The Runaway Track That Could Have Been UL's

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana Acadien 1992-93

Runaway Track
by Matt Tarver

In the spring of 1990, (the University of Louisiana) attempted to acquire an indoor track that the State of Louisiana had purchased for approximately $100,000 earlier that year and was storing in the Superdome. Had UL been successful in acquiring the track, the university could have used it to host meets in the Cajundome.

Instead television celebrity Bill Cosby purchased the indoor track from the state later that year. The track was then moved to Nevada, leaving UL in the dust.

Coach Charles Lancon expressed his disappointment at UL's not being able to obtain the indoor track.

"We just dragged our feet and the state sold the track," he said. "It was gone quickly."

The main reason (UL) didn't obtain the track, according to Lancon, is the lack of a storage facility for the track in Lafayette. Lancon said that administrators at the Cajundome probably realized the storage problems that the Superdome was having and hesitated in acquiring the Track. (UL) has no plans for acquiring an indoor track, for Lafayette in the near future.

If (UL) was to purchase its own indoor track, Lancon said the team could save about $6,000 annually in travel expenses and earn about $9,000 annually by hosting meets for other universities.

[Turbine]

Authement requested of the Cajun Dome to provide storage for free. Anyway coach Lancon stated about the administration, "We just dragged our feet"

That very track is now a cash cow for the University of Nevada and serves as a Mecca for collegiate athletes from around the country.

[NewsCopy]

The superior quality of the Bill Cosby Indoor Track Facility brings out the best in athletes. Housed in the Reno Livestock Events Center, a regional, multi-purpose facility that seats 3,950 for track and up to 7,200 for concerts and other events, the Bill Cosby Track is located less than a mile from the University of Nevada campus.


The track was brought to Nevada in 1991, thanks to a generous donation from entertainer and comedian, Bill Cosby. A long-time friend of the university and aficionado for track and field, Cosby would sometimes run with the track team when he was in town for shows. He saw the need for an indoor track facility, and donated $10,000 to the track program to purchase one.

A track was found in storage at the Louisiana Superdome, and though it had been built in the 1980s, it had never seen use. Valued at $250,000, Nevada was able to purchase the track with Cosby's donation.

Since being brought to Nevada in 1991, the Bill Cosby Indoor Track has been host to more than 50 collegiate and professional events. The Western Athletic Conference awarded Nevada the hosting responsibilities of both the 2001 and 2002 indoor championships.

Every year, teams from all over the country come to Reno to compete in indoor meets hosted by Nevada. The athletes benefit from the fast track and gently sloped curves, which is what brings out the best in each athlete.
In 1995, the track received its greatest testimonial when the USA Mobil Grand Prix Series made its way to Reno.
World-class athletes such as Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Michael Johnson have competed at the facility. Joyner-Kersee made use of the fast boards and broke the American record in the 400-meter hurdles. Johnson also used it to his advantage when he broke the world record in the indoor 400-meter run with a time of 44.97 seconds. Thrower Lance Deal broke his own world record in the 35-pound weight throw with a toss of 81' 8.5".

In addition to the indoor track, the Wolf Pack has access to a number of top-notch practice facilities as well. Student-athletes in the running events utilize the outdoor track at Mackay Stadium while field event facilities were constructed on the recently aquired former Bishop Manogue facility adjacent to Nevada's existing athletics facilities.

Found in the heart of downtown Reno, Virginia Lake serves as the primary practice grounds for the Pack's 2003 WAC Champion cross country team. Utilizing the lake and nearby mountain and city trails, Nevada's distance runners are able to take advantage of the Reno/Tahoe altitude of 4,500-6,800 in and near the Sierra Nevada mountains.


Directions to Bill Cosby Track at the Reno Livestock-Events Center

From Reno-Tahoe International Airport:
Take 395 north and then take Interstate 80 west. Take the Wells Street exit and head north. The Livestock-Events Center is about a quarter-mile down on the right. There are parking lots all around the indoor facility and the outdoor Reno Rodeo grounds. This is also the Nevada State Fairgrounds.

From Interstate 80:
Take Interstate 80 west. Take the Wells Street exit and head north. The Livestock-Events Center is about a quarter-mile down on the right. There are parking lots all around the indoor facility and the outdoor Reno Rodeo grounds. This is also the Nevada State Fairgrounds.

Source

The superior quality of the Bill Cosby Indoor Track Facility brings out the best in athletes. . . .

. . . It serves as a meca for collegiate athletes from around the country, as it is one of the best tracks available to them in the nation, and one of the only indoor track facilities on the west coast.

"Our track is, without a doubt, one of the finest in the country," head coach Curt Kraft said. "We're a service to the west coast. Without this facility, there is no place for most west coast athletes to go."

The track was brought to Nevada in 1991, thanks to a generous donation from entertainer and comedian, Bill Cosby. A long time friend of the university and afficionado for track and field, Cosby would sometimes run with the track team when he was in town for shows. He saw the need for an indoor track facility at Nevada, and donated $10,000 to the track program to purchase one.

