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The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays is an annual
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
competition held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
.
The University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
serves as host for the event, held on either the last weekend of March or first weekend of April. Events are held in
High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
,
College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
,
University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, 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 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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. 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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
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 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 Texas Longhorns, Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football B ...
player John Wesley Jones recorded a time of 9.85 seconds in the 100 meter dash. 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 organizatio ...
, 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, behind only the
Penn Relays The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay 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 ...
. 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 known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
. 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. In 2009
Highland Mall Highland Mall was a shopping mall located in north Austin, Texas, United States, on Airport Boulevard west of Interstate 35 in Texas#Austin, I-35 and north of US Route 290. Opened in 1971, Highland Mall was Austin's first suburban shopping mall. ...
closed several hours earlier than normal on account of the Texas Relays. 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 division 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 athlet ...
. The College Division is open to schools in
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...
,
NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...
, NAIA, or
NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...
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 organ ...
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. Note: Some men's events are combined for the university and College divisions.


Meet records


Men


Women


Results by year


References

;General
Texas Relays records
''April 2024 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 Texas Longhorns track and field