tribune https://www.startribune.com/reusse-wrong-call-coyle-men-s-track-program-too-good-to-cut/572442292/ The University of Minnesota hosted the Now a staple as the triple jump, it was “This was the first time I jumped from a NCAA track and field meet at Memorial known as the “hop, step and jump” and was board,” LaMois said. “I tried the hop, step Stadium in June 1948. Southern Cal, led by contested at the NCAAs only in Olympic and jump for the first time in practice last the great sprinter , was consid- years. It was so novel to Minnesotans that week.” ered a cinch to take away the team title. track expert Sid Hartman offered a two- Of such resolve have been Gophers Fortune Gordien was a muscular young paragraph primer on its components in the trackmen, before and for 72 years since, man from Minneapolis Roosevelt and a next day’s Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. although not for much longer. future world record-holder in the discus This was necessary because Loyd • • • throw for 10 years. He won the discus and LaMois, from Akeley, Minn., pointed to- The acreage occupied by the University finished second in the for the ward the event by coach , hopped, of Minnesota’s track and field facility Gophers, and other points were found here stepped and jumped 43 feet, 10 inches, to behind the Bierman Building was sacrificed and there, and late on the second day, it win the event and the NCAA championship for the massive Athletes Village that would came down to the last event: for the Gophers. cost $170 million, primarily to boost the TAFWA Newsletter - Page 7 - November 2020 football program. scholarships. ner for Gophers coaching legend Roy Griak Athletic director Norwood Teague seized Solid deal for the U, it seems, when you in the late ’70s. He ran for Nike in Oregon the land with no plan for replacing the also consider track athletes as a whole are and for the United States in two Olympics track and field facility. Those athletes were outstanding academic achievers, and the (1988, ’92) and four world championships. shipped over to Hamline’s track facility and men’s program is a true link to the East Af- Then, he came back to Minnesota in 1996 that resulted in a federal Title IX complaint rican community that has been a growing to replace Griak as the cross-country coach. from the women’s program. part of the Twin Cities metro area. He has been coaching at Minnesota for Mark Coyle became the AD in May 2016 This started with the great Hassan 24 years, and for now, his men’s cross- and, four months later, announced a plan Mead, born in Somalia, who came here country team — with 17 current athletes to build a track and field stadium and facil- with his family, and ran at Minneapolis and five planned scholarships — has ity — east of Siebert Field — that eventu- South as a high school senior, and there survived the 2021-22 shutdown. ally would cost $19 million. were other Gophers distance runner of We talked for a few minutes this week, “It is important for us to have an NCAA- renown, including Garry Bjorklund, Steve with the understanding no negative level track and field facility on campus,” Plasencia, Buddy Edelen, Don Timm and remarks would be made toward his bosses. Coyle said to university officials in early on through the decades. Yet, the emotion of what’s taking place was September 2016. The Gophers’ last NCAA champion in evident, as Plasencia took a brief break to Two years later, in July 2018, the men’s track was Obsa Ali in the 3,000-me- compose himself. university’s recreation department and its ter steeplechase in 2018. He was raised in I had asked about academics and later facilities management office announced by a grandmother and moved to he texted this: “Our men’s team for the that a $7.4 million renovation would take Richfield in 2007. 2020 indoor season led the nation with 16 place to vastly upgrade the ancient U of M I interviewed him for an hour a couple individual All-Academic awards from the Field House on University Ave. of weeks before that steeplechase triumph [U.S. Track and Field and CrossCountry] The Field House receives much general in Eugene, Ore. Bright, committed, suc- Coaches Association. There were only five usage and has been the primary home to cessful, grateful to the university and the other programs with more than 10.” indoor track and field. There are three large Gophers coaches for their belief in him. OK, that’s dandy, but we need 10 more meets scheduled for the Field House this Coyle took a look at the costly new walk-ons, and five more assistants to the winter, starting with the Minnesota Open facilities and renovations, and the legacy of assistant coaches, and three more train- on Jan. 11. recent athletes such as Ali and Mead, and ers, and anything else football can find on This aggressive approach to track and a week ago he announced that men’s track which to waste its profits, so sorry track field facilities seemed to indicate a solid and field was being dropped, along with guys … we can’t have you cluttering up the future for both genders of the former men’s tennis and gymnastics, starting in study areas at the Athletes Village. Hamline orphans. With the men in 2019- 2021-22. There are video games to be played in 20, there were 71 athletes splitting 12.6 Plasencia was a spectacular distance run- there.

2020 USATF Annual Meeting To Be Held Virtually INDIANAPOLIS — USATF’s 42nd An- nual meeting will be held virtually, USATF announced today. The annual meeting of the sports administrators, coaches, volun- teers and athletes is set for December 3-6. Additional details will be forthcoming.

“It became clear to us that a virtual ver- sion of the USATF Annual meeting had to be made a reality,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “Taking the safety and well-being of our constituents into account, as well as the guidance of our COVID-19 working John Capriotti, seen here at Hayward Field with Max Siegel, head of USA Track & Field, group, this is the best option to serve our was one of the sports powerbrokers. members.” Credit: Kirby Lee LC- Image of SportLC- Image of Sport

A full schedule and further details for Nike’s Track And Field Overlord John the 2020 meeting will be available soon. Capriotti Retires Amid Cost-Cuts In Hall of Fame induction postponed Sports Marketing Operation The 2020 Hall of Fame selection and induction will be postponed until 2021. https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2020/09/nikes-track-and-field-over- lord-john-capriotti-eyes-consulting-role-in-post-nike-future.html TAFWA Newsletter - Page 8 - November 2020 The Fall Of Lamine Diack https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/the-fall-of-lamine-diack The unmasking of Lamine Diack as one of the great sinners in the rie Hunault, told the court in Paris: “The €3,2m was paid in exchange history of sport began with a police raid on All Saints’ Day (November for a programme of ‘full protection’,” adding the scheme allowed 1) in 2015. athletes who should have been suspended “purely and simply to escape At this point Diack, the head of global athletics for 16 years and sanctions. a distinguished figure at the International Olympic Committee, had “You violated the rules of the game.” yet to be implicated in a growing scandal involving Russian marathon Diack Sr, who was convicted of active and passive corruption and runner Liliya Shobukhova, who had secretly paid €450 000 to senior breach of trust, has said he will appeal. figures at the International Association of Athletics Federations to Diack Jr, who was tried in absentia on charges of money launder- hide a doping violation. ing and breach of trust because Senegal refuses to extradite him, was But everything changed on that unseasonably warm November day. sentenced to five years in prison and fined €1m. In sentencing Diack When police arrested Diack in his room at the Sheraton Hotel at Jr, the judge said US$15m had been funnelled to his companies while Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, they also uncovered his computer, his father was in charge at the IAAF. which housed a treasure trove of secrets. The judge added that the Diacks had worked together in diverting And nearly five years later, it has finally led to Diack — along with funds, telling Diack Sr that there was “an understanding between you five other former senior figures at the athletics’ governing body — -be and your son”. ing convicted of corruption. Incredibly, investigators also found evidence Diack Sr had agreed Among crucial police discoveries that day was a strictly confidential the “full protection” agreement with senior Russian politicians in e-mail from his son Papa Massata Diack sent in 2013, warning him exchange for funding to help his friend Macky Sall win the 2012 Sen- that some at the IAAF were questioning why several Russians were egalese presidential election. competing at the world championships in Moscow despite having In the French prosecutors’ files, it is alleged that the “full protec- failed doping tests. tion” deal was done around the time of a lunch at the Ritz Carlton At the time the Diacks were able to keep a lid on their scheme in Moscow in November 2011, just after Diack Sr was awarded the following what Papa Massata euphemistically called “lobbying and Friendship medal by the then president, . Those explanation work” with IAAF staff. present included the then Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, That “work” included paying head of communications Nick Davies along with Lamine Diack, Papa Massata Diack, Cissé and the former €25 000 and then €5 000 in IAAF treasurer Valentin Balachnikev. cash in envelopes partly to The respected former IAAF senior counsel Huw Roberts also told assuage his wife, Jane Boultier- French investigators that Lamine and had also held Davies, who worked in the discussions. anti-doping department and “Diack told me that he had gone to with his Senegalese was raising awkward questions. football team and that he had met Putin for the first time on this occa- Davies and his wife were sion,” he said. found not guilty of corruption “At the end of this monologue Diack told me that Putin helped with by the IAAF ethics board. the elections in Senegal, without explaining how he helped him.” In Eventually, though, the Paris last week Cissé was also sent to prison for three years and fined story would blow spectacularly €100 000, while Dollé was handed a two-year suspended sentence and open — leading to Davies los- a €144 000 fine. Nick Davies ing his job and Lamine Balakhnichev and Alexei Melnikov, the former head moving into the firing line. The more French investigators distance coach of the Russian national team, were also began to dig, the more they realised that Shobukhova was found guilty and given jail terms. The Paris criminal far from a lone case. court also awarded what is now World Athletics In fact under a scheme devised by Diack Sr, dubbed €16m for embezzled funds and for reputational “full protection”, 22 other Russian athletes paid be- damage suffered as a direct consequence of these tween €100 000 and €600 000 in exchange for having crimes and the resulting media coverage. their doping bans hushed up so they could compete In a statement World Athletics said it would at the London 2012 Olympics and in Moscow a year “do everything we can to recover the monies later. awarded, and return them to the organisation Diack Sr had known all along. for the development of athletics globally”. Another email uncovered by investigators The governing body surely will try, although detailed the price lists for each Russian, which were few hold out much hope it will succeed. provided by Diack Jr. It is highly unlikely that we have heard that In total, €3,2m was made, of which €600 000 last of the Diacks, given they are being investi- came back to Diack Sr’s lawyer, Habib Cissé, as gated on suspicions of corruption in the “legal aid” — while the IAAF’s head of anti- awarding of the 2016 Olympic doping, Gabriel Dollé, was also paid by Games to Rio de Janeiro the Diacks to look the other way. and the 2020 Games After sentencing Diack to Tokyo. Sr to four years in Whatever prison — two of happens in which are sus- the future, pended — and though, the fining him notoriety of €500 000, both men the judge, is surely Rose-Ma- assured.

