WSU Track and Field eliminates events from championship-winning program

Washington State University (WSU) has implemented a “distance-focused approach” to its track and field offerings by immediately eliminating multiple field events.

WSU announced in a brief statement on Monday that the change in its approach for the WSU Track & Field program is the best opportunity for remaining competitive in the conference and nationally.

WSU track and field changes

The statement noted that WSU Athletics leadership met with members of the Men’s and Women’s track and field teams to provide details on its updated approach and event cuts.

WSU projected that this update will keep the program competitive in cross-country distance events and indoor and outdoor track and field; however, it eliminates field events, including long and high jumps, javelin, shot put, and more.

Additionally, WSU stated that the number of spring and hurdle opportunities will be limited, and all changes to its program will be effective immediately.

WSU will honor its existing student-athletes’ scholarships if they choose to remain at the school, and transition support will be provided for student-athletes who choose to continue their career with another school.

WSU made a big shift away from a program that holds one of the two NCAA championships won by the school: Indoor track and field in 1977, and boxing in 1937, according to The Spokesman-Review.

NIL settlement and Pac-12 realignment

The WSU athletic program update is one of the first notable moves the school has made since the recent $2.8 billion House v. NCAA antitrust settlement, which alters the many ways student-athletes can receive payment for name, image, and likeness (NIL), and may be the cause for the WSU Track & Field revision.

The settlement is expected to increase NIL payments for student-athletes who play football and basketball, both high-revenue earning sports for their conferences.

Other athletic programs that do not produce high revenue may continue to receive less funding as a result of schools’ decisions to delegate their resources toward the athletic programs that bring the highest profit.

This WSU athletic department’s decision is one of many moves the school has made since 10 members departed from the more than 100-year-old conference in August.

The two remaining schools, WSU and Oregon State, have since made plans to expand the Pac-12 conference to eight members, with five members joining from the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference (WCC).

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