The 2012 indoor season wasn’t full of first place finishes or broken records for the Portland State men’s track and field team. But head coach Ronnye Harrison and assistant coach Seth Henson looked at it as a season of growing in a competitive Big Sky Conference.
“I thought it went well for the men that went [to the Big Sky Championships],” Henson said. “We’re redshirting three of our best guys this season, so as far as the outdoor season looks, it will probably be close to the same as indoor. But it’s good that those guys are training hard and our recruits are looking good for the future.”
Even with three athletes redshirting this year and low expectations from the coaching staff, the men’s team has a lot of talented young athletes. “I don’t want it to sound like we are scrapping this year,” Henson said. “We’ve got some guys that we’re pretty excited about in the outdoor conference.”
The future of the men’s program looks to be a bright one, with so many young athletes that have had some success in the conference. Recruiting is a challenge, but the men have some good athletes lined up for the upcoming years.
“Recruiting is going well for the men,” Henson said. “We have some guys on campus right now that will be on the team next year. They just can’t compete right now because of ineligibility issues.”
When it comes down to it, the women’s track and field team has more funding. Title IX keeps the support the university provides to men’s and women’s sports equal. Because more of the money for equipment and scholarships for men’s sports goes to other programs, the men’s side of track and field is left playing second funding fiddle.
“Think of women’s track as men’s football,” Henson said.
Portland State’s football team hands out a lot of scholarships and has a lot of athletes. Title IX ensures that neither men’s or women’s athletics have a financial advantage. This allows the women’s side of the Viking track and field program to do more out-of-state recruitment, have better equipment and attract better athletes.
Unfortunately for the men, this means less funding. Less funding leads to mostly in-state recruiting, less equipment and difficulty attracting athletes.
“It can be tough to get athletes to Portland as it is,” Harrison said. “Without the right equipment and no indoor stadium, it gets even harder. But we do the best with what we have.”
Harrison went on to say he appreciates everything the administration does for the men’s program.
“They try to help in any way possible,” Harrison said. “They know the situation we are in, and they do everything they can.”
Funding is a huge factor in the success of athletic programs, and when it comes to the difference between the men’s and women’s programs at PSU, the effect is easily noticed. The women placed third in the Big Sky Conference, broke record after record and met and even exceeded expectations over the course of the indoor season. The men scored nine points in the championship after only sending a fraction of their runners to Flagstaff, Ariz., to compete in the Big Sky Conference Championships.
“They are definitely a marquee program,” Henson said. “If you look at the number of women compared to the number of men, they are very close, but almost 100 percent of our women are on some sort of financial aid and like less than 20 percent of our men are getting some sort of scholarship. Most of our men are from the State of Oregon or pretty close, and if you look at our women, we are able to recruit through the islands and all over the United States. We actually have the money to bring those girls out.”
Funding is not an issue that will find resolution. All the program can do is try its best to work around it and build toward a bright future for the men.
“We try to go find guys that want to be in Portland,” Henson said. “They want to be at Portland State and they are willing to work hard—some blue collar kids that will work hard.”
As far as this season, the Vikings hope to improve their finish in the indoor championships.
“I expect us to get seventh place,” Harrison said. “It’s not going to be easy, but it is something that we can accomplish.”
The Vikings’ next meet is the Mondo Invitational on April 14 in Sacramento, Calif.