MORGANTOWN — Mylan Park will be the home of the three-day Mountain East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships for five years starting April 27-29, 2025.
The 11-member NCAA Division II conference issued a press release Wednesday announcing a corporate partnership with the Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will serve as the event’s title sponsor.
The Monongalia County Commission helped support the endeavor, pledging an additional $25,000 annually to the Mon County Tourism Advancement Fund over the life of the agreement.
“The CVB will be able to not only get a lot of publicity from it, but also I think this is a tremendous addition to what we’ve been trying to do, the three commissioners, to promote our facilities,” Commissioner Tom Bloom said.
Commission President Sean Sikora said the MEC is also looking at moving its swimming and diving championships to Mylan Park, though that process will likely take a little more time.
The conference will pay for the use of the track facility each year, but those numbers were not immediately available following Wednesday’s announcement.
VMCCVB President and CEO Susan Riddle told The Dominion Post the MEC first expressed interest in Mylan Park in 2019, shortly after the opening of the track and field complex.
She said landing such events is about more than just top-flight facilities — though that certainly helps.
“We don’t run their events, but we support them. We recruit it. It’s like inviting guests to come to your home. You prepare. You figure out what they like and what they want to do and what they need. That’s the same thing we do with the groups we bring in for sporting events,” Riddle said.
“And we do a really good job of that, to be honest. Otherwise, the word wouldn’t be getting out. It’s not just our facilities. These things take months and months to plan properly. So, we’re going to go at it with the Mountain East Conference. We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to build another relationship like we have with USA Diving.”
The 2024 USA Diving Junior National Championship is currently underway at the Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.
The announcement included comments from MEC Commissioner Reid Amos.
“This innovative relationship with Visit Mountaineer Country CVB is a definitive win-win for all involved,” he said. “The Mountain East Conference is thrilled to have the opportunity to stage its MEC Track and Field Championships in the finest track and field competition facility in the region at Mylan Park.”
For its efforts VMCCVB will be featured in MEC broadcasts for television on SportsNet Pittsburgh and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, as well as during all MEC championship events on MountainEast.tv and through the conference’s digital platforms.
According to its website, the MEC is currently comprised of West Liberty University, Fairmont State, Wheeling University, University of Charleston, Glenville State, West Virginia State, Concord University, West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins College, all in West Virginia, plus Frostburg State (Md.) and Point Park University, in Pittsburgh.
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