LUBBOCK, Texas (January 15, 2020) – A new era will begin for the Lubbock Christian University track & field program on Saturday as they Chaps and Lady Chaps begin full team competition at the NCAA Division II level.
 
LCU has a long history of track & field success, dating all the way back to its junior college days under the leadership of LCU Athletic Hall of Honor member Hughe Rhodes. In 2015, the department announced it would begin competition at the NCAA Division II level in both indoor and outdoor track beginning with the 2016-17 academic year. Cross country coach Nick Cordes was put in charge of the programs, and the efforts began with events 400-meters or longer.
 
Both the Chaps and Lady Chaps began competition, and athletes mainly continued to compete in middle to long distance events. Both teams have seen success, including Chaparral Jaylen Tryon qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in 2019 and 2020 and the Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2020.
 
The announcement of the expansion of the teams to include short distance, steeplechase, jumps and throws events came almost a full year ago, as the university announced plans to build a new sports complex on campus. Completed in the summer of 2020, the LCU Soccer & Track Complex a modernized turf soccer field with an eight-lane track around the perimeter, press box for media and coaching staff, lights for evening competition, and stadium seating for 500 fans. The complex also includes areas for all jumps and throws competition.
 
Expansion of the programs set Nick Cordes and assistant coach Leigh Cordes hard on the recruiting trail, and between the men's and women's team combined, more than 40 athletes were added before the 2020-21 academic year. Both teams include a large number of new athletes, with 23 freshmen on the men's side and 18 freshmen on the women's side, creating quite a few unknowns for the team heading into their first meet of the year.
 
The Corky Classic will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center. No spectators are allowed in, but the meet will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.