In Dave Uhrich's 18 years at the helm of the Marquette track and cross country programs, 10 of those in Conference USA, he has coached All-Americans and conference champions in dozens of events.
The Golden Eagles have boasted All-American throwers, sprinters and jumpers, but Marquette has been known especially for its elite middle distance and long distance competitors in the last five years. With the stockpile of elite sprinters and jumpers at collegiate track hotbeds and conference rivals like Houston, Texas Christian, Memphis and Louisville, Marquette has had a harder time competing in those events.
The exception has been a few standout sprinters and jumpers like current seniors Crystal Andalcio-O'Neil and former C-USA champion triple jumper Charles Mashozhera.
Typically, Marquette dominates the middle distance races like the 400 meters and 800 meters and the long distance races like the mile, two-mile and 3000-meter steeplechase. At indoor conference championships this winter in Houston, junior Jon Shaffer and freshmen Joe Pierre and Jed Burey finished first, third and fifth in the men's 800 meters, while freshman Cassie Peller took second place in the mile. The women's distance medley team came in second place, and Jeremy Williams finished third in the 3000-meter run and fourth in the 5000-meter run.
"The Big East is a very good distance conference, and Conference USA has not been a very strong distance conference, so we're definitely not going to be able to dominate as much in the distance events as we have in the past," Uhrich said.
The strength of the Big East track programs are the exact opposite of C-USA. Big East programs are deep in distance runners and short on jumpers and sprinters. This may lessen Marquette's dominance in the middle distance and long distance races, while at the same time giving the Eagles' sprinters and jumpers — who had been spinning their wheels — the chance to have more success.
Uhrich and his staff have been checking up on the results of Big East meets throughout the season and have noticed that some events are stronger and some are weaker than their C-USA counterparts.
"That is potentially changing the way we recruit a little bit," Uhrich said. "Knowing that in the past Conference USA has been so incredibly strong in the sprints and in the jumps, we didn't necessarily recruit in those events as much. Whereas now we might recruit a little more in those events now because they might not be as strong (in the Big East.) We're certainly not going to go away from having a strong distance program, but maybe we can find some other areas where we can be successful.
"The added notoriety that comes from being a member of the Big East can do wonders for the prestige of the program and our university, in addition to attracting athletes of a higher caliber," he said.
According to Uhrich, despite that C-USA is generally better in track and field, there is something about the name 'Big East' that gives its members a higher profile.
"We're hoping that with the move to the Big East that we'll get some more scholarship support and some upgrades on the facilities," Uhrich said. "We're getting the outdoor track resurfaced this summer, which is definitely in need of being done."
Uhrich knows it will likely take a year to get a feel for the Big East and for the competition, but he is confident that Marquette can be successful in the years after C-USA.
"We feel like we can be in the upper half in the conference, that's our goal. When you're in the top half of a conference like that, that's an achievement," Uhrich said.
"From there we hope to gradually get more support and be at least in the top half with aspirations of being in the top third."
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on May 5 2005.