Drake Stadium’s Enduring Legacy

Located in the heart of Des Moines on the campus of Drake University, Drake Stadium welcomes visitors on Forest Avenue with its iconic red brick facade. For 100 years, professional, collegiate, and amateur athletes have competed in track and field events and football games at the stadium.

Drake Stadium opened on October 10, 1925, with the Bulldogs defeating Kansas State in a football game. Drake Stadium was designed to be the home of Drake University football and, famously, the annual Drake Relays: “America’s Athletic Classic.” Even before that, incredible athletes gathered to compete as early as 1910 when the University hosted the first Drake Relays at Haskins Field, the precursor to Drake Stadium.

“The Drake Relays are unique in Iowa; it’s the only annual sporting event where fans can consistently see Olympic gold medalists perform,” said Mike Mahon, former sports information director at Drake University. “With over a hundred years of history dating back to 1910, it’s a given that rain or shine, athletes will deliver world-class times and distances amidst vibrant pageantry.”

Drake Stadium has hosted the Drake Relays, Drake football games, and a variety of high school football games. The high school contests often included rivalry games between teams like West Des Moines Valley High School and Dowling Catholic High School. The stadium also served as the home field for Des Moines Roosevelt High School’s football team for several years.

In 1989, one of the biggest changes in the stadium’s history was an update to the track surface. Drake installed a new blue tartan track surface and the “Blue Oval” was inaugurated. At the same time, the track was renamed “The Jim Duncan Track” in honor of the longtime Drake Relays public address announcer. Duncan began announcing the Drake Relays in 1951 and served in that role until 1989.

“You had the legendary Jim Duncan on the microphone, the PA announcer, calling the races and talking about them being—he’d even trill his R’s—for record pace,” said Chuck Schoffner, a Drake University alumnus and sports writer covering the Drake Relays for more than 50 years. “That was truly part of the whole show. And the runners from that era always mentioned him and how much that stirred them on.”

Years before Jim Duncan announced his first Drake Relays, former President Ronald Reagan broadcast the Drake Relays for WHO Radio. Reagan worked as a sports announcer for WHO Radio in Des Moines from 1933 to 1937.

Today, Mike Jay carries on the storied tradition of exceptional announcers of the Drake Relays at the stadium. Jay has been behind the microphone at Drake Stadium for nearly 20 years of Drake Relays and boys and girls high school state track and field meets.

Highly regarded by athletes, spectators, and the media as the premier venue for track and field, Drake Stadium was eventually in need of updates to maintain its allure. In 2005 and 2006, Drake invested more than $15 million in improvements to the stadium. The transformation included the following:

• Widening track lanes from 42 to 48 inches
• Installing a new video scoreboard to the north of the stadium
• Changing the field from grass to turf
• Raising the field to the same height as the track
• Improving the seating, concessions, restrooms, and press box
• Adding a dedicated throwing event area north of the stadium

The stadium enhancements adjusted the capacity from approximately 18,000 to 14,557, allowing for the expanded lanes, athlete safety, and better viewing for throwing and running events.

“Those old 42-inch track lanes, before the stadium renovation, were tight,” said Mahon. “Now, at a full 48 inches, we’ve given these athletes the space they deserve. Even a great runner like Michael Johnson, with his 200-meter mastery, would point out the squeeze on those turns. It’s truly a night-and-day difference, much more accommodating for world-class speed.”

The horseshoe-type stadium design makes it possible for fans to be close to the athletes.

“When you get a capacity crowd, it just makes the athletes perform to the best of their ability,” Mahon said. “That explains why there are so many records set every year, whether it be state track meets, Drake Relays, USA Track and Field Championships, or the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.”

Once the stadium was renovated, Drake earned the opportunity to host the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the USA Track and Field Championships. Drake hosted the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2008 for the first time in nearly 40 years, then hosted them again in 2011 and 2012.

“You saw all the top collegiate athletes from around the country, and because 2008 was an Olympic year, that had special meaning,” said Mahon. “Many people don’t realize how lucky we are to see future Olympic stars perform as collegiates.”

Additionally, the stadium was host to four USA Track and Field Championships: 2010, 2013, 2018, and 2019. Mahon was part of the promotional team for the 2019 event. He told the media it would be “the greatest track meet ever held in the state of Iowa,” and it lived up to its reputation. He recalled that 12 American records were set, and a world record was set in the women’s 400 meter hurdles on the final night.

“Being there on the scene to witness a world record—that’s a memory you’ll have for the rest of your life,” said Mahon.

The Iowa High School Boys and Girls State Track Championships held at Drake Stadium have featured numerous great high school athletes. Among them was Tim Dwight from Iowa City High, who some consider the greatest high school track athlete ever from Iowa.

“One year, Tim Dwight was part of three records and won four events at the state meet,” said Schoffner. “At least one of them was a relay, and he set records in three. The only event he didn’t set a record in was the 200, and he had already set the record the year before. You always wanted to see him get the baton behind, just to watch him eat up the ground on the runners ahead of him.”

Another memorable Iowa high school track athlete, according to Schoffner, was Adam Haluska from Carroll High School, a basketball player who won four high school track events as a senior.

At the 2025 Drake Relays, Quentin Nauman, a junior from Western Dubuque, won three individual titles (800 meters, 1600 meters, and 3200 meters) and set a state record in the 1600-meter race.

Countless other high school athletes have graced the Big Blue Oval during their careers—too many to recognize in the pages of this magazine.

Drake University remains committed to continued improvements and updates to keep the stadium a world-class venue for track and field events and Drake football games.