TAFWA Tokyo Olympics Consulting Firm Paid $370,000 To IOC Member’s Son https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/09/30fd04574e52-tokyo-olympics-consulting-firm-paid-370000-to-ioc-members-son.html

NCAA Division I Council Extends Eligibility For Winter Sports Athletes, Waives Football Bowl Requirements https://www.ntdaily.com/ncaa-division-i-council-extends-eligibility-for-winter-sports-athletes-waives-football-bowl- requirements/ The NCAA Division I Council announced several rule changes for the 2020 season today impacting football and winter sports competition. These include allowing an extra year of eligibility for winter sports athletes and waiving the minimum win requirement for football bowl selections.

The Council’s ruling on additional eligibility for winter sports athletes means senior athletes in sports like basketball, indoor track and field and swimming and diving will be able to compete this season and still have an additional year of eligi- bility for next season. This ruling is similar to one made in March providing an additional year of eligibility to athletes who competed in spring sports and had their seasons cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Council chair M. Grace Calhoun said the additional eligibility was approved due to the uncertainty of winter teams’ sea- sons during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the NCAA.

“The pandemic will continue to impact winter sport seasons in ways we can’t predict,” Calhoun said. “Council members opted to provide for winter sport student-athletes the same flexibility given spring and fall sports previously. The actions today ensure the continuation of local decision-making in the best interest of each institution and its student-athletes.” Los Angeles 2028 Activity In his latest TSX report, Rich Perelman sends the following impressive news about Los Angeles’s activities leading up to its Summer Games that are still eight years away:

Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 - The City of Los Angeles Recreation & Parks Department filed a report noting its activities to date from funding provided by the LA 2028 organiz- ing committee.

The SwimLA programs over the past two years spent $2,000,713 and a new request for $2,480,992 was made for its Fall 2020 Project plan. This will include:

(1) $472,082 for weekly classes in Badminton, Dance, Sports & Games and Fitness, at 50 different sites, with a $10 registration fee.

(2) $1,280,847 for bi-monthly clinics at 50 sites in Basketball Skills, Baseball and Softball, Field Hockey and Tennis

(3) $322,151 for instruction in Track & Field for ages 5-15, including sprints, middle distance, long distance, , , triple jump, shot put and javelin, at 15 different sites. The Parks & Recreation Department also committed to renovating 6-8 facilities with crushed-granite running surfaces.

(4) $30,912 to support Golf instruction for ages 10-15, in weekly sessions at four different courses.

(5) $275,000 for marketing outreach and branding of the program, and

(6) $100,000 for “continued development of the Safe Sport partnership with the U.S. Center for Safe Sport.”

