FACILITIES & DIRECTIONS
One of the finest track and field facilities in the region in a picturesque setting lends itself comfortably to annually hosting marquee events, including the 2011 and 2005 Mountain West Track & Field Championships. Such is the history surrounding the Jack Christiansen Memorial Track on the east side of Colorado State's main campus.
Regarded as one of the region's finest facilities since it opened in 1989, the venue has provided a backdrop for success for the Rams. As a result, the program has the ability to attract some of the region's finest athletes.
The list of performers who've visited and trained on the track is impressive. Heading that list is Bryan Berryhill, a 10-time All-American and two-time NCAA title winner, arguably the finest distance runner ever to don CSU colors. Other athletes, such as CSU's own Olympic bronze medalist long jumper Janay DeLoach, Olympic gold medalist pole vaulter Stacy Draglia, distance runner Adam Goucher, sprinter Leonard Myles-Mills and jumper Roger Giles. Former Rams such as men's NCAA title winner Casey Malone, women's NCAA title winner Loree Smith, men's All-Americans Drew Loftin and Adam and Brian Trainor, and women's All-American Liz Toman, have graced the facility with their impressive performances.
The track was completed in 1989 after more than a year of construction, which followed years of planning. The completion of the facility allowed the school to host some of the region's top meets annually, beginning in 1990. Three times the facility has been the site of the conference track and field championships.
The track is named in honor of Jack Christiansen, one of the finest athletes in school history. Christiansen was a football and track All-American who graduated in 1951. Following his career at the school -- then known as Colorado A&M -- he played for the NFL's Detroit Lions and later was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the only former CSU athlete to earn such an honor.
In 1950, Christiansen ran the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds, and the 200 in 21.8. A year earlier, he had set the school's record in the 440-yard dash, 47.6, a record that stood for more than two decades.
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Glenn Morris Field House
The Rams' indoor track and field training facility is the venerable Glenn Morris Field House, near the Jack Christiansen Track. This historic venue, built in 1924, underwent a renovation in 1998 that increased its square footage to 61,877.
On April 22, 2011, the former South College Field House was renamed the Glenn Morris Field House, after CSU athlete and Olympian Glenn Morris. Earning the title "World's Greatest Athlete," Morris won a gold medal in the decathlon in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, topping his own world record with 7,990 points that would stand for 14 years. He also played a short stint in the NFL and showed off his acting talents as Tarzan in Tarzan's Revenge (1938).
Prior to the opening of Moby Arena in 1968, the Rams' basketball team played in the Field House.
The venue contains three main wings: the south area, which includes the indoor track; the middle area, which houses offices and locker rooms; and the north area, which is where the basketball team formerly played and now is used for indoor court sports.
During the early 1990s, movie producers used the Field House to film a scene from A League of Their Own (1992), starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks. The script included a switch-hitting slugger named Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh), who in the movie hailed from Fort Collins.
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Indoor Practice Facility (IPF)
Established in 2009, the Indoor Practice Facility measures more than 66,000 square feet. The structure allows teams to practice and train in an additional facility, especially in the spring during individual and small group work. The turfed area includes among its features:
• A 70-yard synthetic-turf football field.
• Utilized for training by all 16 varsity sports, and includes a four-lane, 70 meter track.
• Retractable netting for batting cages and golf workouts.
• Video deck allows CSU coaches and student-athletes to review technique and put it into play immediately.
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