Mary Cain: A Professional Athlete AND College Student

Mary Cain will soon be a household name. The simple term “amazing” falls extremely short when attempting to describe this 17-year old’s already prominent career as a runner.  As a mere teenager, she made the USA team and competed in the IAAF World Championships 1,500 meters in Moscow during the summer of 2013. She also happened to run the fastest time ever by a high school student at that distance (4:04.62); accordingly, she will be striving towards the Olympic Games in Rio 2016. 

Mary Cain was actively recruited by all the major NCAA Division I powerhouse track and field programs to spend her four years of athletic eligibility within their respectable systems. However, considering her esteem and global opportunities, she made the monumental decision to skip out on the college experience and turn professional right out of high school. While embarking on the quest for professional success, which no one doubts she will soon find, Mary will be coached by Alberto Salazar while being a part of The Oregon Project, training with partners such as Mo Farah and Galen Rupp.

The most interesting aspect of this entire situation is that young Mary Cain will also be pursuing a college education while running and competing on the professional circuit. By basic definition she will be what the NCAA deems a “student-athlete”; however, she will be making money while running on the professional circuit. There are no current rules or bylaws in place that will prohibit Mary from going down this road, but one would think that the decision-makers within the NCAA will not be happy. If Mary Cain is successful in her young adventure, then a 17-year old single-handedly made the conversation of compensating student-athletes a moot point.