Last December the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees approved the decision to drop men's track and cross-country programs.

WMU became the fifth Mid-American Conference school in recent years to dump track. Miami of Ohio was able to reinstate its program, but other MAC track teams may be in jeopardy as budgets are cut and pressures created to elevate larger revenue-generating programs such as football and basketball.

Efforts are now underway at Western and Ball State to reinstitute the tradition-rich sport. "Bring Back Track"-- an organization made up of former athletes, coaches and supporters -- is dedicated to preserving WMU's most-successful athletic program. Western track and cross teams have produced four world-record holders, an Olympic gold medalist, and the Broncos' only NCAA national champions.

Seventy percent of the school's track and cross runners come from in-state, a far-higher percentage than other school sports boast. Minority students make up more than 20 percent of the track team, five times their percentage of Western's general student population.

Men's running programs cost less per athlete than any other sport at the school. Last year Westerns spent $7,723 per runner, versus $57,919 for each basketball player. Rather than cut all sports five percent, Athletic Director Kathy Beauregard opted to drop an entire program that affected 48 athletes.

The decision was announced while students and athletes were on Christmas break, likely to head off negative feedback that would ensue. In its haste to cut the budget, the board showed little regard for tuition and fees they might lose from track and cross-country athletes, most of whom aren't on scholarships. Nor did members seem to consider that Western will still have to pay for track and cross-country facilities for its women's teams, or donations from track alumni that it might lose.

Track and cross have the greatest number of high-school participants, and offer students the most opportunity to be part of university teams as well. College sports are, or should be, about education: not preparing athletes to play pro sports, or being a venue for TV and mass audiences.

"Athletics," said former Yale University president and major-league baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti, "is a vehicle for individual self-discovery, self-discipline and personal growth that comes from challenge, extreme effort and the pursuit of excellence."

It is wrong to assume that cutting men's track and cross country would have less negative impact than cutting tennis or soccer and their community-hosted tournaments. Former Western thinclad Chris Crowell, now owner of the Kalamazoo Gazelle Sports store, has organized several committees whose goal is bringing back Bronco track. Crowell, former Bronco coach George Dales and their supporters have offered to pay for the cross-country program, but been turned down.

Cutting track and cross country will have a much wider impact that losing 48 athletes and program coaches. The Broncos were one of the MAC's most-competitive track teams. Without them, other league schools will need to look outside their conference to find their athletes top competition.

The decision will also hurt high-school programs throughout Southwest Michigan, and slowly erode the number of qualified coaches who come from Western, one of the largest producers of teachers in the land.

Retired Eastern Michigan University track coach Bob Parks believes using Title IX as a reason to drop men's sports is bogus.

"This is an impossible situation with football in the equation," Parks says. "(Dropping track) is simply an attempt to make things add up on paper that can't add up.

"It's all about money," the ex-Eastern coach says. "The big schools add women's sports -- which is what Title IX intended -- and pay for them by raising ticket prices, getting corporate support and more donations; whereas the MAC schools just drop men's sports to the minimum requirement."

Bring Back Track will continue its quest for the sports' reinstatement. To voice your opinion about this issue, send emails through the Web site www.bringbacktrack.com and/or to Western President Judith Bailey at judi.bailey@wmich.edu.

Writer Doug Kurtis keeps stating, restating and reinstating himself as a running legend, holding world records for the most sub-2:20 marathons (76) and marathon wins (40). He may be contacted at dkurtis@earthlink.com. MR