Unprecedented Home Schedule Announced for Brand New Indoor Facility
8/10/2017 4:01:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
• 2018 U-M Women's Track & Field Schedule
• 2018 U-M Men's Track & Field Schedule
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A new era of University of Michigan track and field begins this winter as the state-of-the-art indoor facility will immediately live up to its billing as one of the best in the world with four high-powered home meets during its inaugural 2018 season.
Fans of Michigan track and field -- and national-level competition in general -- will want to be among the 2,000-person capacity crowds for the Wolverine Invitational on Jan. 13, "rivalry weekend" at the Simmons-Harvey Quad on Jan. 20, the stacked Power Five Invitational on Feb. 2-3 and the Silverston Invitational on Feb. 16.
"We are proud that year one of our new world-class indoor facility will feature such a large and historic home schedule against world-class opponents," women's head coach James Henry said. "A building as incredible as our new facility deserves a level of competition to match, and we can promise our fans that our world-class program will have one of the most exciting home schedules in the entire country. Needless to say, it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine."
Teams from coast to coast and border to border -- including U-M's three biggest rivals in Ohio State, Michigan State and Notre Dame -- are set to travel to the new indoor complex for those four meets, immediately establishing the facility's hydraulically banked, 200-meter track and its variety of field-event competition areas as one of the premier venues in collegiate track and field.
"We are very excited about this world-class facility for our student-athletes," men's head coach Jerry Clayton said. "It is certainly a special time to be a track and field athlete at the University of Michigan, bringing even deeper meaning to 'Leaders and Best.' We are thankful for the support of Warde Manuel, the Michigan administration, the alumni and the community. The coaching staff, in addition, would like to extend a very special 'thank you' to Stephen M. Ross.
"We are grateful for our Michigan family. We honor the athletes that have endowed us with rich tradition, and with this amazing facility we dare to dream even larger."
Never before has Michigan hosted four true home meets in the same indoor season, not counting years in which it staged competitions with rotating hosting duties such as the Big Ten Championships, Central Collegiate Championships and Michigan Intercollegiates.
The community will get its first look at the venue in competition mode on January 13 as the Wolverines open up the new facility at the Wolverine Invitational against rival Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, South Florida and Hillsdale.
Rivalry and national prestige is the theme of the weekend for the Simmons-Harvey Quad. In a four-way scored dual meet competition, Michigan will take on traditional foes Michigan State and Ohio State, as well as perennial national power Arkansas.
It will mark the first time Michigan has simultaneously squared off with both Ohio State and Michigan State -- its two biggest Big Ten rivals -- in a dual meet setting since the 1993 campaign.
In celebration of the Simmons-Harvey Quad, the men's and women's programs will also host the Hall of Fame ceremonies as part of the weekend's festivities. The induction class will be announced in early September.
In what will likely be among the highest-caliber and competitive regular-season invitationals anywhere in the country, Michigan will host the Power Five Invitational against some of the nation's best from not only the Big Ten but also the Pac-12, Big 12, SEC and ACC.
The Wolverines will welcome Big Ten foes Indiana and Minnesota; the ACC quintet of Duke, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), NC State and Virginia; Baylor from the Big 12; Stanford from the Pac-12; and the Vanderbilt women from the SEC.
Rounding out the home slate for the new indoor facility's inaugural season will be the Silverston Invitational. Just one week prior to conference championships weekend, Ann Arbor will welcome athletes from around the country as they chase qualifying standards for not only their conference meets but also the NCAA Championships.
The remaining dates for the 2018 track and field season -- including the full outdoor schedule -- will be announced in mid-August.