LA28 committed a total of $160 million to these programs from 2018 through 2028, with annual funding of $19.2 mil- lion from July of this year through June of 2028. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 10 - November 2020 Men’s College Track Is Being Threatened In Budget-Strapped Division I Athletic Departments By Ken Goe | The Oregonian | https://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/2020/09/mens-college-track-is-being-threat- ened-in-budget-strapped-division-i-athletic-departments.html The news hit Ben Blankenship earlier this month with the “This is a scary time,” Lananna says. “You look at what force of an airborne, 16-pound shot. Minnesota did, a Power Five school, a member of the Big The University of Minnesota was responding to the Ten, and that’s not a good message. Everyone needs to be coronavirus pandemic and resulting a $75 million athletic concerned about this.” department budget deficit by cutting several men’s sports, Former Minnesota track star Harun Abda, like Blanken- among them track and field. ship a professional runner with OTC, emigrated to the U.S. Minnesota is only the latest Division I athletic program from Ethiopia as a child. His parents had difficulty provid- to deal with the financial crisis in college sports by cutting ing for the family after settling in Fridley, Minnesota. men’s track. “As a refugee and a Black man, going to the University of If this becomes a trend, it would threaten the viability Minnesota was out of the picture for me, especially when of one of the Olympic movement’s bellwether sports at the my parents worked two jobs and still could not put enough college level. Critics also contend it would fall dispropor- food on the table,” Abda writes in an open letter. tionately on athletes of color and is tone deaf given money His world changed, he writes, when he accepted a track lavished on college football. scholarship to Minnesota. Blankenship honed his running talent at Minnesota. It “If you eliminate men’s track, you eliminate an access to ushered him to a professional career with Oregon Track education for those student-athletes,” Lananna says. “That Club Elite and to the 2016 Olympics, where he competed for should be our message. We provide an access to education, Team USA in the 1,500 meters. especially for young men of color. And that wouldn’t be for It was as if all the pride Blankenship took in wearing a just a few kids. To me that is monstrous, a terrible disser- Minnesota singlet, of representing his home state, and in vice.” everything he has accomplished during and since were of no In June, Brown University reversed an earlier decision to importance to Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle and eliminate men’s track after deciding the cuts would dispro- university president Joan T.A. Gabel. portionally fall on Black athletes. “I don’t think it matters what I think,” Blankenship says. Sam Seemes, chief executive of the U.S. Track & Field and Certainly, they didn’t solicit his opinion before bringing Cross Country Coaches Association, notes Minnesota is one down the budget ax. Minnesota’s conference, the Big Ten, of many schools that has made a commitment to diversity a since has decided to restart the 2020 football season this part of its mission statement. fall, which should mitigate the school’s anticipated financial “When people talk about diversity and inclusion, I don’t hit. But Coyle and Gabel aren’t reconsidering. believe there is another sport that is even close to track and Though Minnesota’s cuts must still be ratified by the uni- field,” Seemes says. “We have tall people. We have short versity’s board of trustees. Blankenship isn’t optimistic. people. We have heavy people. We have thin people. We “They wouldn’t have come out with a such a strong state- have people of different colors. We have people of different ment if the board hadn’t already signed off on the idea,” he races. We have people of different nationalities.” says. What college track and field doesn’t have is much of a Other schools have made similar decisions. Akron cut the spectator following, at least outside of the University of men’s cross country program and slashed funding for men’s Oregon. track. William & Mary is eliminating seven varsity sports, Oregon is protected by a tradition extending to the late including men’s track. Bill Bowerman, who coached the Ducks to national promi- Football and, to a lesser extent, men’s basketball are rev- nence from 1948 to 1972 and co-founded Nike with former enue generators for Division I college athletics. Virtually all UO athlete Phil Knight. Knight remains a powerful patron other sports, including men’s track, are budget losers. of the program. The pandemic canceled last spring’s NCAA men’s basket- On most college campuses, though, the sport operates in ball tournament and forced schools to postpone or alter the virtual anonymity. 2020 football season in a way that has a left a major hole in It’s a problem, because without a constituency, either most athletic department budgets. on campus or in the greater community, track and field is Federal law mandates equal opportunity in education for without allies when the budget-cutting starts. men and women. Since no women’s sport has a roster the “It’s human nature,” Seemes says. “I really believe admin- size of a college football team, non-revenue men’s sports are istrators look at those things and say, ‘OK, where am I going vulnerable when the belt-tightening starts. to get the most backlash? Where am I going to get the least? There were 146 Division I men’s wrestling programs in I know I’m going to take a punch or two. What I don’t want 1981. There are 75 now. There were 210 Division I men’s is to have a 15-round fight.’” gymnastics programs in 1969. There are 15 now, and that Track’s modus operandi gets part of the blame. College includes Minnesota, which is moving to eliminate it. coaches increasingly have been unconcerned about appeal- Men’s track could be the next sport to start circling the ing to the general public. They have eschewed scored meets, drain. Minnesota’s move to terminate it caught the atten- in which one school competes head-to-head against others tion of Vin Lananna, track coach at Virginia and president in dual, triangular or quadrangular team competitions. of USA Track & Field. Instead, they send athletes to big invitationals, which TAFWA Newsletter - Page 11 - November 2020 often last all day or multiple days and in which team scores “There is an expectation and sense of entitlement among aren’t kept. It’s not rare for a college program to send ath- Olympic sports athletes that they deserve to fly across letes in one event group to one invitational and others else- country repeatedly, multiple times in a season for competi- where on the same weekend in search of the best individual tion and have all the bells and whistles,” she says. “And to competition. point at the football program and say, ‘We deserve what The University of Oregon hasn’t had any home meets they have.’” since 2018 because of the reconstruction of Hayward Field. Certainly, there is widespread resentment among those That season, the Ducks competed twice at home in the regu- in non-revenue sports fighting to hang onto varsity status lar season, the scored, four-team Pepsi Team Invitational about the scale on which Division I football programs oper- and the Oregon Twilight, for which many of the better ate. The football coach’s compensation package is larger in UO athletes sat out to rest for the following week’s Pac-12 many cases than the entire budget for men’s track. championships at Stanford. The hard reality is, football programs spend lavishly The remainder of the outdoor regular season saw the because they compete with other Division I programs doing Ducks hopscotching up and down the West Coast with little the same thing. regard for the hometown spectators. “If Olympic sports athletes are going to be critical of what Lananna, who previously coached at Oregon, wants col- is happening in a responsible way that is knowledgeable of lege track to reemphasize on-campus competition pitting the overall enterprise, we have to be good allies to football teams against each other, not individuals scattered around programs first and football athletes first,” Jackson says. “I the country competing against a stopwatch or tape mea- haven’t been seeing that as much.” sure. That means understanding and accepting that athletes in When he was in Eugene, the Ducks regularly scheduled a revenue sports might be entitled to greater financial com- men’s dual meet with UCLA. pensation than the value of a scholarship. “Our agreement was no one would send their student- It also might mean accepting the Fortune 500 motif of athletes anywhere else that weekend,” he says. “They would many college football facilities. It’s a cost of doing business. compete in that meet unless they were hurt.” Thousands of people pay to watch football games in Casual fans who don’t get the significance of a 46-second person and on television. In most cases, track meets draw 400 meters, understand when the Ducks beat the Bruins. friends and family members. It’s even better when a scored meet comes down to the con- “I’m not on the page about cutting back on football and cluding 4x400 relay, the anchor legs neck and neck on the basketball,” Lananna says. “Being bitter about football and final straight. The times don’t matter. The victory does. all of that is a waste of breath. It’s a losing argument.” Former elite distance runner Victoria Jackson is a profes- Athletes in Olympics sports in general and men’s track in sor and sports historian at Arizona State. She wants the particular have bigger problems. major colleges and college athletes to take a fresh look at College football isn’t going anywhere. Men’s track is in a athletic programs top to bottom. fight for survival. Clickable University of Oregon video of walk-through of new Hayward Field by the Oregon team LINK: t.co/7L1KVh5bQH

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 12 - November 2020 Pole Vaulter Clark Speaks Out On Confederate Flag

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER MEGAN CLARK / SEP 22, 2020 https://www.oiselle.com/blogs/oiselle-blog/knowledge-is-power? Haute Volée pole-vaulter Megan Clark made the best of this Covid-19 competition season and was transitioning smoothly into her off-season when an Instagram post brought her up short. Learn from Megan below about how to create a truly inclusive athletic environment and culture that we can be proud of. Thank you, Megan, for your immediate instinct to share your experience and your willingness to educate all of us!

The other week, Vaulter Magazine reposted an image from a club that prominently featured a confederate flag. There was no pole vault going on in the photo, just people standing under a collection of flags watching video. It was offensive, divisive, and absolutely unacceptable to post or share. So I took to Instagram and voiced my opinion. This sort of post does not embody the pole vault community, and as members and leaders, we have an obligation to stand up for what is right. So I did. Simple, right? Vaulter Magazine takes the post down, apologizes for posting it, and we all move on. But that’s not what happened.

Yes, they took it down and privately apologized, admitting that it never should have been reposted and assuring me that it would never happen again, but then people started defending it, defending them, and blaming me for creating “a lynch mob mentality.” This tells me that there are a lot of people who still don’t understand the problem. Here are the facts. It was a confederate flag. It is a symbol of hate that inspires fear. It does nothing but divide our community. It should never have been posted, and we should take issue with that sort of hateful content regardless of who posts it. We do not need that in our lives, in our sport, or in our community.

For those of you who fall into the it’s-not-a-confederate-flag, it’s-part-of-a-flag-collection, or the why-are-people-so-of- fended camps, let me just explain something to you: The privilege of looking at a confederate flag without feeling fear is just that, privilege. Some have remarked that it is a confederate-ish flag that I interpreted one way or another. I implore you to take another look at it. It’s a confederate flag with a punisher symbol on it, inside of which, the confederate flag is complet- ed. It’s hard to reconcile that people were not aware of this when that was the first and only thing I saw. That flag, whether part of a collection or not, incites fear-- fear of violence, fear of oppression, and fear of tyranny. The atrocities that have been perpetrated under, and in the name of that flag against people that look like me are too many to count. Just knowing that you’ve created an environment that draws this fear out of people should be enough to take it down.

The privilege of looking at a confederate flag without feeling fear is just that, privilege.

For those of you who think the confederate flag is a symbol for “states’ rights,” I urge you to think about which “state right” they fought and died to protect. It was the right to oppress and enslave black people. It’s that simple. And for all of you who remain unswayed by my argument above, know that our federal government recognizes the confederate flag as a symbol of hatred. It’s banned on every Department of Defense installation worldwide. That flag was created and flown by people who were fighting AGAINST the United States to keep slavery. It was never and will never be the symbol of Ameri- can patriotism. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 13 - November 2020 As for those who feel I’ve created a “lynch mob mentality,” I ask you to look at yourselves. Is it wise or prudent to use a term that describes violent crimes committed against black people in this country for centuries to describe what is going on here? Absolutely not. As an athlete and member of this pole vault community, my responsibility is to create an inclusive, supportive environment online and in person to our youth, regardless of who that offends. They deserve to feel safe and welcome in our sport, despite the stark lack of racial diversity in pole vault.

