DES MOINES, Iowa – With indoor track and field underway across the country, the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom announced the format for the 2022 event. After an event cancellation in 2020 and a significantly altered schedule in 2021, the 112^th edition of the Drake Relays will return to the conventional and long-established format with competitors from university, college, high school and elite ranks all participating in an integrated schedule over four days in Drake Stadium.

The 2022 event will begin on Wednesday, April 27 with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon, which will mark the first time in three years that either of these events will be contested. The combined events conclude on Thursday, April 28, followed by the Distance Carnival, which set a new attendance record of 8,756 in 2019. Friday, April 29, will once again be divided into two segments with day and evening sessions, both featuring many of the nation's top collegians alongside Iowa's finest high school athletes. In 2019, the Saturday session closed out the 110^th Drake Relays with its 54^th consecutive sellout with 14,504 in attendance.

"The century-old tradition of high school and university athletes participating in the Drake Relays alongside the world's greatest athletes has become an institution in our sport," said Franklin P. Johnson Drake Relays Director, Blake Boldon. "While we are months away from finalizing our schedule, we are thrilled to get back on track with this important tradition in 2022."

Along with the format announcement, Boldon unveiled the first group of university teams that will attend in 2022. The group features programs from the Big Ten, Big Twelve, SEC, Pac-12 and Missouri Valley Conference, including eleven conference champion squads. North Carolina A&T, which was the only school in the country to have both its men's and women's teams finish in the top four at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and Iowa, which swept the 2021 Big Ten Conference Men's Indoor and Outdoor titles, headline a list of early schools that will compete in the 2022 Drake Relays presented by Xtream.

Other 2021 conference champions who will be competing on the famed Blue Oval are Air Force, which captured the 2021 Mountain West Conference Men's Cross Country title; Minnesota, the defending Big Ten women's indoor champ; Oklahoma State, which swept the 2021 Big Twelve Conference men's and women's cross country championships; UNI, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference men's indoor and outdoor team champion and Drake, the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference men's cross country champion. Oklahoma State also was third in the 2021 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships.

Iowa State, which finished second in the 2021 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships, will return to defend its Relays Cup Championship in the men's division. The Cyclone women finished second in the 2021 Relays Cup in a historic tiebreak with North Dakota State.

Michigan, which finished second in both the 2021 Big Ten Men's Outdoor as well as Men's Cross Country Championships, returns with a full team to the Drake Relays for the first time since 1957. The Michigan women also will return to the Drake Relays for the first time since 2016.
 
Both the men and women's programs from Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska and Purdue also will compete at the Drake Relays in 2022. Kentucky won eight titles, including five in the women's division in its last appearance at the Drake Relays in 2019. Utah, which finished 20^th at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships will represent the Pac-12.

These confirmed teams for the 2022 Drake Relays had a combined 44 athletes compete in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Among those 44 athletes is North Carolina A&T junior Randolph Ross. The defending NCAA men's outdoor 400 champ, Ross ran legs on the Aggies winning 4x400 relay at the 2021 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. If that's not enough, Ross also competed in the 2021 Summer Olympics earning a gold medal on Team USA's 4x400 relay.

The list of top individual performers already committed to compete at the 2022 Drake Relays also includes two other returning NCAA champs. Kentucky senior Abby Steiner is the defending 2021 NCAA women's indoor 200 champ. Iowa State senior Wesley Kiptoo won the men's 5,000 at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships and was second in the 2021 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship.

The 14 men's programs announced for 2022 saw 71 athletes compete in the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships and 31 athletes in the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships, with 37 athletes earning first team All-America honors, including 20 in outdoor track while crowning three champions.

The 15 women's teams already confirmed for the 2022 Drake Relays are equally as strong with 51 athletes having participated in the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships and 25 in the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships with 25 athletes earning first team All-America honors, including 14 in outdoor track while crowning one champ.

Six men and six women from the participating Drake Relays teams earned All-American honors by finishing in the top 40 in the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships last month as well.

"This is already the strongest university field at the Drake Relays in at least five years," added Boldon. "For more than 11 decades, our fans have cheered collegiate champions that have gone on to realize their Olympic dreams. This tradition will be renewed in full force on the Blue Oval in 2022. We are all anxious for a sold-out crowd of more than 14,000 on Saturday, April 30."

Drake Relays All Session ticket renewal information will be mailed and emailed to ticket holders later this month with a renewal deadline of February 2, 2022. Other Drake Relays package ticket holders will receive information in January on their opportunity to renew tickets. Prices for All Session tickets and all ticket packages will remain unchanged from 2019.

All Session tickets will go on sale to the General Public on Wednesday, February 16.

More information will be available on DrakeTix.com.

Drake University continues to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our community while collaborating with all appropriate sanctioning bodies. As such, the Drake Relays plans are subject to change and updates will be communicated as appropriate.
 
