USTFCCCA CEO Sets The Tone For The Week's Important Meetings At Convention In The Midst Of Drastic Period Of Change

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

ORLANDO -- Sam Seemes did not mince words on Tuesday in his opening remarks at the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's annual convention. 

"We must save ourselves," Seemes told attendees to the convention, which serves thousands of coaches from all levels of the sport. 

Seemes, the CEO of the USTFCCCA, implored the coaches in the room to set their personal agendas and the status quo aside and re-imagine the presentation of the sport before it's too late. 

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The dramatically shifting landscape of collegiate athletics, which prioritizes revenue streams, TV contracts and social media engagement as it grapples with NIL money for current athletes and a $2.8 billion class action lawsuit that would require Power Five conference schools to compensate former athletes. 

Caught in that machinery are sports such as track and field and cross country, which are fighting for relevance and cost more money to operate than they bring in. 

"Let me be blunt," Seemes said. "Our sports are under siege. Not in some distant future, but right now. The threats are real and immediate: Shrinking opportunities for student-athletes. Vanishing budgets. Disappearing scholarships. Reduced coaching positions. Complete program elimination. Replacement by sports perceived as more valuable."

New scholarship and roster limits in the Southeastern Conference will cap men's teams at 10 for cross country and 35 for track and field and that will be implemented with the 2025-26 school year. 

The influential SEC, with many of the most successful college programs in the country (Florida, Arkansas, Texas, etc.), will likely impact what other Division 1 conferences choose to do with roster limits. 

Beyond the roster limits, college track and field is at a point where it needs to innovate or be left behind. 

Seemes' speech was delivered with the intent to challenge coaches to get creative.

"I'm 100 percent behind him," Oregon State director of track and field and cross country Louie Quintana said. "Adapt or die. That's where we are. I don't want to sound dire about it, but this is my profession and changes have to be made."

In addition to Tuesday night Hall of Fame ceremony, numerous seminars and Thursday's Bowerman Awards, are general counsel meetings where coaches in leadership positions will try to chart the path forward. 

"Sometimes at these things you are a little bit of a pariah if you try to change the way things are done," said Quintana, who leads a women's-only program. "But we have to."

The pandemic scare of 2020 put a few Division 1 programs on the brink of elimination. 

What's happening with the financial model for college athletics now could be worse.

"Nothing is guaranteed anymore," Seemes said in his speech. "Our sport's place in collegiate athletics is not a birthright. Yes, we have the highest participation numbers. Yes, we're among the most diverse sports on campus. Yes, we produce exceptional graduation rates.

"But here's the harsh reality - participation numbers and diversity statistics may make for good public relations, but behind closed doors, they're not driving decisions."

Seemes is calling for ideas that "revolutionize" how collegiate track and field is presented. 

That's the task of coaches and their committees this week in Orlando.

"The choice is yours," Seemes said. "Will you be part of the solution, or will you watch from the sidelines as our sport fades into irrelevance?"