Alabama Track & Field Announces 2012 Schedule
10/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Oct. 20, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -
The University of Alabama track and field team will compete in four home meets in 2012 as part of this season's schedule announced by first-year head coach Dan Waters.
"We're excited about the schedule we've assembled and are looking forward to having four opportunities to compete in home meets this season," Waters said. "The meets on this year's schedule will challenge our team every time out and prepare us for our championship meets."
Alabama opens the indoor season on Jan. 14 with the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. The new state-of-the-art indoor track stadium features seating for 4,000 fans, a 200-meter hydraulically banked Mondo Super X track, eight-lane sprint track and double runways and rings for all field events.
"The CrossPlex is one of the top indoor track facilities in the country and we can't wait to showcase this incredible facility with a pair of home indoor meets," Waters said. "Having a world class facility in Birmingham is a tremendous asset not only to our program, but to the sport of track and field in the state of Alabama and the South as well."
The Tide's second indoor home meet will come on March 3 with the High Tide Qualifier, a last-chance meet for athletes to aim for the needed marks to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boise, Idaho, on March 9-10.
UA will also compete indoors at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City's history Armory on Feb. 3-4 against some of the top teams in the country and at the Texas A&M Conference Challenge on Feb. 11. This year's Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships will be hosted by Kentucky on Feb. 24-26.
The outdoor season begins March 16 at the Bulls Invitational hosted by USF in Tampa, Fla. The Tide returns to Tuscaloosa the following week for the first of two home outdoor meets with the Alabama Relays March 23-24.
UA will host a second home meet, the Tide Twilight, on May 5 in the team's final tune-up before the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge, La., May 10-13.
The outdoor schedule also includes the Ole Miss Invitational (March 31), Georgia's Spec Town Invitational (April 13-14), the Auburn War Eagle Invitational (April 20-21) and the prestigious Drake Relays (April 26-28).
NCAA competition begins May 24-25 with the NCAA East Region Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., followed by the NCAA Championships June 6-9 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
