<p>Does Vanderbilt not have a team? I was a state finalist in sprints during high school and will be transferring next fall. I was really looking forward to trying to run in college but it looks like Vandy doesn't even have a mens team. Does anyone know anything about this?</p>
<p>Wow that’s a little shocking. I checked and VU apparently does not have a men’s track and field program. They have men’s cross country and women’s cross country and track and field, but no men’s track and field.</p>
<p>they also have a running club … however the description does not make it clear if it is mostly a distance running thing or if they also do track and field. At some schools if they do not have a varsity sport the club version can be of very high quality.</p>
<p>PS - although it is counter intuitive this actually is not that surprising. Some of the the big time sports schools actually carry the NCAA minimum number or sports or close to it … the SEC schools tend to near the minimum number of sports. There are other schools not known for their sports who actually have among the most varsity sports … the Ivies and NESCAC schools for example … not making money or getting national exposure but having a lot of students involved in varsity sports. Then there are the few that do both … big-time sports and lots of teams … the Big 10 and Pac 10 stand out this way</p>
<p>It is incredibly disappointing. I had a chance to walk on at my current university next year which is a top 25 program and produced several Olympians last year. I’m transferring to be closer to home and I just assumed Vanderbilt, being in the SEC, would field a team. Apparently the cross country runners do run in some of the track meets but as I said I am a sprinter. Surely I can’t be the only male wishing to compete?</p>
<p>Probably a Title IX casualty. Since women’s sports have to reach a certain percentage of the athletic program (I am no expert so forgive the lack of detail) many schools eliminated mens programs such as wrestling and track/field in order to achieve the needed balance.</p>
<p>I was thinking they had a club men’s track team while I was in school…</p>
<p>The coach emailed me and said that they only sponsor a men’s cross country team that is limited to 12 people. </p>
<p>I figured title IX would have something to do with it. I can’t believe they still use that crap. I’m all for equal rights, but taking away the rights of others in order to achieve them is absolutely ridiculous. Oh well.</p>
<p>He did mention contacting the student rec program and inquiring about a club. I did some preliminary google searching and found a running club, but it seemed to be more distance-oriented. We’ll see.</p>
<p>If all else fails I’m going to put together a season running unattached. Apparently most college meets allow open participation for runners who don’t have a school. Maybe I can find some others at Vanderbilt who want to join. It just sucks knowing that I’ll never get to run in a conference/NCAA meet.</p>
<p>calej93 I wonder if you could attach yourself to some local DI schools such as Belmont (closest to Vandy), TSU (a HBCU I think with a great T&F history, or MTSU. I wonder if that’s possible.</p>
<p>hmm … the unaffiliated idea sounds pretty good. If another college can’t/won’t let you train with them maybe there is a adult running club you could join and train with while prepping for college meets. I know for me training with partners worked much much better than training alone.</p>
<p>Another suggestion … you may want to PM MomofWildChild … I believe she lives done there are is a runner and has a son who was a competitive runner.</p>
<p>Appreciate the tips, guys. I’ll definitely contact some local coaches and see if they’d like some extra competition at practice.</p>
<p>Also, if any one happens to know someone at Vanderbilt that would be interested in training for sprints/field events as well please let me know.</p>
<p>
I know you are venting, but you have to take into account that there are finite resources, and all sports lose money at a place like Vanderbilt, usually. Usually only about 20 or so of the most successful programs make money off football, maybe basketball does better since it is cheaper to run. But for sure all other sports are a financial drain, and so universities had to make decisions in order to be in compliance. There are quite a few successful female athletes that would not consider any of that to be “crap”.</p>
<p>I don’t really want to launch a Title IX debate here since I’m not entirely certain that it is the reason that Vanderbilt’s track program was cut. I’ll just ask you guys to do a little research on how the program is enforced and to draw your own conclusions.</p>
<p>calej93–in response to your post #7–Vandy may “sponser a men’s cross country team” but I read in their online sports magazine this past fall that the men’s cross country team is the only non-scholarship sport at Vanderbilt. I think it is probably a combination of fallenchemist’s points ^ about limited resources and Title IX. (As an aside, my other child who doesn’t go to VU is at a D1 school that is adding football this year and the university is required to add 3 women’s sports to even/balance things out.)</p>
<p>Not really sure how the scholarship situation works out, I was just going by what the coach told me. I realize schools are required to operate on a budget and that cuts have to happen, I’m just not a big fan of how they are required to maintain “proportionality.” Sports is the only extracurricular activity that is heavily mandated by Title IX although it’s supposed to cover all EC’s; I’ve never seen a school have to cut a program because there are too many girls in the theater club. You cannot create demand where demand doesn’t exist. Guys as a whole simply like to watch and participate in sports more than girls. Thats not to say that there aren’t any female athletes (there are many incredible ones) or avid sports fans… there just happen to be more guys. I believe that this is not a result of sexism (though it may have been once), there are simply inherent differences between the sexes; people need to realize that these differences don’t mean inequality. I think this whole notion of maintaining proportionality is depriving many men from pursuing their passions and is wrong in my opinion. I think it’s especially bizarre when women make up 57% of college enrollment and only 51% of the population; and schools have to maintain this proportionality in sports, a thing that has been shown to be generally preferred by men.</p>
<p>I think Title IX was necessary in its inception and certainly celebrate all the doors it has opened for females to participate in something they may have been segregated against. However, I feel that it’s regulations have exceeded the demand that females have to participate in sports and is unfairly discriminating against many guys.</p>
<p>These are simply my opinions and I hope not to inspire any vitriol; sorry about my loaded language earlier.</p>
<p>And yeah, I said I wouldn’t talk about Title IX and yes I’m a hypocrite. Essay over.</p>