Using Illinois College
March 26th, 2008, 2:18 am · Post a Comment · posted by itsonlyagame
I heard today that the WIVC track meet will be held at Illinois College this year. That’s neat, and the fact that I think so has got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the meet will be only three blocks from where I live.
Carrollton has a great track facility — one of the best in the area — and it’s been a good host for the conference meet. But just in general, it’s good to see local high schools using IC’s facilities.
IC has some of the best facilities around. I have no idea why local high school football teams wouldn’t want to play at England Field, for example, if for no other reason than to get a taste of what it’s like to play on the artificial surface. Football teams around Champaign-Urbana play at Memorial Stadium during the regular season, and I know Hancock Stadium at Illinois State used to host high school games — sometimes two or three on a given Saturday. England Field doesn’t have the grandeur of a Memorial Stadium, but it’s a good venue and would be a fun experience.
Bruner Center is getting more and more use. For the past two years IC has hosted a girls’ basketball super-sectional game. IC has hosted an indoor high school track meet for at least the past two years, and this past volleyball season the college hosted Quincy Notre Dame’s tournament (Western was booked for another event). I wish a local high school volleyball team would start an event like that at IC. And Illinois College has hosted the Westown Ford All-Star Girls’ Basketball Classic for the past two years. IC’s facilities have been the perfect size for the events it’s chosen to host.
The Bruner Center and England Field are a great recruiting tool for the college, of course, but opening up the facilities to high school events is also a great way for the college and the surrounding communities to build a working relationship. I hope it’s a relationship that continues to grow for years to come.
