Elliott hoping Clemson reconsiders men’s team cut
Published:Saturday | November 7, 2020 | 12:11 AMAkino Ming/Staff Reporter
After it was announced that the men’s track and field and cross country programmes at Clemson University will be cancelled at the end of the 2020-21 academic year, its director of track and field, Mark Elliott, says he hopes the team’s performance on the track this school year may persuade the school’s administrators to change the decision.
On Thursday, the university based in South Carolina in the United States said that men’s indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country programmes will be cut in June of 2021 because of the economic strain the coronavirus pandemic has caused.
“The decision certainly affects everyone who is in the programme,” Elliott said. “Yesterday (Thursday) was a regrettable day for us. It was unexpected. We are going to try to have that decision reversed.
“What we can do is have our kids perform on the track and perform at the highest level, and hopefully that may cause them to reconsider the decision.”
Elliott said that none of the student-athletes will lose their scholarships, as the university promised to honour their commitment to finance the students’ education in full.
“When we sign a student-athlete for their athletic ability, it is the exchange for them to further their studies,” he said. “They will get their degrees if they decide to stay at Clemson, and some will have the opportunity to transfer to other institutions if they want to further their athletic careers.”
Six Jamaican athletes are set to be affected by the decision by the university. These are: former St Jago High School discus thrower Roje Stona, former Morant Bay High School quarter-miler Keco Morrison, former Calabar High School sprinter Fabian Hewitt, former Edwin Allen High School quarter-miler Rayan Holmes, former Kingston College shot putter Zico Campbell, and decathlete Lafranz Campbell, formerly of Calabar.
“We are not the first school that has been in this position, and, earlier this year, people were reaching out to us to take students after their programmes were cut,” Elliott said. “We will do the same for student-athletes who want to move on, but we are hopeful that things will turn around and we will get our programme back.”