Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / BONUS: Tim Byers at 2024 USTFCCCA LIVE interview!

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BONUS: Tim Byers at 2024 USTFCCCA LIVE interview! · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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  Bonus time every year at the USTFCCCA convention down in
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  December, we do a live podcast event where we sit down with
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  coaches from around the country for 5:00-ish minutes and talk
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  about a certain topic. This year, December of 2024, we
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  sat down with coaches to talk about the NCAA.
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  What's going on with the NIL transfer portal?
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  Roster Caps. All those kind of good things,
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  and there's some interesting feedback and tidbits from
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  everyone who chose to sat down with us.
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  So here we are, the audio version of that.
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  You can catch the video version over on YouTube.
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  Just search up the GAL Athletics podcast and look for our live
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  events content and you'll find the three that we've done
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  20/24/2023 2020 2 and we'll do it again in 2025.
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  You don't have bouncers out here that take care of this crowd.
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  It's I also have to have these same bouncers for when it's
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  autographed request time. It's a it's a little
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  embarrassing, a little embarrassing, but not
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  embarrassing is I love our relay meets and I do say, and I'll say
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  it in front of other people. Drake Relays has always been
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  number one in my heart. But I tell you what, KU relays
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  has made a move. They have made a statement and
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  I'm glad to have this guy leading the way.
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  Why don't you introduce yourself, please, Tim Byers.
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  Kansas relays director. Going in my third year of being
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  a director there after 28 years of coaching.
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  But I like what? I'm doing third year is the
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  director, but you've been involved in the KU relays Yeah
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  probably 40 plus relays. I think I've been to is that
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  right? Holy wait wait, so like since
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  the day you were born then cuz but.
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  I appreciate that. You know, back in the days we
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  weren't used to let the. Schools out, we could go to the
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  relays on Friday. Oh cool.
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  Grade school, junior high and high, yeah, we got to start that
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  back up. I like that tradition.
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  I like that tradition. All right, Tim, this year we've
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  got a theme. So we're asking everybody the
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  same questions. And the question is, and you get
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  to answer this however you'd like is what is your opinion on
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  all of the changes going on with NCAA, obviously specifically for
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  track and field, how that might affect KU relays?
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  What's your thoughts on just everything you get to take it,
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  what direction you want to go in, you know, and.
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  It is. It's going to affect everyone
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  from top to bottom, but I think where it's going to affect us at
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  the relays most is that we will have people traveling.
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  Budgets are not going to be quite what they used to be and
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  stuff. So you've got a team that's say,
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  coming from two or three states away, instead of bringing 30
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  kids are going to be 10 or 15, you know, that sort of thing.
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  And so I think that's where the biggest effect is going to have
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  on us. And I know a lot of schools,
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  they want help getting their kids in too.
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  Well, if their budget shrinking, I think other budgets shrink
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  also. So I think it's gonna kind.
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  Of a yeah all. Around tightening effect, that's
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  going to. Be going what what do you do in
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  this scenario? We don't know this scenario
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  necessarily is true right now, but if possible and I could see
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  that what do you do as the KU really do you invite more teams
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  Do you beefing up your you know historically amazing high school
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  program? What maybe do you combat that
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  with? High school's not?
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  Not an issue. I mean, we'll bring in over 3000
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  athletes for those two days of the meet and stuff.
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  So the collegiate where I think we're going to have to
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  concentrate on the Nebraska, the Arkansas, the Iowa, Missouri,
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  the people that don't have to travel.
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  Right, right. Yeah, right, right.
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  You. Know, maybe we start to, you
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  know, concentrate a little bit kind of what the relay started
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  as 1923 was. Right.
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  Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
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  Yeah. Good, good.
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  So this will be republished next year as we're leading into the
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  2025 convention. So we're going to be able to
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  check your answer on this next question.
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  You get to make a prediction on what's going to happen in track
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  and field in the next year. You again, any direction you
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  want. It could be KU related, it could
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  be Olympics, high school, it could be you.
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  Who knows? What's your best prediction on
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  something that's going to happen this upcoming year?
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  Happen this? Year.
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  Well, I think we're going to see a world record.
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  Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Real brave of you there.
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  Yeah. What next?
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  You're going to tell me there's going to be one in the women's
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  foreigner hurdle, which actually might not.
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  Who knows? We don't know what event she's
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  going to run, but yeah. Right.
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  Yeah, right. Yeah, and what a great guy and a
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  great I I know some of the family, amazing family.
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  And really, you talk about a track tradition if you don't
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  know the Krauser. So, you know, maybe Ryan Krauser
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  go look at his era, so his brother and cousins, but then go
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  look at their dads and uncles. It's amazing.
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  Yeah. You know, most people, yeah,
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  most people play a football game.
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  They go out and throw the shot and the jab and the hammer.
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  Exactly. All right, Tim, thank you so
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  much, man. I'm really grateful for you and
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  your team and what you do in leadership in our great sport
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  with the KU Relays. It's a very important track meet
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  that we have, and I'm glad it's back and I'm glad it's going
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  back into healthy territory 'cause that what is it?
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  The a rising tide lifts all ships.
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  This is part of the tide that lifts us all up.
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  So what? You do for track and field.
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  This podcast is excellent. Thank you, and we're fortunate
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  to have you do. That thank you, brother.
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  I appreciate that. Thank you so much.
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  Thank you.