The Omnibus

Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Sports

Freshman Michael McCampbell works his way through a pack of runners during a track meet earlier in Southwest Baptist University's successful track-and-field season.

Jeff DeLong has taken the cross country and track-and-field programs at Southwest Baptist University from obscurity to the forefront of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association in only two years at the helm. DeLong has done this mainly with a group of young runners whom he recruited with the intention of coaching through their entire collegiate careers. Before students were released for Christmas break, DeLong broke the news to his athletes that he was resigning effective May 1.
Four months after DeLong's resignation, the cross country and track-and-field teams are still without a new coach.
The absence of a new coach is a concern for three main reasons:
Reason One: DeLong is leaving the team in three weeks. This means the team could be without a head coach for the MIAA Outdoor Track-and-Field Championships this year. However, this loss would be softened by the presence of assistant coaches and graduate assistants.
Reason Two: If it has not already done so, recruiting time is running out. DeLong has done some recruiting for next year, but how do you sell an athletic program to a recruit when none of the current salaried coaches or graduate assistants will be back next year? The cross country and track programs have made great strides, but they need more quality athletes to take these programs to the elite level.
Reason Three: The training for cross country should start in the early stages of summer. As soon as track is over, the distance runners will take a short period of rest before they begin to train for next fall's cross country season. Without a coach, it will be difficult for the team to be on the same page in regard to training and it could conceivably hurt the team for the cross country season.
Having already lost DeLong, the uncertainty around the coaching position has understandably left many track athletes disappointed.
"I really think it's disappointing the way everything has happened," said sophomore Vince Tichenor. "I respect DeLong's actions and think he's doing the right thing for himself, but it's disappointing to see that such a good thing is going away in this manner. DeLong took this program from nothing to competing at a national level. It's hard."

Continued...

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