Obviously, I do not support the propagation of fear and violence in our community in any form, including that of hate mail or death threats. Those of you who think that backlash from my (or anyone else’s) call to change is the source of violence, I challenge you to consider that the action, not my reaction, incited people. The people responsible for posting/ reposting/sharing are being portrayed by many as victims, and those of us who spoke against the racially charged photo are posed as aggressors. We all have to accept the consequences of our actions, whether we believe we deserve them or not. For me last week, one consequence was finding out which of my sponsors would unconditionally support me, and which would balk and threaten to withdraw support.

This is not about me or Vaulter Magazine, but instead, about creating an environment and culture that we are proud of. We need a community that comes together in times like these. Racism is running rampant in our country, and it is our responsibility to fight it where we can. I hope those of you who were missing the gravity of the situation now have a better understanding. Knowledge is power, and I hope we all become better equipped in this fight to stop racism in our commu- nity and in our world. Four Ways That Dance Has Helped Valarie Allman Excel In The Discus Throw

By Stevel Landells for World Athletics https://www.worldathletics.org/news/performance/valarie-allman-dance-and-discus Valarie Allman hurled the discus out to a world-leading tively. US record of 70.15m in August, becoming the 25th member “Dance was my first love,” she recalls. “Growing up, it was of the event’s still-exclusive 70-metre club. We chat to the such a fun and challenging sport that had endless opportu- 25-year-old Texas-based athlete about how her background nities to learn.” in dance has enabled her to excel in the discus circle. “It was so exciting to try new movements and gain con- For as long as she can remember, Valarie Allman danced. fidence in how my body moved with practice. To see such She embraced ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap and contemporary clear progress was so rewarding.” dance early on and from the age of 10 performed competi- Identifying her physical attributes of height and coordi- TAFWA Newsletter - Page 14 - November 2020 nation, her high school track coach encouraged Allman to “There are clear comparisons you can make between per- give the sport a crack in her early teens. forming in high intensity competition – whether that is in She agreed and while continuing to dance she tried the dance or athletics,” Sion says. “Over time, we have seen that high jump, 200m, and 400m. While she enjoyed the sport, Valarie generally performs well in high level, pressure-filled Allman did not yet feel she had discovered her athletics call- competitions and this is absolutely a skill she has developed ing when she decided to try throwing simply so she could over time going back to her younger dancing days.” attend the throwers annual spaghetti dinner. Finding the prospect attractive, Allman, at 14, had her 3. Refining the art of body movement first encounter with the discus. She was instantly hooked. Allman believes having a deep connection with body “From the get-go, I found I had a weird knack for it.” movement through dance has been “incredibly beneficial” She quickly set a school record for the event of 100 feet 2 during her discus career. inches, just over 30 metres. “Pretty quickly discus became a “When I first started discus, my brain instinctively priority for me. I did both dance and track for a year before thought of the movement as choreography,” she explains. fully transitioning to track.” “I was able to learn rudimentary discus technique relatively So, how has dance helped her discus career? Allman quickly by thinking of the movement through the lens of shares four ways. my dance background. 1. Discipline In their simplest form, both dance and discus are about There is little doubt in Allman’s mind that performing fluidity and connecting movements.” as a dancer for more than a decade instilled in her good Sion supports Allman’s comments. “Similar to dance, self-discipline, which has served her well as an elite discus crisp lines and angles can be seen when an athlete executes thrower. proper technique. Valarie’s movement through the ring is “Dance taught me an incredible level of discipline,” fluid, graceful, powerful, and aesthetically pleasing. Learn- explains Allman, a Stanford University graduate. “From a ing choreographed routines has helped her posture, lines, young age, dance was a big part of my life. It quickly became and ability to connect movements with speed – all of which a huge commitment of four hours a day, five or six times a translate to the discus. It’s interesting, Valarie does a double week.” pirouette at the end of her throw. The double pirouette is a “So much of dance is precision. At training, we would do little stylistic, but definitely functional in terms of decel- movements over and over to find ways to make them just a erating her body after releasing the discus and saving the little better and more refined. It taught me how important throw.” it is to think about the smallest of details and how there are always ways to improve.” 4. Coachability 2. To perform under pressure According to Sion, Allman’s coach for the past four years, Performing complex choreographed routines which her body awareness leads to one big advantage as an elite require precision while the adrenaline flows is what Allman athlete. consistently prepared for as a dancer. “Valarie’s kinesthetic awareness allows her to make Such skills, she feels, have stood in good stead as a technical adjustments faster than most people,” he says. thrower. “Once she makes a change, the new skill becomes engrained “Performing to your best when you are feeling so much quickly allowing us to move on to work on other improve- energy and adrenaline is a skill I’m still refining,” she says. ments. “To control the body I try to keep things simple. My hope is “One example is the way she collects her energy in the that being intentional about our priorities in training and middle of the throw before transferring that energy out into repeating them thoroughly will make them instinctive carry the sector. She brings her left arm back to her body and also over in competition. In many ways this was similar to dance brings her knees together when she lands on her right foot in that we prepared a routine and meticulously rehearsed it in the middle of the ring. This gives her an efficient axis and to ultimately perform at our best on stage.” allows her to accelerate like a ballerina. Allman’s coach, Zebulon Sion, agrees with this assess- “I feel very fortunate that Valarie is so coachable. This is ment. one of the many reasons she has improved so quickly.”

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 15 - November 2020 Catching Up With ... Unequal Footing In Track And Field: Jordan Gray’s Fight For A Women’s Decathlon

https://onherturf.nbcsports.com/2020/10/15/unequal-footing-in-track-and-field-jordan-grays-fight-for-a-womens-decathlon/ This story is the first in a new On Her Turf series called “Groundbreakers.” The series will highlight female athletes who compete in sports or events that 1) are primarily contested by men or 2) aren’t currently open to women at the highest level. Today’s story features Jordan Gray, a decathlete who is aiming to compete at the Olympics.

