The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Track And Field Announces 2012 Slate
10/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Oct. 11, 2011
2012 Schedule (PDF) | 
Birmingham CrossPlex Photo Gallery
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB track and field head coach Kurt Thomas announced the 2012 campaign on Tuesday, which features four home meets at the world-class Birmingham CrossPlex, including the Conference USA Indoor Championships.
“This is really an exciting time for UAB Track and Field and the city of Birmingham to have the Birmingham CrossPlex,” Thomas said. “We are excited to co-host a few meets with Samford and Birmingham Southern, as well as the first annual UAB Blazer Invitational.”
The Birmingham CrossPlex features a state-of-the-art indoor track stadium with seating for 4,000 people. The track facility incorporates a 200-meter hydraulically banked Mondo Super X track, eight-lane sprint track and a four-lane warm-up track. There is a double apparatus for all field events -- shot put, long jump, triple jump, pole vault and high jump.
“We haven’t had a history of hosting home meets and we are making our presence known with the CrossPlex,” Thomas said. “We are able to attract some great competition with teams from all over the Southeast. It also gives us a chance to run our best, on one of the best tracks out there, right in our own back yard.”
UAB opens the 2012 indoor season on Jan. 12-13, hosting the Blazer Invite. The Blazers will then compete for three consecutive weekends beginning with the Birmingham Invitational on Jan. 25-26. The team will then trek to South Bend, Ind. to participate in the prestigious Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame Feb. 3-4.
Before the Blazers gear up to host the C-USA Indoor Championships they will take part in one more meet in the Birmingham area on Feb. 10-11 - the Vulcan Invitational.
The NCAA Last Chance Qualifier is March 2 in Birmingham and the NCAA Indoor Championships will take place March 9-10 in Nampa, Idaho.
The Blazers will embark on the 2012 outdoor slate with yet another meet near home when they take part in the Samford Invitational March 16-17. The team will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for the Alabama Relays March 23-24.
“We have a great mix of meets for the outdoor season. We will get a chance to have our athletes compete against some of the best the NCAA has to offer,” Thomas said. “The idea is to give our ladies the best opportunity to compete for C-USA titles, qualify for the NCAA Preliminary and have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships. I think this schedule allows us to do that.”
UAB will compete each weekend of April beginning with the Florida Relays in Gainesville Fla. and the Stanford Invitational April 6-7, followed by the Mississippi State Invitational (April 13-14).
The Blazers will compete in two meets April 20-21 - the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. and the Auburn Invitational in Auburn, Ala. UAB will wrap up the regular outdoor season at the Golden Eagle Classic in Hattiesburg, Miss. on April 28.
The C-USA Outdoor Championships will be hosted by Tulane in New Orleans, La. (May 10-13) before the NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla. (May 24-26). The NCAA Outdoor Championships will take place June 6-9 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
