VERMILLION, S.D.—A trio of home meets, trips to Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC schools, and appearances at a trio of prestigious relays meets highlight the 2018-19 South Dakota track and field schedule.
 
South Dakota's lone home meet of the indoor season, the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 2, on the Mildred J. Hillenbrand Memorial Track inside the DakotaDome.
 
South Dakota opens the 2018-19 season with the South Dakota State Holiday Open for the second-straight year. The meet is scheduled for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in Brookings. USD makes return trips to Brookings for the Jim Emmerich Alumni Invitational on Jan. 19, the SDSU Indoor Classic held Feb. 8-9 and the Summit League Championships Feb. 22-23.
 
The indoor season includes trips to three Big Ten programs in Iowa (Hawkeye Invitational, Jan. 11-12), Minnesota (Jack Johnson Classic, Jan. 25-26) and Nebraska (Nebraska Tune-Up, Feb. 15). South Dakota will also send a contingent of athletes to the SEC's Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 8-9.
 
The 2019 Summit League Indoor Championships are hosted by South Dakota State on Feb. 22-23.
 
Indoor competition wraps up with the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8-9 hosted by Texas A&M in College Station. The top-16 individuals in their respective events qualify for the meet.
 
The Coyotes host a pair of outdoor home meets in the South Dakota Challenge and the USD Twilight at the Lillibridge Track Complex. The South Dakota Challenge will be held April 5-6, while the USD Twilight is scheduled for the eve of the Drake Relays on Tuesday, April 23.
 
The outdoor season brings with it a slate of large relay meets with the Coyotes in action. South Dakota will compete at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays (March 28-30), the Mt. SAC Relays (April 17-20) and the Drake Relays (April 25-27).
 
Local competition includes the Howard Wood Dakota Relays (May 3-4) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the Sioux City Relays (April 12-13) in Sioux City, Iowa.
 
New meets to this year's outdoor schedule include the season opener in California, the UC Irvine Spring Break Classic held March 15-16, and an April 13 meet at the University of Minnesota's newly opened outdoor track facility.
 
The 2019 Summit League Outdoor Championships are slated for May 8-10 in Macomb, Illinois, with Western Illinois serving as the host.
 
Individuals ranked in the top 48 and relays in the top 24 of the west region at the conclusion of the outdoor season advance to the NCAA West Preliminary held in Sacramento, California, May 23-25. The top-12 finishers per event advance to the NCAA Championships held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.
 
Also on the outdoor schedule are the U.S. National Championships, scheduled for July 25-28 in Des Moines, Iowa. The top-three finishers at the meet will advance to the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Qatar.