Arkansas Announces 2017 Season Slate
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Consistently recognized as one of the most talented and complete programs in the country, Arkansas men’s track and field will embark on its 2017 campaign on Friday, Jan. 13 with the Arkansas Invitational.
The first of four home indoor competitions at Arkansas’ world-renowned Randal Tyson Track Center, the Arkansas Invitational is set to feature top collegiate action on Friday and morphs into one of the most loaded regular season high school meets on Saturday, Jan. 14.
Fast Times At Randal Tyson
Originally built by Mondo for the World Championships in Toronto, Canada, the Tyson track first became available for Arkansas athletic use in 2000. Since the opening of the center, Arkansas has hosted eight Southeastern Conference Championships and 13 NCAA Championships at the facility.
The first indoor venue to feature a televised regular season indoor track and field meet, Tyson will reprise its 2015 historic feat by hosting a live broadcast of the Razorback Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 28. The two-day meet beginning on Friday, Jan. 27 will showcase the best-of-the-best in track and field, boasting strong programs from each of the power five conferences.
Arkansas will close out its indoor homestand with the prestigious Tyson Invitational on Feb. 10-11 and the Arkansas Qualifier on Friday, Feb. 17.
On the Road (Indoor)
Fortunate to have arguably the best indoor venue in the country, the Razorbacks will spend little time away from home during the regular season making stops at the Vanderbilt Invitational (Jan. 20-21), the Iowa State Classic (Feb. 10-11) and the UCS Invitational (Feb. 18).
Arkansas will complete its indoor charge with postseason championships in Nashville, Tennessee, (SEC indoor championship) and College Station, Texas, (NCAA indoor championship) set for Feb. 24-25 and March 10-11, respectively.
The Great Outdoors
The Razorbacks will open the 2017 outdoor season at home, competing at the Arkansas Spring Invitational at John McDonnell Field on March 24-25.
Arkansas will then head out on the road, traveling to the Stanford Invitational (March 31-April 1), the Baylor Invitational (April 8) and the Bryan Clay Invitational (April 13-14).
Head coach Chris Bucknam’s crew will return home to Fayetteville on April 21-22 as the hosts of the John McDonnell Invitational which promises an exciting decathlon duel between the Razorbacks and Wisconsin Badgers.
Two more final tune-ups will follow for Arkansas prior to the start of outdoor championship season in the form of the SEC Relays (April 28-29) at LSU and the Arkansas Twilight (May 5).
Outdoor postseason competition will kick off with the SEC Championship (May 11-13) in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Razorbacks will close out May at the NCAA West Preliminary Round (May 25-27) at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, before heading out to Eugene, Oregon, on June 7-10 for the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Arkansas will cap the year at the USATF Junior and Senior Championships set for June 23-25 in Sacramento, California.
Coach Bucknam Quotables (Indoor, Outdoor and Program of the Year)
“Once again we’re going to have some outstanding meets here in Fayetteville which will bring in some of the best track programs in the country. In particular, I’m really excited about the Razorback Invitational where we’ll get to see a lot of SEC schools such as Georgia, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, [Texas] A&M, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Even though we aren’t hosting a conference championship indoors or outdoors this year, that meet will definitely have an SEC Championship flavor. After the Razorback Invitational, the Tyson Invitational continues to be one of the best meets in the world. There will be a plethora of outstanding athletes trying to qualify for the indoor championships.”
“We’re also excited about the John McDonnell Invitational outdoors. So far we have Kansas State, Missouri and Wisconsin coming in and more teams will be added as the meet approaches.”
“It’s all about preparation in our sport and being ready for the championship season. The regular season prepares us for those SEC and NCAA championships during cross country, indoor and outdoor which leads to a great overall program performance.”
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
