A&M's Gilliam Indoor Track & Field Stadium question

During the recent SEC Indoor Track & Field Championship Meet, there were several comments by the narrators about the track. In particular about the banking and the narrow lanes (the narrowest the NCAA allows).

They kept saying that it was not as fast as Arkansas' Indoor facility the 8 million-dollar Randal Tyson Track Center. Since its opening in 2000, the Randal Tyson Track Center has held the SEC Championships 8 times and the NCAA Championships 12 times. The attendance for each day of the NCAA Championship Meets has usually been over 5,000. It is a 200-meter, 60-degree banked track.

By contrast, the Texas A&M University's Gilliam Indoor Stadium open in 2009. It is a 200-meter hydraulic banked track can be adjusted to varying heights / bankings and has a capacity of 4,100. It has held the Conference Championships 4 times (Big 12 -- 2009 & 2011; SEC -- 2014 & 2018), and NCAA Championships 4 times (2009, 2011, 2017, & [in a few days] 2018).

The narrators seem to imply that Gilliam is inferior to Randal Tyson.

My question: Is the Gilliam Track Stadium that inferior to Randal Tyson?

Since 2000, the NCAA Championships have been held at Randal Tyson or Gilliam except for three years:
2012 -- Boise State, 2014 -- New Mexico, 2016 -- Birmingham, AL.

Gilliam cannot be as bad as they seemed to imply, or we would not be allowed to put on the championship events.

Another question? Can Gilliam be banked as high as Randal Tyson so as to match its speed?

I don't know that it is quite as fast on the 200-400 races because of the wider lanes and to a lesser extent the banking. You would not want a higher bank on our track because of the narrow lanes. The lanes are that way to accommodate the sprint straightaway that we have near the grandstands. Those lanes are standard size and you can see the difference in width when you are at the meet. I think that fastest facilities in the country are actually at Texas Tech and Clemson rather than Arkansas. The differences between the facilities is relatively minor and the two newest facilities have the benefit of building off of our design and making improvements. Remember also that in the initial design of the facility it was to house a second practice field and was made high enough for kicking. In the track world our facility would probably be comparable to what the Texans have in the NFL. Close to the top but perhaps not the fastest. Folks still kill to come run on it and would gladly trade with us in almost all circumstances.

If you compare the amount of collegiate records earned in each facility and couple that with number of championship/pro meets run in each facility's history, you could make the point that the A&M track is just as fast, if not faster. I think Dwight Stones was talking out his butt.

I certainly hope Texas Tech's track is fast. I'd love nothing more than for them to not live up to their No. 1 ranking.

Every coach I have spoken to about the Tech facility raved about how fast it was. Lane draws will make the 400 and 200 interesting. I wish the NCAA would follow the IAAF and take the 200 out of the meet. It is too dependent on lane draw rather than ability.

My only complaint with Gilliam is that the pole vault pit does not have a spectator area. It is a great event to watch up close. Logistics with getting fans over there would be tough, and I bet the coaches enjoy the isolation to talk to their athletes and other coaches.

What is it about Gilliam that attracts the NCAA to it?
There are apparently several other indoor facilities that are capable and able to hold NCAA championships.

Although the crowd is on the small size, the NCAA must love the facility, the available support (travel, rooms, etc.) for teams and their fans along with the organizational and cooperative aspects of the A&M staff.

Although, we could never hold the NCAA outdoor championships at Aggieland (due to the humidity and heat), I hope the NCAA loves our new outdoor facility as much as they love Gilliam.

Probably the local officials association has a little to do with it. The NCAA has said it is among the very best. No championship needs controversy due to incompetence and there is a lot out there at other meets.

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Although the crowd is on the small size,

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There was a packed house last year -- 5,500. That is a ton for a collegiate indoor track meet.

I agree with everything else the both of you said. The human resources, the space to house any desire the NCAA has and 'want to' is on par with any other school.

tk for tu juan said:

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My only complaint with Gilliam is that the pole vault pit does not have a spectator area. It is a great event to watch up close. Logistics with getting fans over there would be tough, and I bet the coaches enjoy the isolation to talk to their athletes and other coaches.

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Pole vault officials are always looking for new volunteers, you'd get the best view in the building.

What is the process to becoming a track official or volunteering?

I was sitting next to an older Arkansas fan who seemed very impressed with our indoor facility. I asked if he went to many meets in Fayetteville and he said he did. He was proud of their facility, but seemed to indicate ours was superior in some regards. Wish I had seen this thread before the NCAA meet. I would have thought to ask questions as to what he meant specifically!

The only complaint I heard from fans sitting around me was that there are no stands near the pole vault for viewing.

This seems like pretty good evidence of the speed of our track:



8 of the top 9 schools ran the best times of their season.

I don't want this to sound like a complaint, because I truly appreciate the generous donors who made the facility possible, but I do wish there was full seating on both sides. I realize that wasn't possible given some of the constraints, but at the same time, when you have teams as amazing as A&Ms have been (and are) I want everybody to be able to come and see them from every angle!

It was interesting to see that We did land a one of the two NCAA prelims in 2021.

Go from CS one week to Haywood a week later.

MidTnAg said:

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Although, we could never hold the NCAA outdoor championships at Aggieland (due to the humidity and heat), I hope the NCAA loves our new outdoor facility as much as they love Gilliam.

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The NCAA outdoor meet has been held in Austin multiple times, Baton Rouge, Houston, New Orleans and Fayetteville. What makes you think we could not host the national outdoor meet here?

SteepleAggie said:

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MidTnAg said:

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Although, we could never hold the NCAA outdoor championships at Aggieland (due to the humidity and heat), I hope the NCAA loves our new outdoor facility as much as they love Gilliam.

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The NCAA outdoor meet has been held in Austin multiple times, Baton Rouge, Houston, New Orleans and Fayetteville. What makes you think we could not host the national outdoor meet here?

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I wouldn't say never, but it is certainly a strike against us hosting. There were plenty of complaints about the weather last time it was in Austin. I think we will have as good of a chance as Austin, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Houston. I'm just not sure any of those will get another one either.

(Fayetteville isn't really comparable. It is usually held around the 10th of June. Fayetteville's average high for that date is 82. College Station is 91.)

They have opened up bidding for 2019 and 2020 as Hayward Field is undergoing renovations ahead of the 2021 World Championships. I think it is worth us bidding to host one of those, but I also wouldn't be surprised if we don't get it. My guess is they go back to Eugene in 2021 or 2022 when their renovation is complete for at least a few years. If they keep moving it around, we might get one. I wouldn't be surprised if they make Eugene a permanent home after the renovations.

The semi-finals (and probably usually the Championship game) for football is held in the south every year. Omaha gets the baseball World Series and Oklahoma City for softball. Track and field getting a permanent home in Eugene after these renovations or the championship just rotating among places with cooler June weather might just be how it goes.

We should get in the regular rotation for the West prelims at least (which we got for 2021).