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Interesting #SaveClemsonXCTF interview via athletic.net by fortune_smith

Available on a non-subscription basis for only about another week.

The interview is with three articulate Clemson runners spearheading the charge to save the men's XC and T&F programs and is relevant for folks concerned about ongoing cuts in college athletic programs.

The interview features painful perspectives, interesting observations and some conclusions that may be flawed, as well as easily discounting cost as a decision factor (as is often the case in "the academy"). The discussion implicitly highlights how difficult it will be for colleges to re-scale their programs to a new cost reality -- for athletics and many other types of offerings.

Some of the observations focus on Title IX. The interview suggests XC, Indoor T&F and Outdoor T&F count as "triples" from a Title IX perspective, whereby athletes are triple-counted, though I imagine this applies only to the distance runners, as sprinters and throwers wouldn't seem to compete in XC. Under the current construct, this seems to imperil men's programs and basically guarantee immortality for women's programs.

One athlete concluded that Oregon may have the only men's XC/T&F program that can confidently be regarded as secure.