University of California Riverside Athletics Director Stan Morrison will answer selected questions from our online readers throughout the school year. To submit a question to "Ask Stan Morrison", click here.

Question:

"Stan,
I am a high school track and field coach. Formerly a coach with the Moreno Valley Rockets Youth track & Field team. Before UCR learned they would become Division 1 we were allowed to practice on your track after Coach Rinne and the team were done. Now we're told we must get a permit and pay to use a facility that I paid for as a tax payer.

As a coach this baffles me. Why would you want to create this type of friction with other coaches who may have a say in potentially sending (or not sending) athletes to your school? You know as well as I that money is not easy to come by for athletics. I know another youth team also worked-out here as well (Team World) and an adult running club too. What gives?

I would think as one of the very few rubber tracks in the area you would want to share it so young athletes would appreciate what the University has to offer. We are forced to travel to San Jacinto, San Bernardino, Jurupa or Rancho Verde to practice hand-offs to prepare for Invitational or CIF championship meets. Not what I would do to lure some of the nations top Track and Field athletes from down the street to my track team.
Submitted by Jeff Garrison

Stan's Reply :

"Dear Coach Garrison,

Thank you for taking time to send your email.

Most athletes, coaches and joggers do not know the costs for the upkeep or replacement of a synthetic/composition track because they have never been involved with those responsibilities. The sense of entitlement that many community folks feel, as a result of being taxpayers, is remarkable. I am confident that many of our UCR researchers, who do work in state supported facilities, are pleased that researchers outside our campus do not feel similarly.

The bottom line is that the track at UCR was being used by our general student population, neighborhood folks, outside running teams, etc. and the wear and tear on the track was diminishing the "life" of the surface. . .particularly on the most popular inside lanes. We set up barriers for the runners/joggers/walkers in an effort to encourage them to use the outside lanes and the barriers were broken down. Additionally, a study was done to ascertain the effects of people in tennis shoes, as opposed to legitimate track shoes, and discovered that the shuffling of walkers and joggers in tennis shoes actually created greater abrasion and wear than track shoes. I do fully understand that your organization runs in track shoes.

In this incredibly difficult state budget crisis, we have had no alternative but to preserve the track for our student-athletes and exclude all others. To open the doors to any single organization would be unfair to all the others who have been excluded. We recognize that this does not send the signal we would like. We are not doing this to create enemies but in the best interests of our programs here at UCR. Our track has been resurfaced enough times that it cannot be resurfaced again. It will have to be replaced down to and including the base. The cost will be between 1/2 and 3/4 million dollars.

As a former track athlete and high school track and field coach, I saw the ultimate sacrifice at San Jose State University when I was an Assistant Basketball Coach there in the late '60s. We had Tommie Smith, Lee Evans, John Carlos, and enough talent to win the NCAA Championship two consecutive years. Everyone used the track. The end result was that the surface wore out quickly and there was no money to resurface or replace the track. Track and field was dropped at San Jose State later and "Speed City" existed no more. To this day, they do not have a track and field team.

As an emerging Division I program, with limited funding, we wish we could be more encouraging with respect to use of our facilities. We do want to encourage the traffic of local athletes on our campus. But we have limitations and the synthetic/composition track is one of them. Thank you for all you do for young people through athletics. I trust that they have a way of demonstrating their appreciation.

"Braveheart is Alive!" - Stan Morrison