SEEKING TO BECOME AN
NCAA HOST SITE; MISSOURI STATE TO HOST UNIQUE CONFERENCE
CHAMPIONSHIP
Just
over two years ago Missouri State was given approval to
begin developing it’s new cross country facility on land
provided by local mining and underground real estate
developer Springfield Underground, Inc. Since then MSU’s
efforts to become a major cross country event host have
been on overdrive.
“From day one our vision has been to host the NCAA
championship in Springfield, Mo.”, says MSU cross
country coach Greg Hipp who years ago helped develop
landmark events like the Great American Cross Country
Festival. “We’ve wasted no time making our intentions
known”.
The
city of Springfield has jumped on board quickly too.
From funding to promote MSU’s existing home events to
sending city staff to the United State’s Track and Field
and Cross Country Coaches Association Convention there
is a united community effort to as MSU’s bid web site
MissouriState09.com states to “Bring It to Springfield!”
Missouri State’s efforts got an added boost earlier this
year when John Citron, a former NCAA Division-I college
track and field athlete and coach, was hired as the
city’s sports commissioner giving cross country and
track and field events a greater voice in city planning.
Springfield, Mo., a city with a metro area population of
nearly 400,000, it’s own national airport and over 6,000
hotel rooms within it’s city limits has already been named
the host of the 2009 Midwest Region Championship.
Missouri State’s bid web site states “Missouri State and
Springfield are not just hoping to give NCAA
student-athletes, coaches and fans another site; we are
hoping to provide a new experience”.
With
the regional event in place for Missouri State efforts
are now focused on hosting the 2010 NCAA National
Championship. Traditionally a national meet host site
needs to have successfully hosted a regional meet prior
to being awarded a national bid. Missouri State has
hosted an NCAA regional twice before but never at its
new facility.
Knowing that the 2010 national championship host site
will likely be awarded prior to the 2009 regional meets
Missouri State has decided to take a unique approach to
hosting their 2008 Missouri Valley Conference
Championship to show just what that “new experience”
could be in Springfield if the NCAA is willing to take a
leap faith and award the 2010 championship to Missouri
State University.
"Missouri State's bid seems ideal. They've got a great
new course with a city large enough to host the meet, a
central location and mild weather. All of those would
greatly improve our national meet”, said Bob Braman,
Head cross country coach at Florida State University.
Taking lessons from some of the great track and field
events around the country Missouri State’s vision for
a major cross country championship is that there
should be a lot more to experience than just what takes
place while running on the course.
For
this year’s conference championship at Missouri State
the University and locally headquartered sporting goods
and outdoor gear giant Bass Pro Shops have developed a
partnership to improve the student-athlete and fan
experience as well as to improve the health of the sport
of cross country in the Springfield, Mo. area.
Starting with the week long Bass Pro Shops Outdoor
Fitness Festival beginning on Saturday, October 25,
through the State Farm MVC Cross Country Championships
on Saturday, November 1, and the Fitness Festival
Marathon on November 2, there will certainly be the
opportunity for the complete championship experience for
all those that attend. A number of additional community
wide social events will also be taking place in the
cities downtown entertainment district on October 31.
Missouri State cross country is playing a significant
role in various partner events including the Bass Pro
Shops Outdoor Fitness Festival, a season long Kids and
Youth Cross Country Training Program, a Kids and Youth
Cross Country Meet and Fun Run, and the Missouri Valley
Conference Championship races and banquet.
The
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fitness Festival will include a
wide variety of events from October 25 to November 2 for
outdoor enthusiasts, including running, cycling,
canoeing and kayaking, educational events and much
more. The festival culminates with the MVC Championship
on November 1 and the running of the marathon and
half-marathon on November 2.
The
Kids and Youth Cross Country Training Program was
developed through the SPARC (Schools, Parks and Reaching
Communities) division of the Springfield-Greene County
Park Board. Ten area SPARC sites located at various
elementary and middle schools in the Springfield area
are in the final weeks of a six week training program.
Missouri State cross country runners along with SPARC
coaches have led young runners from grades one through
eight through age appropriate running, strength and
flexibility training preparing them for the youth cross
country races to be held in conjunction with the
Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship
and Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fitness Festival.
The
Kids and Youth Cross Country Meet and Fun Runs will be
held in conjunction with the Missouri Valley Conference
Cross Country Championship at Missouri State’s home
cross country course at the Springfield Underground
(Division St / Hwy 65). A series of races will be held
for various grade levels beginning at 1:30pm following
the MVC Championship races which begin at 12:00 p.m.
For the kids, first up will be the grade seven and eight
3-K run followed by a 2-K run for grades three and four
and grades five and six, a 1-K run for grades one and
two with a 150-meter kids sprint for kindergarten and
under runners. Missouri State cross country runners
will be on hand to encourage the young runners. All
finishers will receive a unique finishers Dog Tag from
Bass Pro Shops. The seventh and eighth grade race will
be timed with additional awards for the top three while
all the other youth races will not be timed.
Registration is $10 per runner and can be completed on
site for those that arrive early. All participants will
receive a tech shirt by Under Armour.
Those attending the MVC Championship and the Outdoor
Fitness Festival will enjoy the runner’s expo at the
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, as well as, various races
including the 25K and 50K trail races at Dogwood Canyon
(10/25), the 5K and 10K (11/1), and half-marathon and
marathon (11/2) road races at the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor
World. Following the morning road races on November 1
fan buses will bring runners to the conference
championship site.
Missouri State and Bass Pro Shops are also proud to host
the first-ever pre-championship banquet for the Missouri
Valley Conference cross country championship. Set to
take place at the White River Room at the Bass Pro Shops
Outdoor World, student-athletes and coaches from all ten
Valley schools will enjoy an outstanding evening with
dinner, a championship preview and featured speaker Bill
Rodgers. Rodgers, a four-time winner of the prestigious
Boston and New York City Marathons, set the American
record for the marathon twice (1975 and 1979). Rodgers
was also a member of the 1976 USA Olympic team. In cross
country, Rodgers was the bronze medalist at the 1975
IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
In
addition to Bill Rodgers, several other celebrity
runners will be on hand during this championship
weekend, including Olympic Gold Medalist Frank Shorter,
marathon champion Dick Beardsley, Olympian and
well-known marathon coach Jeff Galloway and local
running legend and Olympian Jason Pyrah.
Bringing energy to the championship experience “America’s
Running Voice”, Rob Powers, will also be on hand to
emcee the events. Powers has over 600 announcing
assignments over the past 21 years including the
Indianapolis Mini-Marathon, Cleveland Marathon, D.C.
National Marathon, Richmond Monument Ave 10km, Vermont
City Marathon, San Francisco Marathon, Steamboat
Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon,
Marine Corps Marathon, Wine Country Half Marathon and
the Chicago Half Marathon.
Even
with all the exciting events taking place Missouri State
knows some cross country fans will be unable to make the
trip to Springfield. For those fans “Bears Live”, the
online video provider of MissouriStateBears.com, will
show complete tape delayed coverage of the championship
by Saturday afternoon, November 1.
This
Missouri Valley Conference Championship will be done
like no other and for cross country events in
Springfield it appears to be just the beginning.
Complete event information can be found online at
www.BearsTrack.net/mvc08 and www.BassPro.com/Fitness.
