Robert Johnson Says He 'Feels Good' About Two-Hour Meeting With Lane County Health Officials

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Nearly two full months into 2021, uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has created a swirl of speculation about how track and field might get re-introduced at the University of Oregon's new Hayward Field – with NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships and the U.S. Olympic Trials on the calendar for June. 

During a Zoom meeting Wednesday with media, Oregon Director of Track and Field Robert Johnson said that he was encouraged by developments this week that point to a possibility of meets starting in April. 

"We just had a walk-through with Lane County Public Health yesterday," Johnson said. "We pitched to them some dates we want to have some outdoor meets here at Hayward Field."

In addition to spectator-less professional and college basketball games, Oregon high schools returned to practice Monday for postponed fall sports cross country, soccer, volleyball and football. 

College sports such as basebal and softball are on the schedule in March. 

Johnson said he hopes to conduct home meets April 2, April 16, April 23-24 and May "6 or 7."

"That meeting went well, I thought," Johnson said. "We're just waiting on the State to approve whatever recommendations Lane County gives them. If that goes well, we'll be putting out a schedule for this spring."

Lane County was downgraded from Extreme Risk to High Risk this week by the Oregon Health Authority, which categorizes counties by risk every two weeks. 

"That would be a lot of meets here at Hayward Field, a lot of opportunities to not travel, a lot of opportunities to compete, opportunities for kids to run at Hayward Field for the first time," Johnson said. "But it won't be the same until the fans are here."

The two-hour meeting Tuesday presented a chance for Johnson and the Oregon athletic department to lay out its strategy for safety protocols designed for athletes, officials, coaches and anyone else coming into Lane County for a track and field event. 

Johnson is also encouraged by news that the NCAA will allow up to 25 percent building capacity for the men's Division 1 basketball tournament and fall sports that were pushed to the spring. 

Before any of that, the coaching staff is navigating the remainder of a busy winter that includes NCAA Indoor and Cross Country Championships in three weeks. 

This weekend, Oregon will send a small group of athletes to the Championships at the Peak, a meet hosted by Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

"We locked onto it about two or three weeks ago," Johnson said. 

The meet serves as a replacement, of sorts, for the canceled Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship meet typically held in Seattle. 

Johnson said the program has been striving for "maximum flexibility" as it navigates two seasons at once in order to put athletes in the best possible positions. 

The Pac-12 Conference Cross Country Championships are scheduled for next week in Seattle.