What they are saying about the 2022 Drake Relays presented by Xtream:
"We are excited to attend the 2022 Drake Relays. It is a great meet with great tradition that we are thankful to be a part of."
-Matt Bingle
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, University of Minnesota
 
"We are excited to see the "D" in Delays caused by the Pandemic turn into an "R" for Drake Relays. Drake Relays gives us a chance to compete against some of the best collegiate teams."
-Norbert Elliott
Head Track & Field/Cross Country Coach, Purdue University
 
"It is with great anticipation and excitement to participate in another installment of the historic Drake Relays. We were extremely grateful to participate in last year's return of the Drake Relays on the Blue Oval. It was particularly special to the student-athletes who were idled for nearly two years. We will enter this year's Drake Relay event with a stronger, faster, and larger team contingent and extremely inspired by the assembly of teams for the event. It will be a memorable affair for our students, families, supporters, and alumni - as it is always special to compete on your home track in front of a crowd of track fans!"
- Asha Gibson-Smith
Head Track & Field Coach, Drake University
 
"It's an honor for the Kentucky Wildcats to return to the Blue Oval. There are many American meets that are great, but none like "America's Athletic Classic," the grandfather of them all, the Drake Relays. We are excited and we look forward to our return to Des Moines, Drake University and the Relays."
-Lonnie Greene
Head Track & Field/Cross Country Coach, University of Kentucky
 
"Drake Relays is a terrific celebration on our sport. We are thrilled to once again be a part of the history, the festivities and the thrill of the competition it provides."
-Brett Halter
Head Track & Field Coach, University of Missouri
 
"We are excited to return to the Drake Relays for the 17^th straight time to compete in America's Athletic Classic at one of the most iconic stadiums in America in front of a crowd who truly understands and appreciates Track & Field."
-Kyle Kepler
Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach, University of Utah
 
"The Drake Relays has been an annual fixture on our schedule for the past 25 years. Our teams love the atmosphere surrounding 'the Blue Oval' and relish the level of competition we come to expect from rival Big 10, Big 12, SEC and Missouri Valley schools, not to mention powerhouses like North Carolina A&T. We take special pride in the relay events, and we're convinced they stoke our teams' fire for our Conference Championships 2 weeks later and then NCAA competition shortly thereafter."
-Ralph Lindeman
Head Track & Field Coach, United States Air Force Academy
 
"With most of our team growing up in the state of Iowa and competing on the Blue Oval in high school; Drake Relays week always brings a little extra hype in preparation. We are excited once again this season to compete against some of the NCAA's best teams in Des Moines."
-Dave Paulsen
Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach, University of Northern Iowa
"Our teams are extremely excited about our return to the Drake Relays this upcoming season. To compete at such a prestigious and competitive event goes hand in hand with what the mission of our program is; to be the best there is."
-Duane Ross
Director of Track & Field Programs, North Carolina A&T State University
 
"We are extremely excited and honored to return to the Drake for the Relays. We've had significant success in our previous endeavors at this prestigious event and I think we are set up for another good run this year. The Relays are one of the best-run outdoor events nationwide. The knowledgeable fans and the electric atmosphere make it one of our favorite events every year. Several of our program records have been set there and we're thrilled to return for the 2022 season."
-Dave Smith
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Oklahoma State University
 
"We are looking forward to returning to the Drake Relays to showcase our amazing athletes for our fans in the State of Iowa! The meet serves as a catalyst for us as we head into the post-season, and the Relays Cup competition adds an exciting flare to the meet that creates a positive team environment that brings our athletes together to win the cup."
-Jeremy Sudbury
Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Iowa State University
 
"The University of Michigan Track & Field Program is extremely excited to attend the 2022 edition of the Drake Relays. Our women's program has a rich history of success at Drake that we are hoping to add to while for our men, this will be a new and exciting first-time attendance at Drake. Drake holds a special significance for me personally as my grandfather, who was a long time Des Moines resident would send me newspaper clippings from the Drake Relays when I was a youngster and first starting to get into Track & Field. As a professional athlete I was able to experience the electricity of competing at Drake as well as the hospitality of the Des Moines community and I am eager for our team to experience the same competitive atmosphere when they stop on the Blue Oval at Drake Stadium."
-Kevin Sullivan
Director of Track & Field, Cross Country, University of Michigan
 
"The Drake Relays has been a foundational part of the University of Illinois program for over a century, and we are excited to return to the Blue Oval in 2022! Blake and his staff have done a tremendous job of listening to coaches to modernize the event, making it more adaptable to individual coach's needs, while maintaining the traditions of the Relays. For us, the combination of elite level competition, the campus and community support involved make the Drake Relays a special experience for our student athletes."
-Mike Turk
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, University of Illinois
 
"I can't tell you how excited our team is to get back to the Drake Relays in 2022 after having to miss the 2021 Relays due to COVID restrictions. Last year was the first year that I have missed Drake since competing in my very first Relays as a sophomore for City High and the great John Raffensperger in 1990. I can't wait to bring the Hawkeyes back to showcase our men's and women's teams in front of the amazing Iowa crowd at this historic meet! This is a very important meet in our schedule as it will be our last team competition prior to the championship portion of our season where our men's team will look to defend our Big Ten Championship title two weeks later. Blake has done a tremendous job of recruiting some of the best teams in the country, and we are excited to go head-to-head and compete for another Relays Cup! Go Hawks!"
-Joey Woody
Director, Track & Field/Cross Country, University of Iowa