Florida to Host 2009 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 | Track and Field
For the seventh time in program history, the University of Florida will serve as the host of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 14-17, 2009 at Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium.
“I'm very excited about hosting the SEC Championships,” UF head coach Mike Holloway said. “We have a very competitive team this year and one that I think could challenge for some titles. Being home and sleeping in our own beds with our own fans here is a big deal. There's nothing like the SEC Championships. Anybody who wants to see the best in track and field in all aspects should come to the SEC Championship meet.”
Since 1959, Percy Beard Track has served as the outdoor home of the Gator track and field program. The complex provides permanent grandstand seating for 4,500 in addition to increased bleacher seating.
The facility is named after former Gator head coach Percy Beard (1937-63), a world record-holder and Olympian in the high hurdles and a member of the prestigious USA Track and Field Hall of Fame. The surface, originally installed in 1985, is patterned after the facility at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The efforts to keep the facility as one of the finest in the nation continued during the summer of 2006 when a new Mondo surface was installed, which included an additional 30 feet of track space in the southwest corner of the stadium.
The Gators also played host to the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1960, 1970, 1974, 1981, 1989 and 1998. Holloway says that Gator fans will have the opportunity to see one of the most complete track and field teams that have competed during his tenure at Florida.
“I think what our fans are going to get to see this season is a very competitive team across the board,” Holloway said. “We've always been seen as kind of a sprint/hurdle machine around here, but what they are going to see is that we've got sprints, we've got relays, we've got jumps, we've got multi-eventers, we've got throwers, we've got distance runners, we've got everything. We're really excited about showing the world that we've got a great track and field program at the University of Florida.”
The SEC Outdoor Championships will be one of three track and field meets hosted by UF this season. The Gators will play host to the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on Jan. 24, 2009 in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center and the 65th-annual Pepsi Florida Relays on April 3-4, 2009 at Percy Beard Track.
“We're always happy and pleased to host the Tom Jones meet to honor [late Florida women's track and field coach] Tom Jones,” Holloway said. “He was a guy who was an integral part of the success here of the women's program at the University of Florida. He was someone who stood for a lot of great things – hard work, integrity and being a winner. The Florida Relays is an annual event that we always get excited about because it brings a lot of different facets here. You have the schools that come down for their spring breaks, you have the state schools here in the state of Florida and you have the high school kids who come here and run. It's a great, great carnival atmosphere.”
The 2008 SEC Cross Country Championships, hosted by Mississippi State University, will take place Nov. 3, 2008 in Starkville, Miss., while the 2009 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Kentucky, will take place Feb. 27-March 1, 2009 in Lexington, Ky.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will take place March 13-14, 2009 at the McFerrin Athletic Center on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The NCAA Outdoor Championships are slated for June 10-13, 2009 at John McDonnell Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
“I think a change of venues is a good thing,” Holloway said. “I think it gives the student-athletes to see different places across the country. The way I look at the NCAA Championships, they could host them in a parking lot and there would still be very fast times and great competition. Moving the meet to Texas A&M is just going to be different site. We had a lot of great meets up in Indianapolis before the meet moved to Arkansas. I know the people at Texas A&M will do a great job of running the meet. It's just going to be a different spot. There are still going to be fast times. The outdoors is going to be a great meet. Arkansas knows how to host great championships and they've done plenty of that. We're looking forward to it.”
Each of Florida's track and field athletes return to campus Monday, Aug. 25 when fall semester classes commence. The Gators' complete 2009 track and field schedule will be released later this fall.
Complete coverage of Florida track and field is available at www.GatorZone.com.
2008-09 SEC TRACK AND CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
| Date | Event | Location |
| Nov. 3, 2008 | SEC Cross Country Championships | Starkville, Miss. |
| Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2009 | SEC Indoor T&F Championships | Lexington, Ky. |
| May 14-17, 2009 | SEC Outdoor T&F Championships | Gainesville, Fla. |
2009 NCAA TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
| Date | Event | Location |
| March 13-14, 2009 | NCAA Indoor T&F Championships | College Station, Texas |
| June 10-13, 2009 | NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships | Fayetteville, Ark. |
2009 FLORIDA TRACK AND FIELD HOME MEETS
| Date | Event | Location |
| Jan. 24, 2009 | Tom Jones Memorial Invitational | O'Connell Center |
| April 3-4, 2009 | 65th-Annual Pepsi Florida Relays | Percy Beard Track |
| May 14-17, 2009 | SEC Outdoor Championships | Percy Beard Track |
END OF REPORT
