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Olympic gold and Seton Hall?

He was great. But they only showed his mother and never mentioned SHU. We need a better PR person
 
He was great. But they only showed his mother and never mentioned SHU. We need a better PR person
But Noah didn't attend Seton Hall... Is NBC going to give the college of attendance of all the athlete's parents? I certainly don't care to hear that for each.

Did they mention that he was committed to Florida before skipping college?
 
But Noah didn't attend Seton Hall... Is NBC going to give the college of attendance of all the athlete's parents? I certainly don't care to hear that for each.

Did they mention that he was committed to Florida before skipping college?

Is it germane to the story line? In this case it might be. We're not talking about Fred and Wilma Flintstone - machinery operator and housewife from Bedrock.

Father and mother were track and field stars in their own right at a university that had it share of Track & Field Olympians (19 according to SHUPirates.com) and an internationally renowned coach. It feels like a passing mention of Seton Hall would be appropriate.
 
I feel like restoring our track & field program is more appropriate. To this day, one of the more disappointing things the University has done IMO.
Agree 100%. The worst move by an Athletic Director in Seton Hall sports history. Seton Hall could once again rise to prominence in Track and Field, if they give the sport another chance. Perhaps this should be something that we ask Felt about.
 
I don't understand how you take a national program, with a world-class legendary coach, one that has both men and women compete, and completely burn it to the ground like that.

In no way do I mean to disparage another program at SHU, but how does co-ed cross country exist but co-ed (or even women's only) track & field does not? I'll never get it.
 
I don't understand how you take a national program, with a world-class legendary coach, one that has both men and women compete, and completely burn it to the ground like that.

In no way do I mean to disparage another program at SHU, but how does co-ed cross country exist but co-ed (or even women's only) track & field does not? I'll never get it.
Simple. A lack of $$$$$
 
Simple. A lack of $$$$$

Understanding that I'm a layman in this case, what drives cross-country being drastically less expensive than track, given that we already had suitable track facilities at the time of closure, and the existing coach was kept on for cross country?

Was it cost of recruiting trips? Was it the cost of participation in events? I've heard this argument before but I've never really seen a proper explanation to support it and I'm unfortunately not familiar with either sport to this degree.
 
Understanding that I'm a layman in this case, what drives cross-country being drastically less expensive than track, given that we already had suitable track facilities at the time of closure, and the existing coach was kept on for cross country?

Was it cost of recruiting trips? Was it the cost of participation in events? I've heard this argument before but I've never really seen a proper explanation to support it and I'm unfortunately not familiar with either sport to this degree.
Additionally a lot of the kids on the cross country team also participated on the indoor and outdoor track teams!

Another thing people forget is that the day before the four track teams were unceremoniously cut they honored them and Coach Moon at halftime of a men’s basketball game the night before.
 
Additionally a lot of the kids on the cross country team also participated on the indoor and outdoor track teams!

Another thing people forget is that the day before the four track teams were unceremoniously cut they honored them and Coach Moon at halftime of a men’s basketball game the night before.

We've come a long way since the days of Quinlan and Sheeran. Perhaps if our current regime were in charge then, they'd have found a better way.
 
Agree 100%. The worst move by an Athletic Director in Seton Hall sports history. Seton Hall could once again rise to prominence in Track and Field, if they give the sport another chance. Perhaps this should be something that we ask Felt about.
Certainly something that can be done without huge expense or North East disadvantage.
 
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But Noah didn't attend Seton Hall... Is NBC going to give the college of attendance of all the athlete's parents? I certainly don't care to hear that for each.
No, I wouldn't want to sit through that either, but it's relevant that his parents were both Division I track and field competitors at the same university. Seems like that's a tidbit that could be worked in, especially given how much NBC loves to present the personal side of the athletes.
 
Well, obviously no supporters want it enough to contribute adequately.
The university has to want it. There are numerous things alumni want and would support but if the university says ‘no’ then what recourse do we have? This could be a reason why alumni giving pretty much sucks.
 
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The university has to want it. There are numerous things alumni want and would support but if the university says ‘no’ then what recourse do we have? This could be a reason why alumni giving pretty much sucks.
What? Have you heard of circular reasoning? Athletics loses money today. A track program would significantly increase that deficit. What academic programs would you cut to reinstate the sport? “Find the money” is the equivalent of sprinkling pixie dust.
 
As I remember, we cut track and field right after pc, who just won the big east tourney, cut baseball. Hard decisions have to be made sometimes. But I am sure many would step up and support it if if was reinstated...yeah right...
 
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What? Have you heard of circular reasoning? Athletics loses money today. A track program would significantly increase that deficit. What academic programs would you cut to reinstate the sport? “Find the money” is the equivalent of sprinkling pixie dust.

In fairness, it's also a lot easier to "find money" if people knew what they are donating it for. From rich alums down to poor alums, the endless stream of generalized "please donate" loses its effectiveness when it's not specifically directed towards something.

I don't recall the University campaigning to "save the track program". If they had, perhaps the money "would have been found." The University made a shrewd, callous business decision that, to my knowledge, did not involve any outside-the-box thinking or attempts at targeted fundraising.
 
