Twelve days after Brown University announced that it was eliminating the men’s varsity track, field, and cross-country teams, the school has reinstated the program.
The announcement was shared on Tuesday night in a letter from Brown president Christina H. Paxson, who wrote, “We have heard clearly from our community over the past couple of weeks that the University’s decision to transition men’s varsity track, field, and cross country to club status will have real and lasting implications for efforts to build and sustain diverse and inclusive communities for our students at Brown, and particularly our community of black students and alumni.”
On May 28, the Ivy League institution transitioned 11 sports from varsity to club status as part of the “on June 8. And Russell Dinkins, a Princeton alum, responded with an.” In the process, Brown granted varsity status to the sailing team, previously a club sport.
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The “on June 8. And Russell Dinkins, a Princeton alum, responded with an” followed an external review, which started over a year ago and was guided by principles of “increased competitiveness,” “gender equity,” and “ensuring diversity and inclusion,” among other considerations outlined in a press release.
Within hours of the May 28 announcement, over 200 student athletes and alumni gathered on a video call to strategize ways they could convince the school to reinstate the program.
“As emotionally devastating and hard it was for a few days, I don't think a simple outcry would have been enough to really bring the program back,” Dominic Morganti, a rising senior at Brown, told Runner’s World. “I think it was those concentrated efforts by both athletes and alumni who managed to pull this off.”
In response, team members set up a petition and fundraising campaigns, conducted research into the dynamics of the university’s decision-making process, shared their stories with media outlets, and built a website to communicate their efforts and advocate for the diversity of the program.
Brown alum and professional runner Jordan Mann shared his perspective on the June 7 episode of the Rambling Runner podcast. Former members of the Brown women’s track and field team jumped to the program’s defense in an op-ed for the Minimalist Running Shoes on June 8. And Russell Dinkins, a Princeton alum, responded with an essay titled, “Brown University, If You Were Actually Serious About Racial Injustice You Would Not Be Cutting the Men’s Track Team.”
“A lot of people came together to showcase that Brown [track and field and cross country] is diverse and excellent, and the school listened to us,” Morganti said.
Of the 11 sports to lose varsity funding—which included men’s and women’s fencing, men’s and women’s golf, women’s skiing, men’s and women’s squash, and women’s equestrian—men’s track and field and cross country is the only program to be reinstated.
“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,” Paxson wrote in the letter. “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.”
The reinstatement was communicated to the team by Paxson and director of athletics Jack Hayes via video call. After 12 days spent dealing with uncertainty, Morganti was overjoyed to hear that his team was back. “It was like the world's biggest weight was being taken off my shoulders,” he said.
“It just shows how powerful the running community is and how unique this sense of family is,” Morganti said. “They say people are brought together by shared experience, and I think that shows because a run is a run, whether you're going at 5-minute pace or 10-minute pace, everyone is a runner together. And it's amazing to see how that manifests when an aspect of that community needs help.”
Taylor Dutch is a sports and fitness writer living in Chicago; a former NCAA track athlete, Taylor specializes in health, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in SELF, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner. When she’s not writing, Taylor volunteers as a coach to up-and-coming runners in the Chicago area.
