Clemson Track fans should follow Stanford’s lead

Stanford fans and alumni did what Clemson supporters should have.

We have all seen the endless tweets and Facebook posts from Clemson track and cross country supporters. They are unhappy with the decision to cut the two programs from Men’s athletics at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

Athletic scholarships will be honored until they graduate and the athletic department has made every resource available to those who wish to keep on competing in their sport elsewhere.

While it is okay to complain and voice frustration that cross country and track are being eliminated, tweeting every football player and posting the childish rantings about it being race-related were over the line and accomplished nothing.

What those supporters should have done was exactly what Stanford alumni and fans did of the 11 sports they recently eliminated – they raised $40 million to bring those sports back.

According to Sports Illustrated, this is “one of the greatest self-endowment efforts in NCAA history” and something that the entire alumni and fan base can be proud of.

What Clemson track and cross country supporters should have done instead of yelling at everyone on social media was started a grassroots fundraising campaign. Instead, they started collecting signatures on Change.org and tried to shame former track and football players like Clemson football running backs coach CJ Spiller.

Yes, Clemson football and Dabo Swinney get all the nice stuff but they also are self-sustaining and generate the most revenue. Meanwhile, the two men’s sports in question cost the athletic department $2 million a year to operate.

Unfortunately, COVID made athletic departments across the country take a deeper look at its finances as donor wallets were forced to close more and more as the pandemic made its way across the country and had an effect on nearly every business in every city.

Stanford has shown that when positive energy and effort are made toward something people are passionate about, great things can happen. If Clemson Clemson track and cross country supporters truly wanted to see those sports get reinstated, they should have done the same thing.