Vote on Track Team Fate This Thursday-Friday

The Ohio University Board of Trustees will vote on the recommendation to cut the men's track team this Thursday or Friday at their meeting in Chillicothe.

The easiest and quickest way to prevent the cut is to convince the Board not to cut the teams. The Board of Trustees are an independent-thinking group that ultimately do what is best for OHIO. Therefore, if enough people contact them with lengthy letters, I believe we still have a change. Contact information for them is here.

Another important route to influence the Board is through the Ohio General Assembly and Ohio Governor's office. The influence both entities have on the Board is tremendous. Please call and write your state Representative, Senator, a Governor Strickland.

Contact state Reps and Senators here. To contact Governor Strickland, click here.

START EMAILING/CALLING/FAXING TODAY!

Also, another powerful route to take is contacting your Ohio Members of Congress. Find your U.S. Reps here and U.S. Senators here.

OVERWHELM YOUR REPRESENTATIVES SO THAT THE BOARD WILL UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THIS ISSUE!

Talking points:

- The process of cutting the team(s) was unfair and did not reflect a shared governance process
- The Athletic Department lied to student preceding the vote by telling them there was no plans to cut the teams. This really messed up student-athletes running careers.
- The justification the Athletic Department cited is flawed and incorrect. Title IX is not an issue and funding could have been dealt with a million different ways.
- The Track team is crucial to the success of the football team, in fact, the last two football players to turn pro have also been members of the track team.
- The Track team helps OU's minority recruiting efforts tremendously.
- The Track team has existed at OU for 100 years, during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. The Great Depression didn't cause the team to be cut, but all of a sudden fiscal mismanagement blown out of proportion wrongly serves as justification.
- There are more Track student-athletes and alumni in the U.S. than any other OHIO sport.
- At the least, the Athletic Department should give alumni a chance to raise enough money for us to maintain the team ourselves.

GOOD LUCK!