The false equivalency hiding in plain sight Consisting of 10 events, track & field’s decathlon determines the “world’s greatest athlete.” The event debuted on the Olympic program in 1912, when track & field was only open to men. Sixteen years later, women’s track & field premiered at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. While men contested 22 events at those Games, five were open to women: the 100m, 800m, 4x100m relay, high jump, and discus throw. (As the story goes, officials were so distraught by women running 800 meters that the event was nixed after 1928. Until it was reintroduced at the 1960 Rome Games, the 200m was the longest women’s race on the Olympic program.) As is often the case in sports, when officials finally agreed to add a women’s combined event to the Olympic program, it wasn’t identical to the corresponding men’s competition. The five-event women’s pentathlon debuted at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It was contested at five Games before being replaced by the seven-event heptathlon in 1984. Thirty-six years later, that’s still where we stand: men participate in the ten-event decathlon, while women compete in the seven-event heptathlon. The women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon are often treated as parallel and equivalent competitions. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a women’s heptathlon – or a men’s decathlon – the juxtaposition of these two events repre- sents a false equivalency, one that has become so ingrained in track & field’s culture that many people don’t even realize it exists. But not Jordan Gray, who in 2019, broke the American record in the women’s decathlon. “Every time I tell people that I’m a decathlete or that I broke the American record, they’re like, ‘Are you going to the Olympics?’ And I’m like, ‘Nope, I’m a girl.’” The ‘and’ in ‘track and field’ Gray grew up in Ball Ground, Georgia. “It’s one street. You blink and you miss it,” she says of her hometown. The oldest of four kids, Gray comes from an athletic family. She recalls her father, who played baseball in college, intro- ducing her to that sport, “From the time that we could hold a bat, he was tossing acorns for us to hit.” TAFWA Newsletter - Page 16 - November 2020 She competed in a variety of other sports (from gymnastics to taekwondo), played five instruments, and dabbled in act- ing. “I was constantly in season for something.” Still, it wasn’t until her senior year of high school that she found track & field. While nursing an ankle injury that she sustained on the basketball court, she joined the Heat Track Club. The coach of the club is Blane Williams, father of Kend- ell and Devon Williams. (Kendell, a heptathlete, competed at the 2016 Rio Games, while Devon, a decathlete, is aiming to make his Olympic debut in 2021.) Gray first tried shot put and javelin because they weren’t as grueling on her ankle, but she quickly began running and jumping too. Ahead of her first meet, Blane suggested she try the heptathlon. “‘Whatever [Kendell] does, just copy it,’” Gray recalls Blane telling her. Gray was happy enough to oblige, but admits she was surprised when she learned some people specialized in just one or two events. “I thought we all did track and field.” The following year, she continued competing in both track and field at Kennesaw State University. While she started out as a heptathlete, it was during her freshman year that an idea was sparked. After watching the pole vault (an event that is contested as part of the decathlon, but not the heptathlon), she recalls telling her coach, Andy Eggerth, “I’m going to learn how to do this.” Her proclamation was met with a flat-out ‘no.’ Slowly, though, Eggerth warmed up to the idea. A year later, Gray got permission to train pole vault with the decathletes. A year after that, she threw discus (another decathlon-only event) at the conference championship. She reached a point where she was competing in nine of the 10 decathlon events. “I was a decathlete because I was doing all of the events at conference, but I just never got to actually do a decathlon,” she explains. “It was a good three-and-a-half years that I trained as a dec[athlete] but never got to do one.” That changed in 2019 when she competed in her first decathlon, which also happened to be the first standalone women’s decathlon national championship sanctioned by USATF. Amassing 7,921 points over the two-day competition, Gray broke a 19-year-old American women’s record and also recorded the third-highest score of all-time. Gray recalls crying after finishing the competition and hugging the meet director. “For years, everyone had been telling me, ‘No, this is just for the boys.’”

Roadblocks to a women’s decathlon? Power, money, and tradition There isn’t currently a huge campaign to trade in the women’s heptathlon for a decathlon. Gray says this is partly due to the people who are asked about the potential switch. “They mostly ask the Team USA women… And they say, ‘no,’” she explains. “Of course a lot of them to say ‘no’ because [the heptathlon] is what they’re good at. It’s like asking a shotputter, ‘Would you like all of the throws to be discus now?’” Still, Gray doesn’t want to see the heptathlon disappear entirely. “There definitely needs to be a transition period so that people who have worked their entire lives, who [have] the spon- sorship money [from] heptathlon can finish it out.” She has also heard an argument familiar to other pioneers for equality: the importance of tradition. “I’ve been told, ‘I like the tradition of the heptathlon’… There are a lot of people who probably like the tradition that I wasn’t allowed to vote, but it doesn’t mean that we kept it. There are a lot of traditions that people really liked, but they were discriminating against another group of people, so we cut it out… I think when you’re going towards equality, there are always some people who aren’t necessarily going to want the change.” Plus, it’s not like the five-event pentathlon was kept just for tradition’s sake. “If you told any heptathlete now, ‘We’re go- ing back to the pentathlon, we’re only going to do five events now,’ they’d be like ‘Heck no!’ I think the same thing is going to be true in 60 years when we have women doing the decathlon.”

Assessing an uncertain future In recent years, Gray has been forced to make a choice. Should she train as a heptathlete, the event where the Olympic spots and sponsor money are? Or should she pursue the decathlon, the event she is most passionate about? Gray, 24, has chosen the latter, opting to prioritize an event with few competitive opportunities. She’s aware of the tradeoffs. “I could actually be a better heptathlete if I stopped pole vaulting and instead did more work as a high jumper. If I stopped doing the discus, I would have another shot put day,” she explains. “But that’s not my big goal. My goal is to change sports for women and do the decathlon, which is something that I love.” Ultimately, she hopes to see a women’s decathlon contested at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “Hopefully in 2028, I’ll be 32 and rockin’ it at U.S. Champs in the decathlon.”

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 17 - November 2020 Sport Has Had To Adjust To A New Normal Before By Philip Barker Inside The Games https://www.insidethegames.biz/ar- ticles/1099627/philip-barker-blog In 2020, getting back to “normal” has been a constant theme in sport. After last week’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) Execu- tive Board meeting, President was optimistic that the Olympics would take place next year. “There is great progress being made to make these fit for the post-corona world. This makes both the Organising Com- mittee and the IOC very very confident,” said Bach. “We see also in Japan, the examples that big sports events can take place even now under the restrictions in place right now. “We also have seen a great number of inter- national events, even World Championships taking place, so this can also give the Japanese people confidence in the preparations. We can also encourage the Japanese people who have doubts to have confidence in their own efficiency.” The list of possibles included many from the United States but Seventy-five years ago, the world craved sporting normality for “after careful consideration”, the IOC sent out ballot forms with different reasons. The Second World War had seen basic standards a strong recommendation of St Moritz for the Winter Games and of humanity violated. London for the Summer. The group also inspected Wembley Sta- In the final year of the war, Felix Flatow, double gymnastics gold dium, a potential Olympic venue. medallist for Germany at the 1896 Olympics, died in a concentra- Edström reported that IOC assets totalled around CHF28,000. tion camp where he had been imprisoned because he was Jewish. In those days members were still required to fund their own travel Scotland’s Eric Liddell, champion in 1924, had been and pay a regular subscription. working as a missionary in China, but he died in an internment The Executive Committee was charged with finding “new men camp. with active interest in sports and suitable qualifications as mem- Ferenc Csik, ’s 100m freestyle champion from 1936, bers of the IOC.” was killed in an air raid whilst working as an army medic. One existing member they could have done without was Italian His compatriot, 1928 fencing gold medallist János Garay, per- Giorgio Vaccaro. He had become an IOC member in 1939. He was ished in a concentration camp only five days before the war ended. closely linked with Benito Mussolini’s Fascists but showed no Even after the fighting had stopped, Germany’s 1928 water polo inclination to do the decent thing. gold medallist Emile Benecke died at a Soviet prisoner of war camp The IOC was certainly encouraged by the emergence of a new in Riga. generation of sports stars. The surrender of Japan did not come until atomic bombs were Five thousand, many in uniform, packed into Madison Square dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Garden to watch ice skating in the early months of 1945. A few days later the IOC Executive Committee met in London. The 16-year-old Canadian champion Barbara Ann Scott won the IOC vice-president Sigfrid Edström flew in from Sweden and Av- North American ladies singles “with a performance as crisp and ery Brundage made his journey from the United States to join Lord showy as the snowy heights of her Canadian homeland.” Aberdare in London. Dick Button, 15, representing the Philadelphia Skating and Count Alberto Bonacossa had been unable to travel from Italy Humane Society, won the junior competition. Both won Olympic and the Marquis Melchior de Polignac was still in France. gold in 1948. Even so it was the first official meeting of IOC members for In February, Sugar Ray Robinson fought the “Raging Bull” Jake almost six years. LaMotta. It was their fourth meeting of six. IOC President Henri Baillet-Latour had died in 1942 when The Ring, a highly-respected American boxing magazine, de- Belgium was under Nazi occupation. clared that the bout “featured the best single round of the rivalry.” Edström reported that “he had taken charge of the activity of Robinson won on points and the pair clashed again in Septem- the IOC” from his home in Sweden. ber in what The Ring described as “Battle V”. A postal ballot had elevated the American Avery Brundage to Once more it was Sugar Ray who won on points after “Boxer vice-president. and puncher traded momentum for 12 rounds.” Most significantly, the IOC also decided that the 1948 Games La Motta later observed: “I fought him so often it’s a wonder I should go ahead. didn’t get diabetes.” “The time for preparations being very short and travelling facili- The Boston Marathon had continued uninterrupted and in ties at present very difficult, it was decided not to call a meeting 1945, the winner was the remarkable Johnny “The Elder” Kelley. of the IOC at present but postpone said meeting until September An Olympian on either side of the war, he raced in Boston on no 1946.” fewer than 61 occasions, the last time in his 85th year. The host cities for Summer and Winter Games in 1948 were “chosen by a vote by correspondence”. More of the article available through the above link TAFWA Newsletter - Page 18 - November 2020 Celebrating Women’s Running History – 50 Years Ago Today October 25, 1970 Kathrine Switzer Running Milestones: 11th Annual Atlantic City Marathon 1967: First woman to run the Boston Marathon as an of- Sara Mae & Nina – Battle for the first National Mara- ficially registered competitor. thon Championship for Women! 1972: First year women officially allowed to race at Boston – 3rd place finish in 3:29:51 This historic date marked the first time the Amateur Athletic 1972: Founded along with Nina Kuscsik, and Fred Lebow Union (AAU) allowed women to participate in a men’s mara- the first ever women’s road race in the US, the Crazylegs Mini thon. The race was the Road Runners Club (RRC) Women’s Na- Marathon, 6 miles, Central Park, New York tional Championship along the Atlantic City Boardwalk. There 1974: 5th place Boston Marathon in 3:01:39 were six starters, and four finishers; Barbara Sykes and Liz 1974: 1st place New York City Marathon in 3:07:49 Franceschini didn’t finish. Sara Mae Berman won in 3:07:10, 1975: 2nd place Boston Marathon in her personal record second place went to Nina Kuscsik in 3:14:07, third was Kathy time of 2:51:37. Miller (Kathrine Switzer) in 3:54:49. Over the next few years 1977: Founded and directed the Avon International Running Kathrine would excel in the sport both as an athlete and race Circuit – These races helped lead the way for the first Women’s series administrator. Fourth place went to Pat Tarnawsky in Olympic Marathon race in 1984. 4:45. These six women running pioneers set the stage for the 1984: ABC-TV Network commentator for the first Women’s sport of long distance running to grow. Olympic Marathon 1998: Inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Sara Mae Berman Milestones: Fame, Utica, NY – Inaugural Class 1962: Founded with husband Larry the Metropolitan Athlet- 2015: Established 261 Fearless to empower and unite ic Club, now The Cambridge Sports Union – the first competi- women through running. tive sports club in New England for men and women covering 2017: Ran 2017 Boston Marathon again, at age 70, to cel- endurance sports; running, cross-country skiing, orienteering. ebrate the 50th anniversary of her breakthrough run in 1967. 1963: Held the first season in the US of women’s cross coun- try races, in Cambridge, MA March to Vote! 1964: First female in Massachusetts to run a 5 mile road Gary Corbitt race with men. Curator: Archives 1966-1967: First female to be an officer of the Road Runners Historian: National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA) Club of American (RRCA) To learn more about Running History visit: www.tedcorbitt. 1968-69: Member of the first U.S. Women’s National Nordic Ski Team 1969 – 1971: First female finisher at the Boston Marathon 1970: 1st place in the first RRCA Women’s Marathon Cham- pionship in Atlantic City 1971: Set a marathon personal record of 3:00:35 at the Plod- ders Marathon in Avon/Brockton MA 1971: Finished 3rd behind Beth Bonner and Nina Kuscsik in the inaugural New York City Marathon Women’s Division. 2015: Inducted into Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Distance Running Hall of Fame

