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The elite of collegiate track and field are coming to lay it all on the line in Albuquerque.
On Nov. 1, the NCAA announced that UNM would host the 2014 Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships for the first time ever. The championships will be held in the Albuquerque Convention Center on March 14-15, 2014.
“We are getting ready to embark on a process that is going to be, quite honestly, nerve-wracking and incredibly tiring,” UNM head track and cross country coach Joe Franklin said. “But it is going to be a process that we’re thrilled to host.”
No stranger to large and important track meets, Franklin said this meet is a chance for UNM to host one of the world’s premier meets.
“This is an event that is one of the top events in the world,” Franklin said. “It’s not just a top event in the United States; it rivals the IAAF (International Association of Athletic Federations) world championships. We’re going to be getting news coverage in Seoul, South Korea; in Saudi Arabia; in Russia. That’s what this event brings to our program and the University of New Mexico.”
The selection process took about two years, UNM assistant track coach Rich Ceronie said. Ceronie and assistant Athletic Director of Events Michael Haggerty will serve as the two meet directors for the championships.
UNM athletic director Paul Krebs said the coaching staff of UNM track and field is a major reason that the championships were awarded to the school.
“One of the reasons that this championship is here is Coach Franklin, Coach Ceronie and the respect that people in the track world have for our coaching staff,” Krebs said.
The economic impact the championships will have on the city of Albuquerque is a large one. The 3,000 hotel rooms expected to be used for the event will be just the core of the economic benefits, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said.
“The Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau tell me that this event will have a $1.3 million direct-spending impact on the city of Albuquerque,” Berry said.
To prepare for the championships, the Albuquerque Convention Center and the indoor track itself will be receiving some upgrades. These planned renovations were one of the reasons UNM and the Convention Center were selected as hosts.
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“The track has to be fast. It has to be a place where athletes can run fast and jump high. That’s the place that the NCAA wants to have their athletes compete,” Berry said. “We are currently spending almost $300,000 having a new infield built for this track. There will be new bleachers in place at the Convention Center as well.”
But University itself will not see the same economic effects, Ceronie said.
“UNM will not make a penny off of this meet,” Ceronie said. “In fact, if UNM breaks even then it will be a very powerful and positive event.”
This isn’t the first time a major track meet has been hosted in the Albuquerque Convention Center. The USA Indoor Track & Field Championships have been held there for the past three years, and will continue to take place there in 2013 and 2014. Both 2010 and 2011 saw the Convention Center host the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Mountain West Conference held its conference championship meet in the Convention Center for three straight years from 2010-2012.
“The NCAA wants to know, well what have you done?” Ceronie said. “They will not give a championship to somebody who has never hosted anything. Our having the USA indoor meet was very important, but our having the NCAA Division II meet was probably more important because it was an NCAA event.”
The Albuquerque Convention Center is located 4,958 feet above sea level, and this will be the first time the NCAA indoor track championships will be held at such a high altitude. The altitude will have its biggest effects on the distance races.
While the selection committee has often avoided awarding championships to high-altitude locations, it has happened before.
In 1963, UNM hosted the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. BYU, 4,551 feet above sea level, hosted the outdoor meet in 1989, 1982, 1975 and 1967. Utah hosted the outdoor meet 4,330 above sea level in 1947.
“Their largest crowd ever for a championship meet was at BYU. They did a wonderful job, so why won’t (the NCAA) go back there? Well it’s at altitude,” Ceronie said. “It’s more of a perceptual issue than anything else. It only affects two and a half events max, and it really only affects half the athletes in those events … Running at altitude is not dangerous. It hurts a little bit more, and you won’t run as fast, but it’s not dangerous.”
UNM hopes to use this opportunity to benefit the track and field program, particularly in recruiting. The coaching staff said hosting the championships will increase the team’s visibility and attractiveness to top recruits.
“One of the things we talked about six years ago was building name recognition,” Franklin said. “This is starting to build name recognition for UNM track and field, and the University of New Mexico as a whole.”
If everything goes well in 2014, UNM track and field will be eager to host even more championships in the future.
“We’re confident that this is going to be an outstanding championship and that we can get in this rotation on a once every three year basis,” Franklin said. “In the world of indoor track and field, there aren’t a lot of schools and cities that can host this event. UNM and Albuquerque can.”
