The NCAA News - News and Features

February 2, 1998

Track organization announces televised collegiate competition

In an effort to renew interest in track and field, especially at the collegiate level, the national governing body will launch a televised U.S. Collegiate Track & Field Series this year.

The series features two or three meets each weekend, according to The Associated Press. A total of 70 schools from 20 conferences will compete in 21 meets. Each meet will be packaged into a 21Ž2-hour format, with scoring determining a team winner.

"This will fill an important gap between the indoor and outdoor seasons," Craig Masback, executive director of USA Track & Field (USAT&F), said January 26 at the Metropolitan Track Writers' luncheon in New York. "This will allow people to get to know the young stars and help develop the sport. It will be a fan-friendly format."

Masback, wearing a pin that read "Track is Back," said the series will begin March 21 and be held every weekend except one through May 10.

One meet will be televised nationally each weekend, with the others televised regionally, each for one hour.

Masback said negotiations had not yet been finalized but that he was talking with two cable networks, and discussions may be completed shortly on a three-year contract. He also said the series does not have any sponsors yet.

In addition to USAT&F, the series will be organized and administered by the United States Track Coaches Association. It will be funded in part by a grant from the United States Olympic Committee.

There will be three meets on the first weekend of the series -- at Arizona State University, with teams from Arizona State, George Mason University, the University of Iowa and the University of Kansas; at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with teams from Brigham Young University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Kent State University and the University of Southern California; and at the University of California, Los Angeles, with teams from the U.S. Air Force Academy; University of California, Berkeley; UCLA; and University of California, Irvine.

The series will conclude with a meet at Life University in Atlanta, involving the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; East Carolina University; Life; and St. Augustine's College.

"It is very exciting for track and field to witness the return of televised scoring meets, with some of the country's premiere collegiate track programs competing head-to-head," Masback and USAT&F President Patricia Rico said in a statement.

"Week in and week out, these track powerhouses will compete, and the fans of track and field will finally know the score," United States Track Coaches Association President Sam Bell and Executive Director Jimmy Carnes said in a statement. "These meets will be...designed to enhance the enjoyment and entertainment value for spectators and television viewers."