Nina Kuscsik Athletic Milestones: 1959: New York State Cycling Champion 1959-1960: One Mile speed skating national champion 1961: International Silver Skates Championship: All Around Title 1970: The first of 7 wins at the Yonkers Marathon 1972-74, 1977-79 1970-1971: 2nd place unofficially at the Boston Marathon 1971: At the New York Marathon, Beth Bonner 2:55:22 and Nina 2:56:04 became the first women to break 3 hours. 1972: 1st place New York Marathon in 3:08:41 and was part of a sit-down protest at the start fighting the rule that women had to start 10 minutes before or after the men. 1972: Nina won all seven marathon she competed in this year. 1973: 1st place New York Marathon in 2:57:07 1977: Set a personal record of 2:50:22 for 3rd place at the Twin Cities Marathon. 1977: Set a 50 Mile World Record of 6:35:53 in Central Park. 2012: Inducted into the Distance Running Hall of Fame

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 19 - November 2020 A 100 YEAR CELEBRATION OF WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

By Scott S. Davis | ‘With Thanks to Dave Carey and Louise Mead Tricard

The history of women’s track and field athletics in the United State has been generally overlooked. Until the late 1970’s, much of the documentation of women’s competitions was very poor and required substantial veri­ fication or new research. The first outdoor women’s competition of significance was the Field Day at Vassar College held on November 9, 1895. There were a few indoor competitions at Bryn Mawr which slightly preceded this Field Day: details are vague. We do know of an indoor high jump mark of 4 feet, 1 inch, by one Mary Ellen Ritchie of Bryn Mawr sometime in April of 1892. When the track and field activities were concluded on this historic November day at Vassar, the first American women track and field champions had been crowned in the 100 and 220 yards, 60 yard hurdles, high jump and running broad jump. The first Field Day was so successful that in May of 1896 the number of events was doubled. Four of the five original records were shattered and five new records were established in the standing broad jump, fence vault, basketball throw, baseball throw and the 300 yard relay. There was “more enthusiasm, more shouting, yelling and whistling and a general abandon of that dignity which surrounds the Vassar Girl,” reported the Poughkeepsie News-Telegraph. The paper went on, “the wild shouts, cheers and confusion of a political convention could not “cut any ice” beside the reception given those athletic sportswomen by their classmates.” In the 1903 Spalding almanac, the Vassar records are listed for the first time. However, only the marks are given: the names of the record holders are omitted. This same year saw the first women’s dual meet: a classic struggle between Montclair High School in New Jersey and the Pamlieo Athletic Association. There were six events contested: the 50 and 75 yard dashes, high jump, running broad jump, 8 pound shot put and the 300 yard relay. The first actual listing of women’s athletic records appears in the 1904 Spalding almanac. Ten of the fifteen records listed were held by Vassar athletes. As others learned of Vassar’s new sport, one by one, Field Days developed around the country in various high schools and colleges. The history of Vassar College Field Days is quite engrossing. Each of the 42 years reveals a new and novel story. The 50 yard dash was added in 1901. The hop, step and jump was added in 1908 and the 75 yard dash commenced in 1909 to accommodate the ever increasing number of Vassar sprinters. Track and field thrived at Vassar until 1937. But by then, the sport for women had slowly vanished in colleges and schools around the country. The pressure of being the lone survivors was greater for Vassar than being the first and it too succumbed. In letter, W&M women’s track athletes threaten boycott linked to sports cuts

https://richmond.com/sports/college/william-and- mary/in-letter-w-m-womens-track-athletes-threaten- boycott-linked-to-sports-cuts/article_5899410a-ab54- 505c-b2d4-4039c72bd652.html

Members of the William & Mary women’s track team deliv- ered a letter asking for the reinstatement of the men’s track & field team to university president Katherine Rowe’s resi- dence Saturday and taped it to her door, along with a Tribe track and field jersey. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Hagedon) TAFWA Newsletter - Page 20 - November 2020 Oregon Accepting Public Proposals For Remaining Hayward Field Salvage Materials

