College News

A number of recent issues to update...

NCAA Preliminary Round sites have been announced.  I was not surprised that the two-region nationals qualifying format remained in place for the 2011 season, but just about everyone else was.  It took until today for the sites to be finalized.  Oregon bid on it immediately, and was so expected to get it that many western teams already put Eugene as the site on their schedule.  That was mad official today. The Ducks deserve to host as they put on a meet like no one else does.

I'm happy to see that the east site will be the Billy Hayes Track at Indiana.  The Hoosiers spent an awful lot of money on refurbishing their track for last year's Big Ten Championships.  All the field events are in-stadium, and the IU staff did a bang-up job in keeping the results of the Big Ten meet flowing online.  They've demonstrated commitment to doing things well.

Men's track will return to Oregon State.  The Beavers had once been a top program but dropped the teams in 1988.  A very limited women's program was reinstated in 2004.  Last year some footballers competed for kicks (and conditioning) and qualified to the Pac-10 and NCAA championships. 

Enough funds ($3.5 million) have been raised to start construction of a track facility next June.  More funds need to be raised, but the plan is to finish the stadium, build a cross country course, endow a men's team, and fund a more broad-based women's program (if you'll excuse the term).  The target is $8 to $9 million, but Dick Fosbury guarantees it will happen.  The target is 2014.

How do you know it's guaranteed?  When the athletic department ponies up $15,000 of its own discretionary fund and makes the football coach the headliner at your fundraiser, you know they're behind you.