For three days in May, Wichita State University's campus is where Kansas high school athletes come to compete for championships.
 
The title chase starts Thursday with Class 5A baseball at Eck Stadium and Class 5A softball at Wilkins Stadium. On Friday, the nation's largest track and field meet begins at University Stadium (formerly Cessna Stadium).
 
Wichita State is proud to host these events and plans for more in the future as University Stadium renovations continue.
 
"We think it will be an absolutely premier community facility," director of athletics Kevin Saal told the media in April. "There will be some short-term inconveniences as we get to it, but we are envisioning a day where we can host premier events within a premier facility and accommodate fans in a first-class way."
 
The track meet, which brings all classes to Wichita, is the marquee event of the weekend with more than 3,500 athletes competing and an estimated 15-20,000 spectators over the two days. Wichita State has served as the host for all classes since 1970, except for 1978 when track renovation split the classes into three locations (Salina, Augusta, Wichita).
 
It's a pretty monumental thing with all six classes in one place at one time," said Don Steffens, one of the public address announcers since 1975. "Nothing compares to the state meet."
 
The athletes remember competing in front of thousands of fans and the state's top performers in all classes. The scene is one they often mark as a highlight of their career.
 
"To come here and see all the spectators and the stands and hear the roar of the crowd and see my name – it did something to me," said Vic Everett, who ran in the state meet for Topeka High School in 1974 and later at Wichita State. "I said if I ever got the opportunity (to run in college), I was going to be here."
 
Wichita State, the Kansas State High School Activities Association and Wichita Unified School District 259 collaborate to organize the 100s of staff and volunteers required to run events. Jobs range from selling tickets to traffic control to timing races.
 
"There's a ton of people making this work," said Brad Pittman, Wichita State senior associate athletic director. "It takes a lot of coordination to make sure everybody has the schedule, everybody has what they need, everybody gets fed. There's a lot of people power out there."
 
Wichita State wants the visitors to enjoy the experience. University employees drive golf carts to help spectators and athletes move from parking lot to venue. They man welcome tents to answer questions about the events and the university, hand out water and direct people to food. WSU Connect, the university's new community outreach facility, is open during the weekend with an air-conditioned place for people to get water and enjoy yard games.
 
"We will have, at any given day, anywhere from 10-15,000 people coming to our campus," Pittman said. "You hear a lot of stories of people who graduated from here and haven't been back for a while. They came here because they have someone competing and they get to see campus. They're excited about the changes, and they're excited about the university."
 
Pittman said the state track meet is estimated to produce an economic benefit of $7 million, not far from the estimated $10 million produced when WSU hosts the NCAA basketball tournament at Intrust Bank Arena.
 
"That's a value that's hard to replicate," he said.
 
On Sunday, the people who work the events are tired and they quickly turn their thoughts to improving the event for 2025. They are also satisfied that they helped WSU host one of the biggest athletic weekends in the state.
 
"People had memorable experiences, which is what we're about," Pittman said. "It feels good to be able to pull it off and make it happen. Part of the enjoyment of what we do is to put on great events."