University track and field coaches across the nation would like to see changes in the way the sport is scored. BYU's women's track and field coach Craig Poole is a member of the NCAA Championship Rules Subcommittee; Poole suggests all meets during the regular season as well as the national championship were scored on a team basis.

One of the biggest problems with the NCAA track and field national championship is that as few as four athletes from a school could win the whole meet.

"Most teams will score ... anywhere from 40 - 60 points [to win the National Championship]." Poole said.

That implies four individuals who perform well in their specific events could win the national title for their entire team.

That seems a little skewed considering that a team can qualify up to 20 people for the national championship.

UVSC track and field coach Scott Houle said the national championship is more of an individual championship. Coach Edrick Floreal, Director of Track and Field at Stanford University and member of the NCAA Championship Rules Subcommittee, said the national championship it is like the Olympics. Each event is won by one individual. However, individuals who win their event are not awarded medals; only the team with the highest points.

"When it's over, who are all the people talking about? The team." said Bubba Thornton, the 2008 Beijing Olympics head coach for men's track and field, member of the NCAA Championship Rules Subcommittee and University of Texas coach.

Of the 21 meets BYU's women attend, only five are scored and those five are conference meets. Because none of the other meets are team scored, it allows coaches to hide behind somewhat untrue results Poole asserts.

"A lot of coaches will not go to meets that are scored because it will make them look bad" Poole said.

Poole also said a team would win if they send their best sprinters to one meet and their best hammer throwers to another meet among other things.

So what can be done to remedy the problem?

Poole suggests that all meets during the regular season be scored. Making the meets scored would create greater responsibility for coaches to ensure they have a balanced team instead of specializing in certain events.

Bob Podkaminer is the NCAA Secretary Rules Editor for track and field. He said the majority of the coaches have the attitude that, "You give me the system and I will work with in it."

Houle believes the sport we would see more balanced recruiting if there were more scored meets, or even if the national championship was scored.

"I think it would be a great thing to do a couple scored meets." Houle said

"There should be room for the individual," Floreal said,

However, not everyone feels the same as Floreal.

"I've always believed in a team concept," Thornton said. "We have allowed track and field to use the word 'individual.'"

However, individual is the way track and field has become. It is not uncommon on a given weekend to find a track team going to as many as four or five different meets.

"We are not a fully team sport because you can break up your team," Floreal responded, speaking about breaking up a track team and sending different athletes to different events.

"There's no point taking distance runners where it is 109 degrees." Floreal said.

Coaches around the nation break up their track and field teams based on the venue and the events. "You find the best competition per event," Houle said, adding he also splits his team accordingly.

For example, Poole might send his distance runners to California and keep the throwers here to attend a meet at Weber State. By splitting the team athletes will have a chance to excel in their best events against their best competitors. If the split team does well it makes the coach look good because the team won in California and Utah, but in reality, it was the distance runners who won in California and the throwers who won the meet at Weber State and not the whole entire team.

Because of this, Poole said coaches have elected to specialize in certain events in order to win a meet they attend. No longer are meets based upon an entire team score, but specific events won by individuals.