I've said it before but I'll say it again. The University of Utah is the ONLY school in the PAC-12 to not field some kind of a Men's Track & Field/Cross Country team. For some reason I don't think that has registered with anyone on the hill. You might be thinking so what? Big deal. There are plenty of schools in the NCAA that don't sponsor a sport that their conference is affiliated with. There are also plenty of NCAA schools that sponsor a sport that their conference doesn't (i.e. Utah has a Ski Team and there is no PAC-12 Ski Championship).
But the debate about who sponsors what sport is irrelevant. What's important is that new comers to the PAC-12, like Colorado and Utah, be seen by the rest of the conference as legitimate members and not the conference pee-ons. How do we do that?
Our football team is pulling its weight. They went 9-4 last year with a 5-4 conference record and for this coming season, Utah is seen as a legitimate South Division contender. Without a doubt, football is the most high profile sport of the conference, but is it the most prolific? The answer is no. Not by a long shot.
For Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country, the PAC-12 has a grand total of 60 National Championship titles! That is more than any other conference in any other sport in NCAA Division I athletics! Compare that to the 19 National Championships for Football, and Track & Field/Cross Country kicks football's trash in a battle of "who has more hardware?"
In the last decade, PAC-12 Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country has won 9 Indoor National Titles, 2 Outdoor National Titles, and 8 Cross Country National Titles.
On the Men's Team USA roster, 17 athletes are from the PAC-12 with 16 PAC-12 athletes on the Women's roster. That is more PAC-12 representatives on Team USA's roster than any other major conference in the country.
Guess which conference has the most individual champions by individual track event? The PAC-12.
Where is Tracktown, USA located? You know, the place where they hold U.S. Olympic Trials and the NCAA Outdoor National Championships? Eugene, Oregon, home of the 2014 PAC-12 and National Champion Oregon Ducks.
One of the most famous olympic venues in the U.S. is located on what campus? Oh that's right, The University of Southern California's Colosseum.
So to answer my previous question, in order to be considered a legitimate conference member in the eyes of other PAC-12 schools, Utah has to compete in the conference's best sports. Track & Field is the best sport in the conference, so by not fielding a men's team, Utah is sabotaging itself and choosing not to enhance it's reputation within the conference.
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