Minnesota State Mankato officials answer questions from reporters at a July 31 press conference about the NCAA decision to move the 2008 national indoor track and field championship to Mankato. From left at the head table are Mark Schuck, Jen Blue, Kevin Buisman and Rick Straka (representing President Richard Davenport).
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has awarded its 2008 Division II national indoor track & field championship meet to Minnesota State Mankato. The event will be March 14 and 15, 2008.
This will be the first time that Minnesota State Mankato has hosted a national track and field championship. The university has hosted four other NCAA national championship events: wrestling in 1966, 1968 and 2004, and men’s gymnastics in 1970.The NCAA has held a championship for indoor track and field since 1985, and the meet has taken place in Boston, Mass., for the last eight years (for more information about championship sites, see below).
“We are honored that the NCAA has selected Minnesota State University, Mankato to host this prestigious event,” said Richard Davenport, Minnesota State Mankato president.
“We are proud of our facilities, proud of our athletic programs, proud of our beautiful campus, and proud of Mankato. I know that our coaches, our staff, our students and our community will provide pre-eminent assistance. The NCAA can be assured that they 2008 national indoor track and field championship will be an event of the very highest quality.”
“I’m looking forward to hosting on our campus some of the greatest track and field athletes in the country,” said Maverick men’s track & field coach Mark Schuck. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our track and field program and facilities, the university and the greater Mankato-North Mankato area.”
Jen Blue, head coach of the women’s track and field program, said “We are very excited to host the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Myers Field House is a fantastic indoor track and field facility, and we’re looking forward to welcoming student-athletes and coaches from all over the country to our campus and our community.”
Kevin Buisman, Minnesota State Mankato's director of athletics, echoed sentiments of the two coaches.
“We are tremendously excited about the opportunity to host this very prestigious national championship event. This culminates a process where we have worked very hard over the past several years to attract this kind of event for our community, and we are absolutely thrilled about being selected as the host site.
"With a relatively shorter planning window, this will be a tremendous challenge for the athletic department. I am confident, however, that we can work very effectively with others to summon the talents and resources within the university and across the community to stage an unforgettable experience for the coaches, student-athletes and spectators that will attend and participate in one of the NCAA’s largest championship events.”
More than 500 participants (including student-athletes, coaches and administrators) from around the country are expected to visit Mankato for the event, which is scheduled for March 14-15, 2008, in Myers Field House.
NCAA Division II Indoor track-field championship host sites:
1985: North Dakota State
1987: North Dakota State
1988-1991: South Dakota
1992: Saginaw Valley
1993: South Dakota
1994: North Dakota State
1995-1999: Indianapolis
2000-2007: Boston
2008: Minnesota State Mankato
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