DIII track and field national championships big economic boost for La Crosse

Day 2 of the NCAA Division III Track and Field National Championships continues today in La Crosse.

Explore La Crosse’s Jeremiah Burish says the three-day meet at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is a great economic opportunity that doesn’t come every day.

“We haven’t hosted a national track and field championship since 2013,” Burish said, referring to the collegiate level, because the city hosts the WIAA championships each year. “Before that it was like 20-some years ago.”

In 2013, UW-L had record crowds. Burish says that, along with more hotels built since then helped La Crosse get selected again just five years later.

Hundreds of athletes are competing from across the nation, many are taking advantage of the college dorms, which have been vacated since students left last week.

The UW-L men’s team is looking to win a fourth consecutive NCAA outdoor title and improve on it’s NCAA DIII record 15 outdoor national championships.