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Friday, April 18, 1980
University Daily Kansan
Timmons against recruiting foreign track athletes
By MATT SEELEY Sports Writer
Whether the NCAA admits it or not, the issue of this decade is the plight of foreign athletes on the playing field.
During the last decade, an influx of foreign athletes, particularly on track teams, has raised questions of how to deal with the increased number of meets, who participate in NCAA national meet.
The NCAA, the governing body of men's college athletics, has shied away from any commitment for or against the athlete, preferring to remain silent.
One of the more vocal protesters of recruiting of foreign athletes is KU men's basketball. But the team has never recruited an athlete from any place but the United States, said he believed a new system of scoring in national meets promote American athletics in sports.
TIMMONS' PLAN calls for the continuation of the present scoring system, which allows all eligible student athletes to participate in the finals. Association would compile an official
ranking list of teams composed only of American citizens.
The indoor and outdoor scoring system proposed from the ranking list would be the same as the present system, Timmons said, in places of foreign athletes would not count.
"For example, if first and third place in the triple jump were won by foreign athletes on a home team, the team would be scored," Timmons said. "An attempt to move Americans up might create trouble."
In ADDITION, Timmons said the Track Coaches Association should develop a plan whereby a school could request that a qualified foreign athlete attend its school to compete in the national championship, but not be eligible to score in the meet.
"This would be needed for institutions that might be obligated to compete with an uncrested athlete from a foreign country." Timmons said. "This would also be necessary, because the preparation of a foreigner on a team that prefers to compete with American athletes."
Timmons said the incorporation of such a plan would not prevent the recruiting or participation of foreign athletes in NCAA championships.
"It would simply provide recognition for those institutions who prefer to do otherwise," Timmons said.
IN 1973 the NCAA put a ceiling on the number of athletic scholarships available for athletes. The number was lowered three years later to its present number of 14 in track.
The fewer scholarships mean track coaches could no longer rely on those athletes marked "hopeful." The com-mpanion star that athletes grew fierce, force for some.
Overseas provided an outlet. The coach discovered an unattended reservoir of eager and extremely talented athletes who would compete with each other to compete and learn with American athletes.
The use of foreigners turned to abuse. For example, the most dominant track team in the 1970s, Texas-El Paso, relied solely on foreign athletes.
According to UTEP coach Ted Banks
the recruiting of athletes is done for one reason: to win.
"ITS UNDOUHTEDLY true that giving students to foreigners takes them away
from their culture," she said. "But I don't get paid to train Americans of a certain age group. I get paid to provide the training."
Timmens, who has won national titles using home-grown talent, is not against the foreign athlete specifically, but rather the international teams. So those universities which don't recruit them.
TIMMONS SAID it was easier and cheaper to recruit foreign athletes because there were none that were as highly recruited as Americans.
"less prestigious schools can build a program since foreign athletes aren't aware of the relative quality of various American schools," Timmons said. "In some cases, colleges located in non-track areas can get students to attend a team of American universities to attend their school."
On the other hand, Timmons said, with foreign athletes dominating national meets, most schools, like KU, that don't have foreigners stand little chance of winning national championships. Also, with the growing number of college-age captec of foreign athletes has increased.
"The foreign athlete, who is being educated in our country," Timmons said, "helps promote the development of his own
country's team at the expense of our international reputation."
Timmons said he believed that if the scoring in conference and national championships didn't include foreigners, foreigners wouldn't be recruited.
"Why should foreigners have privileges in their own country? Why must American citizens not provided Americans in their own country?" Timmons asked. "Most foreign countries do not allow non-citizens to travel."
Agony . . .
From page seven
through a megaphone, raised the gun and fired. The rubber band snapped.
I took two steps and ran into the guy standing in front of me. This slowed me up a bit, but I was able to saw everyone walking. There were so many on the track that everyone had to stop.
The pay I had run into turned around and made a reference to the legitimacy of my job. "You're going to camp me as soon as we got around the track and up Campania hill, returning a gesture as I would," he said.
The first half of the race was a circus.
There were people everywhere.
There were supposed to be water stations along the route ever four miles, so runners didn't become dehydrated. We missed the first station. I still don't know how.
MY TIME AT the turn-around point was 96 minutes and 32 seconds. I was way too fast, just over a 1/2-minute pace.
Then came the 18-mile mark and the wall.
I struggled, stopped, walked, spatured, ran again. I hit the last water station at the 22-mile barrier.
I stayed there for a couple of minutes and decided to finish the race. I had 40 minutes to go four miles. Ten minutes a mile for four miles and I'd be under four hours.
I finally saw the 25-mile marker. I sucked all the remaining strength down and the hill above it, on the hill, once around the track and I was done four hours, 12 minutes and 42 seconds after I hit the marker.
I picked up my t-shirt and two friends helped me habite home. That was the most expensive T-shirt I had ever bought. But as I look back now on that day in my life, I still win I won a personal victory. As Rocky Johnson might have said, "wet the disgrace."
Kevin Reardon is a sophomore from Roeland Park hoping to make it to law school some day.
And don't forget that you can still get as many 5° beers as you can drink when you buy a sandwich in April
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