Wasted Women's D1 Rowing Programs

[Norm]

This from SI. The 2012-13 subsidy for Rutgers athletics from the general university fund was $47,000,000 - the accumulated deficit is expected to top out at $187,000,000 by 2022. A lot of these are one-time expenses. The Big-10 network income will increase, but Rutgers will only get 15% of their share for a while. Perhaps they could be better in rowing right now, but I would be loath to criticize the staff for any failures when they are under funded and supported. It took a roof collapse to convince UMass to replace their tin shack. They appear to be getting better. Situations matter. Coaches matter. But we can't see the situations as well as the person with the megaphone, so the easy blame falls on the coach.

[cox'n]

It took a roof collapse to convince UMass to replace their tin shack. They appear to be getting better.

I know both facilities. UMass had been talking about a new boathouse since Dietz arrived. It's amazing he was able to produce decent eights and A10 championships with the old "boathouse" and 2.5 scholarships (or thereabouts). The new UMass boathouse is very very nice. I think it's no coincidence that they went to NCAA's this year.

[Slim]

I think I would prioritize Scholarships > Equipment > Boathouse if I was dealing with limited resources - anyone disagree?

Assumption being that you have ok equipment, and some sort of a place to keep your equipment out of the elements.

[Sarge]

Proximity to water, rowable at any time of day. I know many teams do it, but hopping in cars or vans at 5am and driving 25 minutes to go row is a tough one. Brown women row 4 afternoons and Wednesday and sat morning (Wednesday morning to allow for labs). I hate that many programs (even those that don't have issues with water or getting to it) row in the early morning, all the time.

[Yuk Yuk]

Rutgers will need to step it up if they want to be competitive in the B1G. Everyone else has 20 fulls, 3 full time coaches, volunteers, ga's, etc. not to mention nice boathouses. The good news is the B1G Network money will start flow - hopefully rowing gets a big piece. Be great to see Rutgers have done success.

Before you say this....look at the Big Ten Schools - not all are in great shape....Indiana has a run down pole barn for a boathouse and no GA.... It doesn't look like MIchigan St has much better.

[porsche5k]

It took a roof collapse to convince UMass to replace their tin shack. They appear to be getting better.

I know both facilities. UMass had been talking about a new boathouse since Dietz arrived. It's amazing he was able to produce decent eights and A10 championships with the old "boathouse" and 2.5 scholarships (or thereabouts). The new UMass boathouse is very very nice. I think it's no coincidence that they went to NCAA's this year.

I think UMass making it to NCAA's was more of a change in the selection procedure than success due to their new boat house. Not to take anything away from them this year.

[Long'n Strong]

Proximity to water, rowable at any time of day. I know many teams do it, but hopping in cars or vans at 5am and driving 25 minutes to go row is a tough one. Brown women row 4 afternoons and Wednesday and sat morning (Wednesday morning to allow for labs). I hate that many programs (even those that don't have issues with water or getting to it) row in the early morning, all the time.

Slightly off-topic, I know, but club programs do that all the time. Which raises an interesting question: are club rowers perhaps actually more dedicated and hard-working than their more-privileged D1 big sisters?

[bloomp]

Proximity to water, rowable at any time of day. I know many teams do it, but hopping in cars or vans at 5am and driving 25 minutes to go row is a tough one. Brown women row 4 afternoons and Wednesday and sat morning (Wednesday morning to allow for labs). I hate that many programs (even those that don't have issues with water or getting to it) row in the early morning, all the time.

Slightly off-topic, I know, but club programs do that all the time. Which raises an interesting question: are club rowers perhaps actually more dedicated and hard-working than their more-privileged D1 big sisters?

Yes.

And rowing in the morning trumps afternoons for many reasons.

1) Generally better water
2) Less competition for water (pleasure boaters, paddlers, etc)

Very few bodies of water don't have competition for other recreational activities. To successfully run a practice with a 60-person squad when you're dodging wakes or sailboats or kayakers is more difficult than just waking up early.

[Remomex]

Something else worth considering is that rowers on club programs will find it more difficult to be excused from afternoon classes, so training early in the morning almost guarantees everyone will be able to make it without conflict.

[rowingpun]

Having rowed in Philly in college, rowing in the afternoon is not an option in the spring. Fall was ok to do it, but in the spring the river is like Stotesbury every damn day. Penn would row at all kinds of hours during the day, not sure if that is still a thing.

[Sarge]

Some D 1 programs row in the morning because they have to travel to the water and want to avoid traffic (Miami, UCLA) come to mind. Philly, well I can understand that. Club programs row in the morning generally because their coaches have to work at other jobs...

Since when do folks get excused from class for practice? Doesn't work that way. One arranges their schedule accordingly.

All I am really saying is that physiologically rowing early in the morning is less than optimal. It is hard to get enough sleep in a college setting and really hard to fuel appropriately. I suspect that many of us trained in the morning at some point in our careers, but I am more than thankful I didn't in college.

[ltwt1x]

There are Philly programs out there doing 2 a days. They just launch after the bulk of the highschools to create a second shift of wakes with good ole Conestoga.

[TheNatureBoy]

This topic always seems to lead to some heated debates. With the dust settled on the racing season; who are the teams out there who are wasting away or doing less with lots of support? Also, who are the teams who are over performing with less support?

[2CiiX21]

This topic always seems to lead to some heated debates. With the dust settled on the racing season; who are the teams out there who are wasting away or doing less with lots of support? Also, who are the teams who are over performing with less support?

I suppose the other way I could phrase the question is, "If you were able to take on the HC role at any (under-performing/unranked) program at the moment, which one would you choose?"

Easy answer: Alabama.

Hands down #1 - it's not even close.

[TheNatureBoy]

This topic always seems to lead to some heated debates. With the dust settled on the racing season; who are the teams out there who are wasting away or doing less with lots of support? Also, who are the teams who are over performing with less support?

I suppose the other way I could phrase the question is, "If you were able to take on the HC role at any (under-performing/unranked) program at the moment, which one would you choose?"

Easy answer: Alabama.

Hands down #1 - it's not even close.

After looking at results from Alabama's conference championships, I'd have to say Old Dominion is in a much worse place then Alabama. Old Dominion was dead last in each race and by a large margin. I'm not sure what OD's funding is like, but I'm sure they have the maximum allotment of scholarships and a good size budget to work with.

I would also put Rutgers, UNC and Miami in this group after looking at their results from Big 10s and ACCs. Does anyone know what they're working with when it comes to scholarships/budgets as well?