The winter season brings speed to the Lied Recreation Center when Iowa State plays host to the Men’s and Women’s Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Rec Center is the site for Big 12 Indoors Feb. 27-29. The last time ISU ran the indoor competition at home was in 1993.

The ISU track and field coaching staff is enthusiastic about the upcoming event.

Steve Lynn, men’s coach, said, “We’re excited about hosting a major meet at the level of the Big 12 Conference.”

Lynn said one advantage of ISU’s indoor track facility is that its length is 300 meters, whereas most others in the nation are only 200.

In addition, the Cyclone site has eight lanes compared to six, and it has a warm-up track close to the actual competition track.

Women’s Coach Dick Lee said, “We always look forward to the opportunity to host championship events. It showcases our athletes and the entire university.”

Scott Roberts, assistant coach for the Cyclone women, said he too thinks the program is in a great position.

“I think it gives a lot of exposure to our sport here in the state of Iowa, which is important,” Roberts said.

“It gets more fans excited about track and field and it is also beneficial from a recruiting angle,” he said.

Even though Lynn said the center already is a world-class facility, some things must be done to prepare the site for championship competition.

The biggest of those preparations is providing adequate seating for spectators.

Lynn said it is likely the Rec Center will be able to hold 2,000 fans after installing some permanent seating specifically designed for the meet.

Lynn said the increased seating will be needed. “We feel like we’ll draw a very strong crowd both days,” he said.

Lee said ISU track has a bigger budget for this meet, which will allow the program to use additional options to increase seating capacity.

In recent years, the indoor meet has been held at different universities.

None of the six southern schools have an adequate site like the northern schools.

The Big 12 Conference committee has not established any rules about who gets the home advantage from year to year.

Regardless, it is ISU’s turn to run at home on its track.

Lynn said he hopes running at home will prove advantageous for the Cyclones. In the past, he said the home advantage certainly has been an asset to the team.

“The bottom line is you gotta have the athletes to do things,” he said.

And from what Lynn has said about ISU’s returning athletes, this year the university’s track programs have both.