2006 NAIA Champs Location

I am pretty sure it is going to be at fresno pacific

Fresno Pacific is the top name being thrown around, but there are still other sites being considered and no decision has been made yet.

I can't imagine it going to Calif. I would guess back to Kenosha, stay in Louisville(former sport liason works for Louisville sports commission) or Olathe somewhere.

They're talking about outdoor track nationals going to Fresno in 2006. I believe XC nationals will stay in Louisville at least through fall 2006.

...Because attendence has been so good at Louisville and Olathe?

At least in CA, you could get a better turn out with the GSAC audience.

I think Fresno Pacific is a horrible place to have nationals. It's so hot. It's in the middle of nowhere and it's in Fresno. I sure hope one of the other sites pulls through!

does APU have the site to host?

I've only been there once and it was some time ago.

i've raced at all the sites mentioned--olathe, louisville, apu, and fpu. of those sites, louisville has the best facilities. apu needs to resurface their track, fpu has a top layer base coat that was installed in 2000-2001. the sun has been beating down on it for the past few years resulting in serious cracks. from a spectator standpoint, FPU will suck. it's a bunch of dirt and port-o-johns, with a grass soccer field on the outside. there are small aluminum bleachers.

the weather in each of the places really suck! olathe and louisville (the years i was there) both had freak lightning storms. during my race (the steeple) at louisville, on the 3rd lap, the stadium was evacuated due to the lightning. needless to say, we didn't feel too good when it was lightning and we're jumping into water with metal on our feet!

if the NAIA champs go to CA, that would be a wise choice. however, i would vote for another school, possibly a PAC 10 school, or another GSAC school. possibilities might be Cal, Stanford, UCLA or Point Loma. other good choice be occidental CMS, or mt sac.

Olathe is probably the worst bet out of all the sites mentioned--black track, slightly uphill, and its in the most boring place in the US. nothing to do after the meet is over, and restaurants for teams are hard to find.

if the XC champs were moved to fresno, that would be ok, although, i'm not sure if the course could handle 400 runners and spectators. for each race.

For Olathe to hold it again the track needs to be resurfaced with some major work to be done at the throwing venues and jumping venues...if this gets done it can be a great place to host the meet...now I am not sure of what kind of night life you are looking for and the ability to drive but there are some great places very close to the track and plenty of restaurants very close...(within five miles)

KCTrack wrote:

now I am not sure of what kind of night life you are looking for and the ability to drive but there are some great places very close to the track and plenty of restaurants very close...(within five miles)

i'm not talking about 'night life' but it seemed as if there was a chilis, a waffle house, and maybe an applebees next to the outlet mall. very limited if you ask me. louisville had some great options, from a tony romas to macaroni grill and various other restaurants that were nice. not to mention the hotel that we were put in! that place was unreal! we had a suite for all the men's team to share and the 2 bedroom place was gi-freakin-normous! fun hotel!

Pt loma, on the other hand, has tons of places up and down rosecrans ave. (and no, i did not run for PT loma, just familiar with the area).

Going down to the next exit you would hve found everything you were looking for....off the top of my head I can think of 10+ restaurants with movies and shopping...now the hotel may be another situation...I am sure that is an area that needs to be addressed as well for it to come back to Olathe...

Something needs to be done about nationals being in Fresno. It would be so much more convenient to have it at another facility in California. There are so many facilities in Socal as someone mentioned earlier that would play great host to nationals. Nationals at Fresno is the worst idea! What are they thinking. Can we put a stop to Fresno before it's to late? Other California alternatives: P. loma, Occidental, Claremont Mudd Scripps, Pomona Pitzer, Citrus College, Cal State anything. Anything but Fresno!!!!

no fresno wrote:

Other California alternatives: P. loma, Occidental, Claremont Mudd Scripps, Pomona Pitzer, Citrus College, Cal State anything. Anything but Fresno!!!!

in my opinion, CMS, Oxy and UCLA are the best tracks in southern CA. wide turns, good seating venues, and good places to warm up. if you wanted to get away from the crowd, its easy to do as well. not to mention, they are in areas where other track fans would probably come to watch. as for "cal state anything" some ideas include fullerton, northridge (although very windy), possibly CSULA. UCI could do well too, with the close proximity to an airport and numerous hotels and restaurants in the area. san diego venues and santa barbara would be difficult due to airports and hotels, but might be a good situation. Santa Barbara City college is an awesome place for spectators and athletes. clean air too, something that LA could use! State street has a ton of fun things to do/ see and is only a few minutes away from SBCC.

want to start a list and vote on the top 5-8 venues for the NAIA nationals and start a petition?

Nationals are not going to be in Louisville next year because they won the bid to host their high school state meet.

There are a ton of locations that would be a better facility for many reasons than Fresno. However, that doesn't matter. What matters is a location who WANTS to host the meet, and is willing to put together a committee to bid for it.

They are already well into the selection process, so we can talk all we want about where we'd like to have the meet but it won't change anything.

If anyone has actually heard the names of other facilities bidding for the meet I would like to know!

It was a major shame that they moved naia nationals to Louisville from Kenosha. Louisville is such a boring flat course. It takes something away from the people that win there. In Kenosha you had to race the course, conditions and the competitors. If you want to host CC nats at Louisville you might as well have year around track.

having raced on both courses, the kenosha and louisville course in successive years, i enjoyed the louisville championships much more. the team hotel at the holiday inn was great (my team still has the 'welcome banner' that was mysteriously missing since day 2). the area surrounding it was much more enjoyable and scenic, and the course was good for spectators. the course is challenging in that it is largely grass, and many times there is a lot of rain during/ before the race.

kenosha was a great experience, but louisville was much better. during the awards presentation, the awards were given in some gymnasium on bleachers and it was tough to see and take pictures in kenosha. but in louisville, it was held in the hotel conference room with a stage and all, and it made for a more pleasant atmosphere.

it didn't snow in louisville the years i've been there either.

To each his own. I just think that a Cross-Country course should have at least a hill.

eldoret wrote:

To each his own. I just think that a Cross-Country course should have at least a hill.

i agree, the only hill in the louisville course was right after the 4 mile mark if i remember correctly. there were some slopes, and there was i think a hill that you ran twice in the back of the course after you pass the houses that are on the right hand side. is it the mile mark and or the 2 mile mark?

for you people who don't want nationals in Fresno e-mail the NAIA Office and tell them what you think.