EUGENE, Ore. – The place is to Track and Field what Lambeau Field is to football. Or Fenway Park or Wrigley Field to baseball. Madison Square Garden to basketball. The Apollo Theater to music.
When Bethune-Cookman's contingent to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championship takes to Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon, they won't be running on just another track. They'll be running on the sport's hallowed ground.
Eugene is also called "Track Town" for a reason … folks in this Northwest college town take the sport as seriously as Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M alum do halftime at the Florida Blue Florida Classic. Even more so.
That being said, here's some interesting and relatively useful facts about Hayward Field and Eugene.
1) Hayward Field was constructed in 1919 as a football field, not a track. It took another six years before the University of Oregon added a six-lane track around the outside of the field. The field is named after Oregon track coach Bill Hayward, who coached the Oregon team from 1904 - 1947. It is one of only five IAAF certified tracks in the United States.
2) The stadium has hosted nine NCAA national championships and six U.S. Olympic Trials, the last in 2016. This week's NCAA meet will be of the last before a major renovation scheduled to be completed in 2020.
3) We couldn't confirm whether or not Usain Bolt has never competed here, but just about every American track superstar – Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Michael Johnson, Bruce Jenner when he considered himself a guy – has at least once. You'll hear the name Steve Prefontaine a lot here – he was a middle and long distance runner who competed who competed in the 1972 Olympics. He held the American records in SEVEN distance events before his tragic death at the age of 24 in an automobile accident.  The Prefontaine Classic held every year is one the world's most prestigious events.
4) If you've ever owned a pair of Nike shoes … In 1974, Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman – then the Oregon coach – used a waffle iron  -- that's right, a waffle iron -- to construct the first pair of Nike running shoes suited for track and field in a stadium basement.  The first shoe became known as the "Waffle Trainer" and was released for sale that year. Co-founder and chairman of Nike Phil Knight ran track for Oregon and has given that waffle iron relic status at the nearby Nike headquarters. Knight, who was a sports reporter before becoming a business magnate, continues to give back to the university where his company began, donating millions of dollars to the restoration and creation of buildings on campus.
5) Nearby Eugene is the town of Springfield. Just like the one on The Simpsons? Creator Matt Groening has said so himself, once signing a plaque to the city and admitting it in an interview. There are several points of interest that bear a resemblance to those on the show, including a Moe's Tavern that allegedly makes a hamburger so good that locals somehow don't mind that the nearest In-And-Out Burger is two hours away in Medford. Riiiiiight.
6) The University of Oregon campus was the location for the comedy classic "Animal House" in 1978. Hayward Field can be seen in the background of the ROTC scene. Alas, the Delta House was torn down in 1986, but the cafeteria where John Belushi's  famous "zit" scene and subsequent food fight took place is still there. The University President was so accommodating to the crew that he volunteered his office to serve as Dean Wormer's office for another infamous scene  – just picture Judge Grimes letting a live horse in White Hall if you haven't seen the movie.
