Episode 111 - Enhancing D3 Track and Field
Coach Eamon McKenna and Coach Justin Kinseth joined D3 Glory Days to discuss their propsal at next week’s coaching convention. It’s aimed to changed the scoring at the national track meets. In doing so, they hope it gives the student-athletes a better experience and convey the best team at the meet. It’s an interesting topic regardless of where you stand on it. It can definitely push the sport forward. After listening, you can read below of the actual proposal. Let us know your thoughts!
Proposal One
Change the way National Championships are scored in Track & Field so that every finisher is scoring for her/his team.
Rationale:
*Raises the competitive quality of Nationals by making every place matter. Instead of an all or nothing approach many athletes exhibit trying to make finals or finish in the top 8, it allows them to be more tactical and keeps people mentally engaged and committed throughout the competition.
In distance events, it keeps athletes fighting to the end of the race even when they know they can no longer be top 8 or advance to finals.
In field events, it helps athletes focus on getting a mark (staying in the ring, staying on/behind the board) to move up the standings instead of "going for broke" and risking a 3 foul performance just to make finals.
The athletes now compete with the knowledge that 9th is better than 11th, which is better than 15th, which is better than 20th, etc, instead of thinking, "I only have value to my team if I'm top 8".
*Fan friendly and helps Track & Field make more sense to casual fans. In sports, it is hard for people to understand why the person who finishes 9th is treated the same way as the person who finishes 17th. It doesn't make sense, and the differentiation between EVERY position at the championship will help provide meaning to athletes and fans alike.
*It allows athletes, coaches, and teams to have value at the National Meet by returning to campus after their performances with points. Instead of teams with no All-Americans all returning to campus with 0 points and nothing for their schools to show off or brag about, they now have a more realistic score and placement nationally, and something more tangible they can share.
*It is more likely to reward the best teams in the country with Trophy winning performances while still allowing teams that may be heavily reliant on one or two superstars to win a trophy with dominant performances.
We recognize this is a substantial change from how things have been done, but T&F needs to continue to evolve to reach more athletes and fans in a meaningful way. Gone are the days when the best programs would have dual meets throughout their season and athletes would compete in 3-4 events at meets multiple days per week. This is another step forward to make the sport more rewarding, beneficial, and understandable for athletes and fans alike.
Scoring Suggestions (NCAA Committee could iron this out):
Option One: Winner gets the same number of competitors in the field + 5 / 2nd place gets 3 less / 3rd place gets 3 less / 4th place through last place receive the number of points based on how many people s/he beats +1
Example (20 person field)
1st: 25
2nd: 22
3rd: 19
4th: 17
5th: 16
20th: 1
*This would provide extra incentive to finish in the top 3, with a larger differentiation between those spots, as top three has always been a significant number in Track & Field thanks to the popularity of the Olympics.
*A DNF, a DQ, or a 3 foul is eliminated and receives zero points, so not all points are guaranteed to be awarded.
Option Two:
Winner receives 25 or 30 (or some number that would be large enough to accommodate any field size the NCAA currently offers) and the Committee adjusts the scoring differently based on the field size for each gender.
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