Drake University officials hope next months NCAA Track and Field meet will go a long way toward helping the school become the host the U.S. Olympic Trials. Drake Stadium is hosting the NCAA meet for the first time in 38 years and associate Athletic Director Mark Kostek says USA Track and Field will be watching.
Kostek says they need to show that the community will support the event from a financial standpoint, but also from a spectator point of view. He says having a full house on Friday and Saturday and close to full on Wednesday and Thursday, people will take notice
The NCAA meet is June 11th through the 14th and Kostek says it will be four days of the kind of competition offered during the Saturday afternoon session of the Drake Relays. Kostek says it will be four days of what Saturday is like at the Drake Relays.
Drake Relays director Brian Brown says fans will watch a different level of athlete at the NCAA meet. Brown says there’s a range of athletes at Drake, but these athletes will be a "cut above everything else we’ve seen, other than the elite athletes."
Brown says one aspect of the NCAA meet that is different from the Drake Relays is the team race. He says the individual championships is only a stepping stone to a team title, and that’s what those teams will be looking for.