Whilst this regularly morphs quickly into discussions about administration, governance structures, competition formats, coaching and officiating, in the end it must always come down to keeping participants in the sport.

This essentially means remaining relevant and attractive to existing and potential partakers. Key to this - aside from the bells and whistles required to fend off fellow sports doing the same thing - are established, viable, constant participant pathways.

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That's in the plural because the implemented strategy must cater both for recreational and elite participants, wherever their entry or re-entry points into the sport's activities might be.

For most sports in Australia compared to their counterparts in Europe and North America, particularly the latter, there is a massive gaping hole in both pathways, and a growing one immediately before.

Sport in the higher education sector is at best ad hoc in this country. Some universities in some sports do it really well - most are atrocious at it.

And the secondary school system is rapidly approaching a situation where the same analysis will soon be applicable.

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But back to tertiary bodies where unlike with school sport Australia has never managed to develop anything like the programs long delivered by the NCAA and its member colleges in the United Stated.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association partners with more than a thousand US educational institutions to deliver quality sporting opportunities across myriad sports to close to half-a-million students each year.

Much of the activity within each participating college or university is funded by the mix of the institution's own recurrent funding and significant benevolence from its alumni and community donors.

The system not only provides opportunities to responsibly mix sporting participation with higher level study but to be financially supported while doing so - in both cases happily extended to foreign students.

Australians make up a significant percentage of the overseas beneficiaries - most notably in athletics and basketball.

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For most of them the decision to take up a US sporting scholarship is a no-brainer.

Provided they can overcome the barrier of living so far from home, there are few "cons" compared with the massive "pros" of a free degree meshed with a quality sporting experience.

There has never been a real reason why Australian universities should have been so reluctant to follow suit.

The result has been a talent drain from our shores, and never more profoundly so than right now.

With schools, particularly the public system, finding themselves ever more challenged in the physical education and sporting space, the time is ripe for the university sector to formalise its involvement.

This would provide a clear milestone for secondary school graduates in the sporting endeavours to stay involved to access a quality opportunity once entering the tertiary sector.

There are some signs that there is fertile ground for the decision-makers to make such a call.

In past years, competitions like Intervarsity Athletics were sadly more often about the drinking games each night than the track and field events during the day.

But what is now known as the Unisport Nationals - Athletics is a serious competition. The final day of competition is intentionally scheduled to finish mid-afternoon so participants can access flights home rather than head off to other exploits.

This year's edition was hosted at the Gold Coast Performance Centre at Runaway Bay during the past week. The brainchild of the late Ron Clarke, the athletics facility established in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympic Games can now host competition in all track and field disciplines.

With its internal accommodation options, it's a perfect venue particularly at this time of year - delivering conditions that were the envy of just about every higher-level athletics meet held in Australia this season.

And in some events the outcomes were results that rivalled or surpassed those achieved at those other meets.

For sure there were elements that replicated long-standing university traditions, but the competition was serious, with many seeking world ranking points and delighted to do so in the favourable conditions on offer.

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