Stanford Autopsy...

[crewu]

NCAA status would have punished Cal more than any other program by limiting scholarships to somewhere between 4-7.

There's a reason the NCAA vote failed and never had a chance to begin with.

As far as the new coaches association is concerned, ironically the last time varsity coaches organised themselves for a purpose it was to get clubs kicked out of IRAs - led by Stanford.

I can only imagine what today's goals might be.

[rowing]

How long before Michigan sends Stanford a "Welcome to the CLUB!" note?

[yeahbuddy]

Anyone check the temperature at Syracuse yet?

[crewu]

How long before Michigan sends Stanford a "Welcome to the CLUB!" note?

Haha brutal. And ironic since the club was essentially founded by Stanford and Wisconsin.

[asdad123]

The varsity to club transition isn't exactly a walk in the park. Would be nice to see them try to make it work

Anyone check the temperature at Syracuse yet?

Currently advertising an coaching position opening which is a good sign.

[crewu]

Stanford cannot be competitive with the state universities as a club.

The women's coach might not even let them in the boathouse.

[rowing]

Stanford cannot be competitive with the state universities as a club.

The women's coach might not even let them in the boathouse.

Whoa, the USC treatment. How did that ultimately work out for the Trojan Keymaster?

[Withoutmercy]

time will only tell when the ncaa will be dead too.
Football is going to hammer the budgets schools that offer it and try to compete this fall.

[rowing]

time will only tell when the ncaa will be dead too.
Football is going to hammer the budgets schools that offer it and try to compete this fall.

[eightsaresuperior]

Stanford cannot be competitive with the state universities as a club.

Why not? There are smaller Universities that are competitive at the ACRA level.

[crewu]

Stanford cannot be competitive with the state universities as a club.

Why not? There are smaller Universities that are competitive at the ACRA level.

Yep. I'll stand corrected on that statement. There are now so many events at ACRA to dilute the talent anyone can be competitive. And I don't say that with my nose in the air. I think that is a good thing for club sports.... Also works well for the youth programs.

[sul]

Stanford cannot be competitive with the state universities as a club.

Why not? There are smaller Universities that are competitive at the ACRA level.

Yep. I'll stand corrected on that statement. There are now so many events at ACRA to dilute the talent anyone can be competitive. And I don't say that with my nose in the air. I think that is a good thing for club sports.... Also works well for the youth programs.

Dilute the talent?

who's rowing fours, quads, or small boats at ACRA that could make the eight boat final in an eight?

Indeed, the small boat teams are hard pressed to beat the teams with crews' third eight guys who are racing at the top at ACRA.

[eightsaresuperior]

Stanford cannot be competitive with the state universities as a club.

Why not? There are smaller Universities that are competitive at the ACRA level.

Yep. I'll stand corrected on that statement. There are now so many events at ACRA to dilute the talent anyone can be competitive. And I don't say that with my nose in the air. I think that is a good thing for club sports.... Also works well for the youth programs.

What about schools like Notre Dame, Bucknell and Boston College who can make the V8 final and press for a medal? Stanford is bigger than all 3.

[okayrower]

There's no doubt the non-NCAA status of men's rowing played a role in the Stanford team being cut. Not being an NCAA sponsored sport is similar to the lightweight men's four being cut as an Olympic event. Athletic directors are like national governing bodies. "If you want to compete, you'll have to pay for it because we don't see the point."

It was going to take a significant investment in the Stanford program for them to get close to Cal and Washington. One of the criteria the Stanford administration looked at was "incremental investments required to keep or put the sport in a position to achieve competitive excellence on the national level." The cavernous gap between Stanford and Cal/Washington was most likely deemed too big although I believe Ted Sobolewski was on track.

Stanford sees itself on par with the Ivies, and in many ways rowing is the quintessential Ivy League sport. So, cutting men's rowing was probably one of the last to be eliminated. It may have been the only sport among those cut by Stanford that actually competed for a Pac-12 championship, so there were a lot of factors working in its favor.

The proposals Craig A. made years ago for scholarship limits and NCAA sponsorship could have strengthened the whole of Pac-12 rowing. The arms race between Cal and Washington left Stanford and Oregons State in the dust, and now Stanford is gone. A Pac-12 men's rowing championship will probably soon be gone, as well.

[Slim]

The lack of a reasonable scholarship cap really hurts men's rowing. It makes it really hard for schools to compete with Cal and Washington (Ivies excepted of course), even if the administration was interested in making an incremental investment.

For example I think Stanford had either 4 or 6 scholarships. Assuming Stanford had 6 scholarships, to get to par with Cal and Washington (14.5 - the Pac-12 limit) would require an additional investment in rowing of over $600,000 per year (Stanford cost of attendance was 74,500 this past year).

Men's rowing is going to have to change.