Chris Hansen | Register-Guard https://www.registerguard.com/story/sports/college/track-field/2020/10/25/university-oregon-reusing- salvaged-parts-historic-hayward-field-remnants/5988258002/ Crews demolish the East Grand- al or proposals are accepted and where demolish the East Grandstand at Hay- stand at Hayward Field in June 2018. the materials will go. ward Field in 2018. The grandstands, built in 1925, were “The president understood and “Proposals are rolling in,” Schreck torn down to make way for the new continues to understand what a special said. “It’s pretty exciting. We have a track and field stadium. place this is for our community,” tremendously creative community, Historic Hayward Field has been said Carlyn Schreck, who is on UO and it’s really neat to see how people torn down and replaced, but that President Michael Schill’s staff as an envision how these historic pieces can doesn’t mean it’s gone. Not all of it assistant vice president for president be reworked into something for the anyway. initiatives. Schreck is facilitating the future.” Before the old stadium was razed in advisory committee. For now, the only way to view the June 2018, it was stripped clean of ev- “He made a commitment to (Eu- materials is through photos at hay- erything worth saving and then some. gene Mayor Lucy Vinis) and the state ward.uoregon.edu. Much was put into Hayward Hall historic preservation office that we There is not yet an option to see the — a 4,000-square foot museum inside would do all we could to salvage any- materials in person. the $200 million new stadium — or thing that was salvageable and reuse “These materials, as wonderful as sprinkled throughout the new Hay- as much as possible in the new facility they are, they have some lead-based ward Field itself or other spots around and then make whatever is left avail- paint, and nails sticking out and some the University of Oregon campus. able to the community to embrace and dry rot, so we’re figuring out a way for Plenty of pieces remain, however, use through a variety of amazing and people who are interested to come see and Oregon is ready to hand them over creative projects that they can come up them but also stay safe,” Schreck said. to the public — if the offer is right. with.” The advisory committee will use Now through Dec. 1, Oregon is Among the items available are three main criteria when consider- accepting proposals on how to best wooden beams and stair boards from ing the proposals: Creative use of the use the remaining salvaged materials the East Grandstand, a large metal “O” salvaged materials, community impact in ways that are creative and for the that was embedded in the ground at and, of course, the ability to actually public view. the main gate on the corner of Agate implement the proposed project. An advisory committee made up of Street and 15th Avenue, seats from the “The committee spent a lot of time representatives from several organiza- president’s box, miscellaneous signs thinking about what this looks like,” tions with ties to Hayward Field, the and even a set of dumbbells from the Schreck said. “At the end of the day University of Oregon, historic preser- equipment room. they didn’t want to put a lot of bound- vation and the Oregon track and field A sign pointing the way to Olympic aries on it because they wanted people program will determine which propos- sites stands in the foreground as crews to be creative and thoughtful.” TAFWA Newsletter - Page 21 - November 2020 Nineteen different states will see at least one edition Columbia, Missouri, the Virginia Beach Sports Center in of the NCAA Championships between 2022 and 2026: Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the Golisano Training Center Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Indiana, in Rochester, New York. Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New In fact, the Virginia Beach Sports Center, slated York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, to open Fall 2020, will host a different edition of South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington and the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Wisconsin. four years in a row: 2023 – NCAA DII, 2024 – A number of facilities and grass tracts will NCAA DIII, 2025 – NCAA DI, 2026 – NCAA DII. experience their first national championship, See below for a full list of those sites an- namely the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in nounced by the NCAA.

NCAA DIVISION I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022: Stillwater, Okla. (OSU Cross Country Course) Host: Oklahoma State 2023: Charlottesville, Va. (Panorama Farms) Host: Virginia 2024: Madison, Wisc. (Thomas Zimmer Championship Course) Host: Wisconsin 2025: Columbia, Mo. (Gans Creek Cross Country Course) Host: Missouri

Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field |NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023: Albuquerque, N.M. (Albuquerque Convention Center) Host: New Mexico 2024: College Station, Texas (Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium) Host: Texas A&M 2025: Virginia Beach, Va. (Virginia Beach Sports Center) Host: Norfolk State 2026: Fayetteville, AR (Randal Tyson Track Center) Host: University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field | PRELIMINARY ROUNDS – WEST SITE 2023: Sacramento, Calif. (Hornet Stadium) Host: Sacramento State 2024: Fayetteville, AR (John McDonnell Field) Host: Arkansas 2025: College Station, Texas (E.B. Cushing Stadium) Host: Texas A&M 2026: Sacramento, Calif. (Hornet Stadium) Host: Sacramento State

Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field | PRELIMINARY ROUNDS – EAST SITE 2023: Jacksonville, Fla. (Hodges Stadium) Host: North Florida 2024: Lexington, Ky. (UK Track & Field Complex) Host: Kentucky 2025: Jacksonville, Fla. (Hodges Stadium) Host: North Florida 2026: Lexington, Ky. (UK Track & Field Complex) Host: Kentucky

Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023: Austin, Texas (Mike A. Myers Stadium) Host: Texas 2024: Eugene, OR (Hayward Field) Host: Oregon 2025: Eugene, OR (Hayward Field) Host: Oregon 2026: Eugene, OR (Hayward Field) Host: Oregon 2027: Eugene, OR (Hayward Field) Host: Oregon

NCAA DIVISION II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022: Seattle, Wash. (Chambers Bay) Host: Seattle Pacific (DII Fall Festival) 2023: Joplin, Mo. (Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course) Host: Missouri Southern 2024: Sacramento, Calif. (Haggin Oaks Golf Complex) Host: CCAA 2025: Kenosha, Wisc. (Wayne E. Danehl National Cross Country Course) Host: UW-Parkside TAFWA Newsletter - Page 22 - November 2020 Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023: Virginia Beach, Va. (Virginia Beach Sports Center) Host: Norfolk State 2024: Pittsburg, Kan. (Robert W. Plaster Center) Host: Pittsburg State 2025: Indianapolis, Ind. (Fall Creek Pavilion - Indiana State Fairgrounds) Host: UIndy 2026: Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia Beach Sports Center) Host: Norfolk State

Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023: Pueblo, Colo. (Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl) Host: CSU-Pueblo 2024: Emporia, Kan. (Welch Stadium) Host: Emporia State 2025: Pueblo, Colo. (Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl) Host: CSU-Pueblo 2026: Emporia, Kan. (Welch Stadium) Host: Emporia State

NCAA DIVISION III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022: Lansing, Mich. (Forest Akers) Host: Olivet 2023: Carlisle, Pa (Big Spring High School) Host: Dickinson 2024: Terre Haute, Ind. (LaVern Gibson Championship Course) Host: Rose-Hulman 2025: Spartanburg, S.C. (Roger Milliken Center) Host: Converse

Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023: Birmingham, Ala. (Birmingham CrossPlex) Host: Birmingham-Southern 2024: Virginia Beach, Va. (Virginia Beach Sports Center) Host: Norfolk State 2025: Rochester, N.Y. (Golisano Training Center) Host: Nazareth 2026: Birmingham, Ala. (Birmingham CrossPlex) Host: Birmingham-Southern

Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field | NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023: Rochester, N.Y. (Polisseni Track and Field Complex) Host: St. John Fisher 2024: Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium) Host: Coastal Carolina 2025: Geneva, Ohio (SPIRE Institute – Outdoor Track & Field) Host: NCAC 2026: La Crosse, Wisc. (Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex) Host: UW-La Crosse

Tracksmith Introduces New York Pioneer Club Collection A Celebration of Ted Corbitt’s Legacy and Fifty Years of New York Marathoning https://www.tracksmith.com/pages/new-york-pioneer-club

BOSTON (Oct. 29, 2020) – Inspired by the legacy of New York Pioneer Club athlete Ted Corbitt and in celebra- tion of 50 years of New York’s marathon, Tracksmith today introduces the New York Pioneer Club Collection, a capsule collection designed in collaboration with writer, coach, and Black Roses NYC founder Knox Robinson. Using archival images of the Club’s uniforms, this limited-edition collection features racing kits, tees, sweat- shirts, and ephemera with the Pioneer’s signature varsity lettering and team colors. Five percent of all collection sales will go to support the Jeuness Track Club, a community-based girl’s track club founded thanks to the last- ing legacy of the Pioneers.

