Nov. 11, 2009

WACO, Texas - Baylor's track and field teams will host the annual Dr. Pepper Invitational and Michael Johnson Classic to highlight the 2010 schedule announced by head coach Todd Harbour.

The Bears will host the Dr. Pepper Invitational to open the outdoor season on March 20, 2010, then be back home one month later for the Michael Johnson Classic on April 17.

"We are excited about the schedule, which allows us to compete at great venues," Harbour said. "We have two nice home meets with some good teams coming in."

Baylor's season officially gets underway in one month with the early season Reveille Invitational at Texas A&M on Dec. 12, 2009. The Bears will be back on the track at Texas A&M twice in January. The Texas A&M Invitational on Jan. 16 and the Big 12 vs. Pac-10/SEC Challenge on Jan. 29-30 are split up by a trip to the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 22-23 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Bears will be back in Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 12-13 in the final tune-up before the Big 12 Championships two weeks later in Ames, Iowa.

"We get to compete at two of the fastest indoor facilities in the nation in Texas A&M and Arkansas," Harbour said. "That will give us an opportunity to get it done and get some fast times. And Iowa State is a great place to have the conference meet. They have a great facility up there."

The NCAA Indoor Championships are back in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 12-13, giving the Bears' NCAA qualifiers a chance to compete on a familiar track for the third time of the season.

A full outdoor slate begins with the Dr. Pepper Invitational at the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex one week later, then features trips to Rice for the Victor Lopez Bayou Classic on March 27 and the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, on March 31-April 3 before returning to Waco for the Michael Johnson.

"We are excited about our outdoor schedule, we should have a great conference meet at Missouri," Harbour said. "After that, we always have our eyes on the grand finale up at Oregon."

The annual trip to the Drake Relays is on March 22-24, followed by the conference tune-up at the Texas Twilight on May 1. The Big 12 Outdoor Championships are set for May 14-16 in Columbia, Mo., then the Bears return to Austin for the NCAA West Regional. The 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships will take place at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.