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Don’t forget that St John’s also dropped sports, including men’s track & field (kept women’s) and football. Other schools have made similar moves as the ones at SHU and Providence.
 
In fairness, it's also a lot easier to "find money" if people knew what they are donating it for. From rich alums down to poor alums, the endless stream of generalized "please donate" loses its effectiveness when it's not specifically directed towards something.

I don't recall the University campaigning to "save the track program". If they had, perhaps the money "would have been found." The University made a shrewd, callous business decision that, to my knowledge, did not involve any outside-the-box thinking or attempts at targeted fundraising.
Exactly! The university made a decision to cut the track programs with absolutely no notice or effort to save them. Maybe reaching out to Pirate Blue members and/or track alumni would have an idea. I was not on the track team but I am a Pirate Blue member and would have gladly donated to help save the teams. Seeing as the coach and team were honored the night before they were dumped it doesn’t seem like anyone outside a very small circle of people were aware this was going to happen. The university should be a lot more transparent on their plans and needs.
 
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What? Have you heard of circular reasoning? Athletics loses money today. A track program would significantly increase that deficit. What academic programs would you cut to reinstate the sport? “Find the money” is the equivalent of sprinkling pixie dust.
Have you heard of “return on investment”? How many alumni, track and otherwise, are not donating now because something near and dear to them was cut or dropped with little to no effort made to save it because the university did not want to save it and therefore did not let anyone know there was even a problem before it became insurmountable?

The university has to be more transparent with their decisions and information. For myself, if X is cut/dropped/discontinued then Y will see less or no donations from me. I am sure many others, though not all, feel the same way.

Let’s take WSOU for example. You have a small handful of nut jobs that want the station completely shut down. If the university caves to the wishes of this small, non affiliated group and closes the station or changes the format how do you think that will affect donations to WSOU and other areas of the university? If those who are alumni of WSOU do not like the decision made by the university and cut donations to both the station and the College of Communication and the Arts then who gets blamed for the “lack of support”? Decisions and transparency by the university affect all areas of the university. However, if the university doesn’t want to do something they won’t and it won’t and doesn’t matter how many people support it!
 
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Don’t forget that St John’s also dropped sports, including men’s track & field (kept women’s) and football. Other schools have made similar moves as the ones at SHU and Providence.
If I remember right, there was a lot of support at Providence to save their baseball team. However, the decision makers at PC did not want to continue sponsoring baseball so it was cut and sadly it really didn’t matter what anyone else wanted.
 
If I remember right, there was a lot of support at Providence to save their baseball team. However, the decision makers at PC did not want to continue sponsoring baseball so it was cut and sadly it really didn’t matter what anyone else wanted.

That is correct. The President there at the time was very similar to SHU under Sheeran. The primary reason for dropping sports at PC was a lazy attempt at Title IX compliance. At SHU, the reason for dropping track was a budget, that if I recall the correct number, included 24 scholarships. Both schools, and probably St John’s as well, had no interest in finding creative solutions.
 
In fairness, it's also a lot easier to "find money" if people knew what they are donating it for. From rich alums down to poor alums, the endless stream of generalized "please donate" loses its effectiveness when it's not specifically directed towards something.

I don't recall the University campaigning to "save the track program". If they had, perhaps the money "would have been found." The University made a shrewd, callous business decision that, to my knowledge, did not involve any outside-the-box thinking or attempts at targeted fundraising.
I was told by an insider that in the history of the track program less than $50k cumulatively was donated. That is effectively zero. There is no support for the program.
 
I was told by an insider that in the history of the track program less than $50k cumulatively was donated. That is effectively zero. There is no support for the program.
Please do not take this as disrespectful but what was outreach like from the university to the former student athletes? Especially with track, we produced many Olympian’s. Did the school ask for support? If former student athletes, across all sports, are largely found to not be financially supporting the university on some level then I would think that is a huge problem that the university would want to investigate. What was their experience like as a Pirate and what could have made it better? What can be done now to repair that relationship so that they would support the university? These are questions that probably need to be asked.
 
I was told by an insider that in the history of the track program less than $50k cumulatively was donated. That is effectively zero. There is no support for the program.

Again, in fairness, there's a massive difference between tallying historical donations to something versus campaigning to donors to save that thing.

If I received an email or a solicitation to donate to the school's nursing program? No thanks. If I received a solicitation to donate to the women's golf team? No thanks. Not because I have an issue with either, but I only have so much to give and typically would do so to that of my closest ties to the school. Also, the University perpetually asks for money for ALL things (like most colleges). How are donors to know what is in most need if not told?

If I we were notified that the women's golf team was set to be dissolved or that the nursing program were set to be removed from the offerings due to funding and a campaign was created to save both.....I would absolutely redirect funds to both. Look, just because donors want certain things to excel typically doesn't mean they want everything else to flounder.

Perhaps your insider or someone else inside knows if we actually broached high net worth alums about saving this program? Or did the University, as it was known to do back then, just sit on their a$$ and hope their generalized requests to donate, while provide zero 411 on the health of its various programs, paid off?

I think you and I simply disagree fundamentally here on the worth of the track program, the decision making of the school, and how typical individuals think when it comes to donating to it. It is what it is. But I'm confident I'm not alone in my thought process.
 
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