Today was a second straight day of big news for Little 500. Phi Kappa Psi captured the men's pole and Teter won the pole for the women. Congrats to those teams as they will be wearing the green jersey on race day. The racing was good today, but it will be overshadowed by other news in the Little 500 world.
The biggest story of the day was the failure of defending men's champion Alpha Tau Omega to qualify for the race. It is only the second time a defending champion has failed to make the race.
What are your thoughts about the recent developments? What prompted IUSF to change the coaching rule? Now that the field is set, who are your favorites to take the checkered flag?
ATO faulted on their first two attempts by dropping the bike during the exchange, forcing them to try one final time at the end of the day. The third run ended on the first exchange for the reining champs. The team attempted a full bike exchange, where each of the two riders were using a different bike, when the second rider began moving before his teammate completed the hand tag required by rule.
The team was understandably upset and did not want to talk to us. ATO coach Norm Houze said it was disappointing the team will not wear the yellow jersey reserved for the defending champions.We want to report that freshman Aaron Berg from Zeta Beta Tau who was involved in the crash earlier this week is OK. I talked to him today and he said it was just a concussion. He did not ride in the qualifications.
Another big story was the reappearance of Courtney Bishop, coach of Team Major Taylor, at the track. According to a 2006 IDS article, Bishop received a lifetime ban from the Little 500 for recruiting violations. Last year, he sued the IUSF one day before the race to be reinstated. He was not allowed to participate in last year's race, but yesterday he was reinstated by IUSF.
People were talking about the reversal of the alumni coaching rule. Nobody knew why the change occurred. Some people were happy, some were disappointed and some did not care. We will have more in Monday's IDS about this and the Bishop situation.
What are your thoughts about the recent developments? Why did IUSF reverse the ruling? Now that the field is set, who are your favorites to take the checkered flag?
