By John Dye

Originally conceived as a post-season invitational for the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the Southwest Classic debuted in 1930 and was conducted until the Depression caused the meet to close in 1933. An organization of coaches and track officials resurrected the meet in 1978 with 125 invited athletes from the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The meet has grown to include over 300 invited athletes from the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Presently the Great Southwest Classic is recognized as one of the top 4 postseason regional/national track and field invitationals in the nation.

2001 will be the 26th edition of the Southwest Classic.

The major purpose of the Southwest Classic is to provide the outstanding boy and girl athletes in each state the opportunity to compete in regional invitational meet. Over the years the quality of the competition has resulted in national rankings and recognition for the athletes. Many of the participating athletes have received college scholarships as a result of their performances at the meet, in addition to being invited to national invitational meets. A number of Southwest Classic alums have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games, U.S. Olympic Trials, as well as NCAA Championships.

The format of the meet is a "go for broke" competition -- no heats, no trials, no team score pressures. The meet features 3 relay events (4 x 800, 4 x 400, 4 x 100) which the selection committee has the option of inviting the state's all-star relay members and/or a school team that represents their state.