The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays are an annual
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
competition held at
Mike A. Myers Stadium in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
.
The University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
serves as host for the event, held on either the first or second weekend of April.
Events are held in
High School
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
,
College
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
,
University
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, and Invitational divisions.
History
In response to cold-weather conditions at the
Kansas Relays
The Kansas Relays are a three-day track meet every April, held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. Since 1923, the Kansas Relays have attracted runners, throwers, and jumpers from all over the United States of America, bringing in a ...
,
the Texas Relays was started as a men's-only competition in 1925 by University of Texas coach
Clyde Littlefield
Clyde Littlefield (October 6, 1892 – May 20, 1981) was an American sports and athletics coach. The head track and field coach at The University of Texas from 1920 to 1961 as well as its football coach from 1927 to 1933. In his 41 years at Texa ...
and athletic director
Theo Bellmont.
The Relays were held at
Memorial Stadium until
Mike A. Myers Stadium was opened in 1999.
The meet was not held 1932-1934 as a result of
The Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
Women's events were added in 1963.
To encourage attendance in the early years of the event, various publicity stunts were staged. The most successful was a 1927 stunt in which three
Tarahumaras were invited to the Relays. These men were famed as runners who never stopped running. A race was staged between the men from
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_ ...
to Memorial Stadium. After 14 hours and 53 minutes, the 89 mile race ended in a tie.
In 1977, electronic timing was introduced at the Relays, and
Olympic gold medalist
This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events.
List of most Olympic gold medals over career
This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...
and
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate team representing the University of Texas at Austin (variously Texas or UT) in the sport of American football. The Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisio ...
player
John Wesley Jones recorded a time of 9.85 seconds in the
100 meter dash
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
. This would have set a
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
, but it was determined that the timer malfunctioned, and the time was unofficial.
The Texas Relays are currently the second largest track meet in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, behind only the
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...
.
Today, approximately 50,000 spectators and 5,000 athletes attend the events.
Local impact
According to the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2007, the Relays generate US$8 million for local business.
Much of this traced to the fact that the event has become a social destination for young
African-Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
. A number of groups organize networking and development events for African-Americans to take place in downtown Austin during the Relays.
Following alleged issues involving crime, some local businesses close for the Relays weekend.
Some advocates of the Relays state that there is not a significant increase in crime during the Relays weekend. Some businesses have nonetheless chosen to not operate or to close early.
Austin, TX: Afraid of a lot of black people?
2009. ClutchFans.
Divisions
The University Division is open to schools in NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
. The College Division is open to schools in NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
, NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...
, NAIA, or NJCAA
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
schools. The University/College Division is open to schools that qualify for either division separately.
The High School Division is separated into two levels, Division I and Division II. Division I is open to schools in the University Interscholastic League
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organi ...
classes A, AA, or AAA (or their interstate equivalents). Division II is open to schools in UIL classes AAAA or AAAAA. Schools that normally compete in Division I may compete in Division II if they wish.
Events held
Source:.
Meet records
Men
Women
Texas Relays results
References
;General
Texas Relays records
''30 March 2019 updated''
;Specific
External links
Texas Relays web site
{{US track and field competitions
Annual track and field meetings
College track and field competitions in the United States
High school track and field competitions in the United States