Track Comes Back

It’s finally here. After years of discussion, planning and research, Hardin-Simmons made the step today to officially reenter the world of collegiate track and field. At an afternoon press conference, the school announced we would bring back track and field after a forty year absence and that cross country would be a varsity sport for men and women in the Fall, 2008 semester. We are the twelfth school in the American Southwest Conference to sponsor Cross Country and we will become the seventh school in the ASC to sponsor track. This will give HSU 16 varsity sports, the most that the school has sponsored in the modern era of athletics.

While I know that we will experience growing pains as all first year programs do, I am still excited about the potential of adding the four sports to our athletic department. I think this will allow us to recruit more student-athletes and help provide us with another opportunity to bring recognition to the school on a national level. Track is immensely popular at the high school level in Texas, and I am optimistic about the number of quality student-athletes we can recruit. Years ago there was a saying among high school coaches, which went something like “My sport is your sports punishment.” Track was simply something you did either in the off-season or for missing an early morning practice. In this day and age of specialized training for high school athletes, I don’t know if the saying is still applicable, but I do know there are a large number of student-athletes looking for a place to compete at the Division III level.

We were impressed with the large number of applicants we received for this position. We are fortunate to have the ability to bring Rodney Smith to our campus. We have complete faith in his ability to be the coach of all four teams and help us navigate our way as we purchase new equipment, build the track facility and recruit student-athletes. Coach Smith has experience at the high school and college level and has numerous contacts throughout the state. We are impressed with his track knowledge and his commitment to take care of our athletes. Everyone I visited with about Coach Smith mentioned that he has a reputation for running a quality program. We anticipate that he will quickly fit in with our department and campus community.

For now we hope to have the track completed by early June which will help the overall look of our athletic facilities at Grape Street. Little did I realize when we started work on the softball field and fieldhouse in 2002, how much would happen in just six years. I can only hope that the return of track to our university will match the success that football and softball has enjoyed since both sports were brought to our campus.

Cowboy Up,

John Neese