A track was found in storage at the Louisana Superdome, and though it had been built in the 1980s, the track had never seen use. Valued at $250,000, Nevada was able to purchase the track for $10,000.

Since being brought to Nevada in 1991, the Bill Cosby Indoor Track Facility has been host to more than 50 collegiate and professional track events.

Every year, teams from all over the country come to Reno to compete in the at least three indoor meets hosted by Nevada. The athletes benefit from the fast track and gently sloped curves, which brings out the best in each athlete.

"Teams would not be coming here from as far as Florida if they were not successful," Kraft said. "Teams are coming here and running qualifying times on a consistent basis."

In 1995, the track received its greatest testimonial when the USA Mobil Grand Prix Series made its way to Reno.

World-class ahthletes such as Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Michael Johnson competed at Nevada's indoor facility. Joyner-Kersee made use of the fast boards and broke the American record in the 500-meter hurdles. Michael Johnson also used the track to his advantage when he broke the world record in the indoor 400-meter run with a time of 44.97 seconds. Thrower Lance Deal broke his own wold record in the 35-pound weight throw at Nevada with a toss of 81'8 1/2".

"Talking to athletes, I am convinced that this facility is as nice or nicer than Millrose in New York or the facility in Los Angeles," Kraft said. "Our collegiate athletes have an advantage coming here that other teams can only dream of."

Link broken

[the Big Ragoo]

I heard they were talking about putting a 4 lane indoor track around the indoor turf field.

[CDeb]

Originally posted by the Big Ragoo
I heard they were talking about putting a 4 lane indoor track around the indoor turf field.

I had heard that track was being left out, so if you are correct, that's great news. It would still be nice to have a facility to hold indoor competitions in, and I don't think four lanes is gonna get it. However, it's better than what we have now.

[EVCajun12]

Nelson S. was on earlier in the week on bird's eye view, and he gave a little insight into an indoor track, saying that if it was financially feasible, then they would do it. That is all he said on that.

[CajunCall]

Originally posted by evcajun12
Nelson S. was on earlier in the week on bird's eye view, and he gave a little insight into an indoor track, saying that if it was financially feasible, then they would do it. That is all he said on that.

I missed that show what day was it? Sometimes I feel as if Nelson is out of the loop. I heard him on sports note a couple of few weeks ago, he seemed to play things close to the vest. I like Nelson S's hires but that is about it. He comes off somewhat detatched from the goings on. At one point I swear he called UL the University of Lafayette. This is the athletic director.

[geauxboy]

As far as an indoor track for competition purposes, it would probably be cheaper and also a better investment in the long run to buy the neccessary surfaces, etc. to use in the Dome. For practice purposes, 4 lanes may be enough, pits & throwing rings are portable, so they could be used int the new facility.

[GoneGolfin]

Excellent research Turbine.

Brian

[CAJUNJUDO]

Does anyone know if our new indoor facility is going to include our coaches offices and Hall of Fame room?

I heard some poeple saying that it was basically going to be a huge metal building that might not even have air conditioning.

Check out this facility at South Florida:
http://isis.fastmail.usf.edu/usf-ath...c_building.htm

[Boomer]

I am under the assumption that it will be a totally dedicated facility to practice and maybe run indoor track meets. The present facilities will take care of dressing ROOMS, showers, traing room type needs. The present complex will also house the UL club(my name choice) which I think should be somewhere else and give all the room to the present athletes.

[Cajun Express]

Originally posted by CAJUNJUDO
Does anyone know if our new indoor facility is going to include our coaches offices and Hall of Fame room?

I heard some poeple saying that it was basically going to be a huge metal building that might not even have air conditioning.

The indoor facility will not have air conditioning. It will be directly across the street from the administraton building and will be L shaped. There may be a small portioned air conditioned because we will have a basketball facility within it, that is speculation on my part. There is no need for air condtioning as the purpose is to provide shelter duing rain storms and will be ventalated enough for heat control.

Nelson is checking into the potential for an indoor track. The baseball and softball teams will also be able to practice there.

Hall of Fame will be an added to the current building. The current building is undergoing major renovations to the trainning facilites and improvements to the locker rooms is part of that. It will be really nice. Nelson has expressed his gratitude to all the volunteers that have helped with the demolition aspect of this, and we are looking for volunteers for assistance in painting.

Coach Bustle always a team player two summers ago helped paint the stadium with the vols, he also has helped in the demolition within the current building this year. That just goes to show you what kind of man we have heading our football, and how any comparisons to him and previous football coach is absurd.

The volunteers also dismanteled the old bleachers on the third base side of the baseball park saving baseball a ton of money, which were used in upgrading the facility. A call for volunteers is currently being put out, and many times out of towners can help because these often happen on weekends.

If you go back into the threads on this board you will find some newscopies about the improvements at the atletic complex currently going on and the proposed facility.