Oregon's Schumacher Hopes To See Shift To "Team Track" To Connect Better With Public

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

Keenan Gray photo

EUGENE — Head coaches from four NCAA Power 4 programs discussed the impacts of the newly approved House vs. NCAA settlement at Tuesday’s pre-championship press conference.

Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement last Friday after months of debate, setting the stage for collegiate athletes to be paid directly from schools.

Despite the ruling, the prevailing sentiment at Tuesday’s press conference was similar to what it has been since the settlement’s preliminary approval last fall: “We don’t know.”

Oregon’s Jerry Schumacher, Georgia’s Caryl Smith Gilbert, USC’s Quincy Watts and Texas A&M’s Pat Henry were present, and each reflected uncertainty about the ruling. 

“Nobody really knows what’s gonna happen,” Schumacher said. “We have some guidelines now that the judges have made that ruling… I think we’ll see where that kind of plays out for track and field and the NCAA. I don’t think any of us know, really.”

After they return to their campuses following this weekend's NCAA D1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, most coaches will meet with their athletic directors and find out more about how the settlement will impact their programs, specifically.

But while they’re in Eugene, the issue is on the back burner. 

“All of us have been focused on the championship,” Gilbert said.

Schumacher, though, pointed out that he was optimistic about what it could do for the sport. He said he’s always been a proponent of emphasizing the team aspect of track and field, and he hopes the settlement can push the sport in that direction.

“I hope it allows us to move into a place where we can do more team track,” Schumacher said. “I think that’s the best thing for the future of college track.”

Henry echoed this sentiment, arguing that collegiate track currently fails to emphasize team competition.

“I don’t understand how our sport thinks we can operate the way we’re operating and get people to come to watch,” Henry said. “I think it’s got to be red beats blue. It’s got to be team.”

Schumacher and Henry have consistently held this point of view, and this year, they collaborated to create the Oregon Team Invitational, a seven-team meet at Hayward Field designed to promote team competition. In accordance with NCAA rules, it was not officially scored, but team points were unofficially tallied and shown in the stadium and on the broadcast.

This was a new concept; typically, team competition is reserved for conference and national championships, while in the regular season, athletes are focused on hitting qualifying marks. As Schumacher pointed out, this often means sprinters will travel to one invitational while distance runners travel to another, and so on. Schumacher said the team invitational allowed his team to build some cohesion, and he hopes to see more meets like it in the future.

“All of the kids, in every event area, on our entire team, benefit from being around each other for competitions,” Schumacher said.

Meanwhile, one of the biggest points of contention within the settlement — the issue of roster limits — did not receive much discussion.

All schools who opt into the settlement, including every Power 4 school, will be forced to cut their track and field rosters to 45 men and 45 women in future years. However, Wilken refused to accept the settlement if it meant current athletes would be cut due to those roster limits, so a provision was added that allows — not mandates — schools to grandfather in current athletes.

Last month, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said his programs would honor all current athletes’ roster spots and even allow those who were cut this year to reclaim their spots. There is no indication whether other schools, including those represented at Tuesday’s press conference, will follow suit.