Walt Murphy in This Day in Track and Field reported some heartening news regarding the current situation in defunding of track and cross country in US universities. It is only one instance, but hopefully others may see the issues in the same light. Here is Walt's entry.
Less than 2 weeks after Men’s Track & Field and X-Country were reduced to “club” status, Brown University President Christina H. Paxson, responding to criticism of the move, announced on Tuesday that the programs would be reinstated as varsity sports.
"Our students, alumni and parents took the time to share their deeply personal stories of the transformative impact that participation in track, field and cross country has had on their lives," she wrote. "Many noted that, through Brown's history, these sports have been a point of entry to higher education for academically talented students who otherwise would not have had the opportunity, many of them students of color. In addition, we heard from members of the women's track, field and cross country teams who made a compelling case that eliminating the men's program would adversely impact the women's program."