During the recent Armory Meet in New York, USATF’s new CEO, Doug Logan gave an interview on various topics concerning Track and Field. During this interview Logan touched on issues such as “Drugs in the Sport”, the performance of the US Team at last year’s Beijing Olympic Games, and “The marketing of the sport here in the United States”. <\/p>\n
While I have an interest in all of the areas he discussed, I found his words on the marketing of the sport most interesting, as he mentioned a topic that I myself have looked at – the idea of creating an actual League for the sport of Track and Field. <\/p>\n
Now the idea of a “League” for the sport is not entirely new. “Back in the day” during the 1970’s there was an attempt to create a professional track league called the “International Track Association” or “ITA”. It was able to pull some of the top “amateurs” of the day – Ben Jipcho, Brian Oldfield, and John Smith among others – and had them competing on a professional “circuit”. <\/p>\n
Unfortunately this idea never really caught on in spite of having a television contract, and implementing gimmicks such as pacer lights around the track to aid its distance runners. It failed in large part, I believe, because as Logan mentioned in his interview, sports fans here in the US have become accustomed to identifying with “Teams”, checking “Standings” and watching “Playoffs and Championships”! In short, the model of sports such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB have jaded the thinking of fans here in the United States as to the format that “professional” sports should follow. <\/p>\n
In its current form Track and Field on the professional level is still a fairly individual sport. It’s very much man against man (or woman against woman) and based on the individual and his\/ her own performances. Only during an Olympics or World Championships does the idea of “team” vaguely raise its head – and then it is really more about Nationalism than Team. <\/p>\n
So, how does track and field fit its “Individual” format into something more palatable to the American public? We know, for example, that a team concept in the sport can be very popular by the attention and fan fervor that is generated at the High School and Collegiate levels. In their build up to becoming professionals, track and field athletes spend a lot of time competing for teams. And if you’ve ever been to a Regional or State competition on either the High School or Collegiate level you know what kind of “team” followings they have. <\/p>\n
So with that in mind, I’ve been talking with a former coach the past couple years about a way to implement the idea of “Teams” into professional track and field as a means of creating more competitive opportunities for athletes, and placing the sport on a stage that would be more palatable to the average American fan – an American Track and Field League (ATFL).<\/p>\n
This league would be made up of Regional teams that during the course of the season would compete in a series of quadrangular meets. This would create a “season” with team standings that fans could rally around. The season would conclude with a “Playoff”, “Championship”, and “All Star” competitions, and is designed NOT to interfere with the current National Championships to determine individual champions and National teams.<\/p>\n
So, Mr. Logan if you are reading this, I have a full Concept Paper prepared for the league and would be happy to share it with USA Track and Field. <\/p>\n
Logan Interview can be found at: http:\/\/ny.milesplit.us\/videos\/5518<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During the recent Armory Meet in New York, USATF’s new CEO, Doug Logan gave an interview on various topics concerning Track and Field. During this interview Logan touched on issues such as “Drugs in the Sport”, the performance of the US Team at last year’s Beijing Olympic Games, and “The marketing of the sport here in the United States”. While I have an interest in all of the areas he discussed, I found his words on the marketing of the sport most interesting, as he mentioned a topic that I myself have looked at – the idea of creating an actual League for the sport of Track and Field. Now the idea of a “League” for the sport is not entirely new. “Back in the day” during the 1970’s there was an attempt to create a professional track league called the “International Track Association” or “ITA”. It was able to pull some of the top “amateurs” of the day – Ben Jipcho, Brian Oldfield, and John Smith among others – and had them competing on a professional “circuit”. Unfortunately this idea never really caught on in spite of having a television contract, and implementing gimmicks such as pacer lights around the track to aid its distance runners. It failed in large part, I believe, because as Logan mentioned in his interview, sports fans here in the US have become accustomed to identifying with “Teams”, checking “Standings” and watching “Playoffs and Championships”! In short, the model of sports such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB have jaded the thinking of fans here in the United States as to the format that “professional” sports should follow. In its current form Track and Field on the professional level is still a fairly individual sport. It’s very much man against man (or woman against woman) and based on the individual and his\/ her own performances. Only during an Olympics or World Championships does the idea of “team” vaguely raise its head – and then it is really more about Nationalism than Team. So, how does track and field fit its “Individual” format into something more palatable to the American public? We know, for example, that a team concept in the sport can be very popular by the attention and fan fervor that is generated at the High School and Collegiate levels. In their build up to becoming professionals, track and field athletes spend a lot of time competing for teams. And if you’ve ever been to a Regional or State competition on either the High School or Collegiate level you know what kind of “team” followings they have. So with that in mind, I’ve been talking with a former coach the past couple years about a way to implement the idea of “Teams” into professional track and field as a means of creating more competitive opportunities for athletes, and placing the sport on a stage that would be more palatable to the average American fan – an American Track and Field League (ATFL). This league would be made up of Regional teams that during the course of the season would compete in a series of quadrangular meets. This would create a “season” with team standings that fans could rally around. The season would conclude with a “Playoff”, “Championship”, and “All Star” competitions, and is designed NOT to interfere with the current National Championships to determine individual champions and National teams. So, Mr. Logan if you are reading this, I have a full Concept Paper prepared for the league and would be happy to share it with USA Track and Field. Logan Interview can be found at: http:\/\/ny.milesplit.us\/videos\/5518<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-1K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":370,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=370","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":0},"title":"Does USA Track & Field Need a New CEO?","author":"CHill","date":"July 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"That seems to be the question on the table amid reports that two years into the position, USATF CEO Doug Logan is being evaluated and is possibly facing dismissal pending improvement by mid August. The word that he is being evaluated doesn\u2019t come as a surprise as most employees within\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=370#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jun 26, 2010; Des Moines, IA, USA; USA Track & Field chief executive officer Doug Logan at the USA Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium. Photo by Image of Sport Photo via Newscom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view4.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9256290\/track-and-field-usa-track\/track-and-field-usa-track.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":123,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=123","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":1},"title":"Exclusive Interview with Trevor Graham","author":"CHill","date":"March 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The name Trevor Graham strikes a cord with most fans of the sport of track and field. 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Combine that with the plethora of young stars in the sport, the Olympics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Claye\"","block_context":{"text":"Claye","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=claye"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Track-Section_thumb-129x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=397","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":4},"title":"Doug Logan Released Following Weekend Meeting","author":"CHill","date":"September 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The word out this morning is that Doug Logan has been released as CEO of USA Track and Field. Given that in late July he was given 30 days to make significant improvements in his performance, I don\u2019t think this is much of a surprise. After all, I\u2019m not sure\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=397#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2867,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2867","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":5},"title":"Is Track and Field Dead?","author":"CHill","date":"September 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Is Track and Field dead? That's a question that has been raised often this year in many forms. Anyone that watched any portion of track during the Olympics will agree with my answer of, no. As a sport, track and field is as exciting as ever! 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