Scholarships scarce for team

In the 2004-05 school year, Ball State University will no longer have a men's cross country or track team. The school announced it would be cutting both of these athletic programs this past summer. For many athletes, this will be the end of their collegiate athletic career and an unfortunate ending for many who are dedicated to the sport. \nAlthough IU is not cutting its cross country and track teams, these Hoosier athletes are greatly affected by the same reasons behind getting rid of the programs at Ball State.\nThe IU cross country and track programs are allotted 12 scholarships per year for both sports. None of these are for cross country. With such a limited number of scholarships, there is no way to ensure that every athlete gets what he deserves.\n"I came to IU getting no money, but now I have a partial scholarship," senior Chris Powers said. "But it really is not about the money. It is about pride and running at a school with such a great tradition."\nThe fifth-year senior is one of the top runners on the Hoosiers' team this year. Last weekend he placed 18th in a meet that showcased many of the elite distance runners in the country. \nThe cross country team has consistently been one of the elite teams in the nation the past five years and is currently ranked 19th in the nation. The Hoosier runners have been in the NCAA top 25 poll every year for the last four years, and belong to one of the best teams in the Big Ten. The team has finished no worse than fifth the last four years and was runner-up in 2000.\nWith a limited amount of scholarship money, it is hard to recruit elite cross country runners to come to IU, but sophomore Stephen Haas said he believes his coach does a great job of recruiting in-state talent.\n"Coach (Robert) Chapman is really good at getting the good guys from Indiana and convincing them to come here," Haas said. \nSenior Nathan Gooden came to IU out of high school with no scholarship and still has not received any money to run for the Hoosiers in his four years here.\n"Money really is not that much of an issue," Gooden said. "Basically I just love the sport and love to compete, so I don't think about whether I am going to get money or not. I just run."\nWith the majority of the team coming from Indiana and most receiving little scholarship money, Chapman must still recruit some out-of-state talent.\nCurrent sophomores John and Sean Jefferson were some of the best runners in the country coming out of high school in Delray Beach, Fla. The Jeffersons, along with Haas and senior Nathan Purcell, are the only runners on the current roster from out-of-state. The Jeffersons are on almost full scholarships now, and Haas now has a 75 percent scholarship. \n"Coming from out-of-state, the tuition rates are so high, so the scholarship money affected my decision some," Haas said. "But I also thought it would be a good opportunity to come here. I knew there was a lot of talent coming in with the Jeffersons deciding to come here. Money is not everything, but coming from out-of-state, it really helped."\nCurrently, there are no imminent signs of the program getting cut and experiencing a situation like the current one at Ball State. \n"My gut reaction was to cry," Ball State distance runner Steve Samuel said in an article in the Ball State Daily News. "We love what we do. We had great opportunities here, and it really is sad that people can't get those opportunities anymore."\n-- Contact staff writer Alex Witteveld at pawittev@indiana.edu.