Track around the footbal field going...going...gone...
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I thought about posting this story in the football section…but who would read it?
This should make a lot of folks happy but that track sure had a long and storied tradition…
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@JayHawkFanToo me! I love the KU relays. It’s not the same sooooo far away. I like fb too, but I’ve seen better athletes on the track than on the field.
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KU = FBS school. I know Zenger is serious about football, and so seems Weis. Whole thing just takes time. KU must find bowl-eligibile level of success (at least, if not more) in Football. Dont count KU out of bigger football prizes either, as not that long ago, KU was a top20 team that won the OrangeBowl.
Simple recipe, same as Bill Self’s: Perform well in your conference. Period. Yes, that means being able to play competetive games against OU and TX. That’s the perfect yardstick.
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Yes Track has a tradition at KU, and recently that got added to BIGtime with a Track Natl Championship. But getting their own stadium is a marketable, recruiting-point plus. Not a negative. Combining football + track stadium simply isnt how its done anymore by any school serious in football. Removing the track, allows dedicated focus to each sport, separately.
RCJH
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Actually . . . it’s been a longer time since we saw quality athletes on the track than on the field! The KU Relays, between Penn and Drake, was something special. That was a long time ago.
I’ve been an active advocate for lowering the field since 1985. Now my concern is that the Athletic Department is finding out that it cannot raise the funds necessary to give us a first class football facility. I can see this becoming permanent, and we’ll never see the field lowered.
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@741hawk Agree that could be a concern. My hope is that some success by the football program over 2-3yrs (like consecutive bowl appearances) is all it would take to ignite more football fever. Bowl seasons may mean that KU likely was even competetive in the games they still lost (maybe against the big boy OU/TX programs?). It gives fans hope that their cheering & support is not in vain.
Plus, if the stadium structure isnt altered much, other than dredging/bulldozing the top 4-6feet off the current field, and adding the few rows of lower seating to complete the makeover…it cant cost that much at all (compared to building a whole new stadium). Probably the most cost effective approach IS this non-stadium altering drop-the-field approach. For all intents and purposes, it would be a brand new playing field, and a 60,000+ seat stadium. Filling those seats is completedly married to how the product on the field performs in the next 2-3yrs. It all matters, but it doesnt have to cost $60mil…
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Every time I go to the KU Athletics website I think, what the hell is up with that puke light blue in the jayhawk logo? And that color shows up on the TV networks all the time in their graphics too.
Good job, color blind KU Athletics web team.
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@ralster I hope you are right!
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i had mixed emotions untill I saw the backhoe on the field and the crew removing the track. Then all the history hit me. It’s funny how this demolition event brought back KU track memories and history. But, all good things must come to an end. I am looking forward to bigger and better things.
The plans sound nice. I wish they would show a model or rendering of the new field. I hope this is a step in the right direction or they just tore up a major piece of KU history.
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I’ve stated this before. We had a track reunion last year at the last Relays in Memorial. Most of us ran in the 70’s when we owned the big 8 and had a LOT of All Americans and some world class athletes. (Some of them would have been Olympians-but we boycotted Russia in 1980 because they were in Afghanistan–go figure) but I digress. There was room to build the track south of Allen Fieldhouse if they would have just reconfigured the layout of soccer field and included it in the infield. It would have been cheaper and more importantly easier on the athletes who have to go off campus to train. 95% of us at that reunion wanted it on campus but that ship had sailed due to Lawrence politics. I will miss seeing the Relays in Memorial. I DO appreciate we built a world class track. I just hope the improvements at Memorial come fast and help the Football team. Heaven knows we need help where ever we can get it.
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@JayhawkRock78 I hated to see it go off campus, it’s so much harder for the athletes to get there. Thanks for sharing!
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Because of the geology under the field, it might not be feasible to lower the field as it has been discussed numerous times before in many forums. The easiest way to add more seats is to build up the horse shoe section to match the East and West stands. This would easily add 10,000+ seats; you can also move the field North closer to the North end zone and this would also allow to built stands on the South end zone (straight not horse shoe shaped) like many other stadiums have and this could add anywhere between 10,000 and 25,000 seats depending on configuration.
The question is: would the football program ever be able to fill that many seats? After all, this is not one of those…if you build it they will come scenarios.
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If we start winning games and getting to bowl games we will start selling seats-and that is when we look start looking at more improvements IMHO.
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What is the this football thing we are discussing? I am lost …
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@HighEliteMajor Just in case you are serious- memorial stadium, ku track/ku relays venue relocation-where is best-now what for Memorial stadium plans for Football
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@truehawk93 I know what you mean. This is a bad analogy, but I feel kind of like that every time Las Vegas blows up a casino. There’s no history in Las Vegas. The oldest thing in Las Vegas is Wayne Newton. And a few prostitutes…
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@nuleafjhawk Funny schizz leaf-Is he really older than Batistas’ Hole in the Wall pizzeria back behind the Barbary Coast? Back in the day it was IMO the absolute best damn Italian bread on the planet but the best flippin Stromboli still is Mario’s at the Four Kegs Bar & Grill. Guy what’s his name had Mario on his DD & D show. Friends of ours & Mario have owned & operated Four Kegs neighborhood bar & grill for decades. Just a Mom & Pop place but out-friggin standing chow! Still my fav for Vegas other than fine dining out on the Ritz.
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@JayHawkFanToo-My Dad ran on the original track at Memorial from 1924-26, when the stadium was spankin brand new. Hurdles, broad & high jump, & pole vault were his best events. Was actually a 3 sport letterman until he blew out a knee in FB. Also played for the proverbial & somewhat infamous (in our neck of the woods) Topeka Y in the 30’s.
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@globaljaybird Heading to Vegas for a bBall tourney next week. I will be sure to check this place out.
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@globaljaybird That’s a great story. Do you know what any of his best marks were?
