The Oregon track team will be debuting not only a refurbished Hayward Field this spring, but also a refurbished schedule.
The Ducks will break in the new Hayward Field, closed since June in preparation for next summer’s Olympic Trials, on March 22, 2008, with the Oregon Preview.
That will be followed by the Pepsi Team Invitational April 5, when the Ducks will battle Minnesota and Penn State from the Big Ten Conference and Pacific-10 Conference rival Washington.
The new portion of the home schedule starts two weeks later when the defending Pac-10 champion Oregon men take on the UCLA men, the fourth-place team, in a dual meet April 19.
Also new to the schedule are the Oregon Relays April 25-26. Taking the place of the Oregon Invitational, the Relays will have a Distance Carnival Friday night followed by the other events Saturday. Oregon is partnering with the XO Invitational, a large high school meet held at Hayward Field, and the Oregon Relays will include high school, college and professional athletes.
The Ducks will close out their home schedule when they host their traditional Oregon Twilight meet May 9, the week before the Pac-10 Championships.
The Olympic Trials start June 27 and run through July 6.