stay away wrote:
If it is a real D1 university, you shouldn't be on the track. If the door happens to be open to the basketball arena, you probably wouldn't walk in and start shooting baskets or a security guard would be called. If it is a D3 school, nobody should care.
In fairness to the OP, and anyone else who wants to use a university's track, most other sports do have public facilities for hobbyists to enjoy. Most public parks have basketball courts and tennis courts. There are lots of soccer & baseball fields available for free public use.
Runners often do not have this option. Decent regulation 400m tracks are typically only found at universities and high schools. And some of you might say, "So what? You're a runner. Just go run on the road or a treadmill. You don't need a 400m rubberized track." But this would be like telling a basketball player, "Just stick a basket up on a tree somewhere. You're not a freakin' professional. Why do you need a basketball court?"
Some runners (myself included) really enjoy using actual regulation tracks for their workouts. And it can be difficult to find them in many areas. Where I live, the only 400m track available for public use, not affiliated with a school, is 30 mins away....and it's asphalt.
If schools want to protect their facilities, I can understand and respect that. But I feel that more public universities should offer the local community access to their tracks, with certain regulations (specific hours, perhaps a small annual fee).