TAFWA Newsletter - Page 23 - November 2020 Selection criteria for 2020 Division I Cross Country Championships approved https://www.ncaa.com/news/cross-country-men/article/2020-11-04/selection-criteria-2020-di-cross-country-championships-approved The Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved team and individual selection criteria for the 2020 Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the championship was moved from the fall to the spring and will be held March 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Committee will use the following criteria to select teams: • Schools will have a declaration window from March 3 at midnight Eastern time until March 5 at 7:59 p.m. Eastern time to be consid- ered for team selections. • Conference championship performance holds the most weight. • After the conference championship, a team will be evaluated on its body of work for all competitions, regardless of the time of year they occurred. (This includes teams that do not have a conference championship.) • Common opponents and head-to-head competition against Division I opponents only will be used when comparing teams. Committee members will use the following criteria to select individuals for the championships. • Schools will have a declaration window from March 3 at midnight Eastern time until March 5 at 7:59 p.m. Eastern time to be consid- ered for individual selections. • The top individual finisher at each conference championship who is not part of a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA champi- onships (maximum of 32 individuals depending on how many conferences host a conference championship). • The remaining individual spots will be selected at large by the committee to fill the field to 38. This includes individuals that did not have the opportunity to compete in a conference championship. • The committee will eliminate the designation of A-teams and B-teams. Whoever a team runs on a given day is viewed as an A-team. In a single-day competition, however, only the varsity team would be considered for selection purposes. The minimum number of competitions to be considered for selections will be one. With the elimination of the 2020 NCAA regional championships, the committee created a new selection process for teams and indi- viduals advancing directly to the national championships. The committee reviewed feedback from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association when developing this revised selection criteria. William & Mary Reinstates Seven Eliminated Varsity Sports https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/05/william-mary-reinstates-eliminated-varsity-sports-mens-track-and-field-gymnastics William & Mary will reinstate seven varsity sports that were William & Mary’s women’s swimmers, gymnasts and volleyball slated to be eliminated after 2019–20, according to the Virginian- players. Pilot’s Marty O’Brien. The women’s track team at William & Mary also put consider- The school’s men’s indoor and outdoor track and field, swim- able pressure on the school’s administration. The team penned a ming and gymnastics teams will be reinstated through at least the letter on Oct. 25, noting it will not represent the university until 2021–22 school year, per O’Brien. The women’s gymnastics, swim- the men’s team was reinstated. ming and volleyball teams were reinstated on Oct. 19. “We will begin a campaign of passive resistance to the unfair William & Mary announced its decision to cut the seven sports practices and policies of the College’s administration, including the on Sept. 3 as it faced a budget deficit and “dramatic growth in ath- dishonest manner in which these decisions were arrived at,” the letic department costs,” per O’Brien. The announced cuts affected team wrote in a letter. 118 athletes and 13 coaches. “You can expect us to take our argument to the student body, to The September decision was met with considerable blowback. the faculty and to our alumni. What you should not expect is for Groups supporting the swimming and track teams raised more us to show up in uniform, representing this institution, until the than $1 million, and a Title IX lawsuit was filed on behalf of matter is resolved.” Clemson to Discontinue Men’s Cross Country, Track and Field By Brock Fritz | Athletic Business | https://www.athleticbusiness.com/college/clemson-to-discontinue-men-s-cross-country-track-and-field.html The 2020-21 academic year will be the last for the men’s cross coun- compliance.” try and track and field teams at Clemson University. Following the cuts, Clemson will sponsor 16 total varsity sports. The ACC university in South Carolina announced Thursday that The university said it will honor all coaches contracts through their it will discontinue its men’s cross country, indoor track and outdoor terms and all scholarships through the student-athletes’ undergradu- track programs effective June 2021. ate years. Men’s track currently has 26 student-athletes at least on “This difficult decision is a result of an exhaustive examination partial scholarship, as well as 25 walk-ons. of our athletics department over the past several months,” Clemson The university has projected a resource shortfall of $25 million this director of athletics Dan Radakovich said in a letter posted on the ath- fiscal year, while Radakovich expects to save more than $2 million per letics website. “After careful analysis, we concluded that discontinuing year from the cuts. He said the savings “will be reinvested into other our men’s track and field program is in the best long-term interest of athletic department initiatives, including our remaining Olympic Clemson Athletics. sports and will help to provide additional financial stability moving “In our long-term planning, we looked at the changing demograph- forward.” ics of the Clemson. Of Clemson’s men’s sports, only men’s track Clemson men’s track and field won 23 combined ACC team champi- and field and cross country could provide the department with both onships, 16 individual NCAA champions and 22 Olympians since the substantial cost savings as well as the ability for long-term Title IX program formed in 1953. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 24 - November 2020 2020 Fixtures List 2020 11 Madrid Meeting 15 Copenhagen Games Roads 29 Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland Nov. 1 NYC Marathon CANCELED Dec. 5 Lubbock Christian University HS XC Race July-August Dec. 6 Valencia Marathon, Spain 3 KBC, Heusden Dec. 13 Honolulu Marathon CANCELED 23-Aug 8 Olympic Games, Tokyo Dec. 20 Marathon Project, Chandler, Ariz. August 2021 18-29 World University Games, Chendgu, China February 6 NB Indoor, Boston (Reggie Lewis) WA Indoor Tour September 13 Millrose Games, NYC (Armory) WA Indoor Tour TBA Diamond League Finals, Zurich 20-21 USATF Indoor Nationals, site TBA 12 ISTAF, Berlin 18 Kip Keino Classic, Nairobi March 12-13 NCAA Indoor Nationals Fall Marathons Fayetteville (I), Birmingham (II) Geneva, Ohio (III) September 15 NCAA XC Nationals, Stillwater, Okla. (I) 26 Berlin 20 World Cross Country, Bathurst, Australia 24-27 Texas Relays, Austin New dates October 3 London April 10 Chicago 9 NAIA XC Championships, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 17 Tokyo 19 Boston Marathon Postponed to Fall 22-24 Penn Relays, Philadelphia November Drake Relays, Des Moines 7 New York City

May 2022 23 Boston Boost Games March 26-28 NAIA Nationals - Gulf Shores, Ala. 11-12 NCAA Indoor Nationals - Birmingham (I), 27-29 NCAA II-III Nationals Pittsburg, Kan. (II), Boston/Reggie Lewis (III) Allendale, Mich. (II), Greensboro, NC (III) Div. I Regionals June Jacksonville, Fla. (E), Texas A&M (W) 8-11 NCAA Div. I Nationals, Eugene

June July 9-12 NCAA Div. I Nationals, Eugene 15-24 World Championships, Eugene 18-27 Olympic Trials, Eugene 27- Aug. 7 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham, England 25 TAFWA Awards Breakfast, Gerlinger Hall 9 AM August November 11-21 European Championships, Munich 20 NCAA XC - Tallahassee (I), Tampa (II), Louisville (III) September International TBA Diamond League Finals, Zurich February 6 International Meeting, Christchurch, NZ October 27 Sir Graeme Douglas International, Auckland, NZ 22 - Nov. 9 Youth Olympics, Dakar, Senegal POSTPONED Scheduled for 2026 March 13 Sydney Classic, Australia Cross Country 19-21 World Indoor, Nanjing Dates TBA Stillwater, Okla. (I), Seattle (II), Lansing, Mich. (III) 20 World XC, Bathurst, Australia Tentative 25 Olympic Torch leaves Fukushima for Tokyo 2023 27 Queensland Classic, Brisbane, Australia NCAA

May Indoor Championships 1-2 World Relays, Chorzow, Poland Albuquerque (I), Virginia Beach (II), Birmingham (III) 8 International, Kingston 18 Golden Spike, Ostrava Outdoor Div. I Regionals 28-29 New Life Inv, Nassau Sacramento (W), Jacksonville (E)

June Outdoor Championships 1 International Meeting, Montreuill, France Austin (I), Pueblo, Colo. (II), Rochester, NY (III) 2 Women’s Gala, Athens 3 Iberoamericano, Huelva, Spain 5 Racers Grand Prix, Kingston 6 FBK, Hengelo 8 Nurmi Games, Turku, Finland TAFWA Newsletter - Page 25 - November 2020