NY Times Picks Up Story of Vulnerable UMd. Track Team

It's no longer new news that , if they can't raise millions of dollars for themselves.

But the tale of the men's track team, and the impact that the elimination of the Division 1 program could have on the sport on a national level, is a story The New York Times found worthy of telling.

If nonrevenue programs like Maryland men’s track continue to be eliminated, it could eventually affect how the United States Olympic team is assembled, The Times wrote. Many Olympic track athletes compete at a Division I program before going professional.

“If many other colleges follow Maryland’s lead to cut track, I believe we’ll see a resurgence of [running] club activity," said Barbara MacLeod, an economics professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, said in an e-mail to The Times. "The end result will be reconfiguring of competition, but not a detriment to U.S. Olympic prospects.”

And here's a not-so-fun fact: UMd. Coach Andrew Valmon is also coaching the Olympic track team this coming summer. If his Terps are cut, he'll have a men's squad to coach in London, but not one in Maryland when he returns.

Read more of The Times piece here.