VERMILLION, S.D.—Four home meets, return trips to a trio of big-name relay meets and the start of another Olympic year highlight the 2024 track and field schedule for South Dakota announced Wednesday by Coyote director of track & field Lucky Huber.
 
South Dakota's home slate includes one indoor meet and a trio of outdoor competitions. The return of the annual Alumni Meet on Hillenbrand Memorial Track inside the DakotaDome is slated for Jan. 26-27. Headed outdoors, the Coyotes will host the USD Early Bird (April 5-6), the South Dakota Challenge (April 13) and the USD Tune-Up (May 3) all at Lillibridge Track Complex.
 
A handful of trips to Power 5 schools headline the indoor docket. The new year begins with Iowa's Black & Gold Invitational (Jan. 12-13) in Iowa City, Iowa. Then there's three trips to Lincoln, Nebraska, on the schedule with the Mark Colligan Memorial (Jan. 20), the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational (Feb. 2-3) and the Nebraska Tune-Up (Feb. 16). South Dakota will also send athletes to Arkansas' Tyson Invitational (Feb. 9-10) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
 
The Coyote men and women begin their conference title defense on Feb. 23-24 at the Summit League Indoor Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.
 
The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 8-9 in Boston, Massachusetts. The top 16 individuals in each event qualify for the national meet.
 
Outdoor season includes return trips to several prestigious relay meets. The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays are set for March 28-30 in Austin, Texas. The Mt. SAC Relays are back in Los Angeles, California, April 18-20. Closer to home, the Drake Relays are scheduled for April 25-27 in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
For the first time since joining the Summit League, St. Thomas will serve as the host for the Summit League Outdoor Championships. The conference meet is scheduled for May 9-11 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
 
Following the conclusion of the conference meet weekends, individuals ranked in the top-48 of the west region will advance to the NCAA West Preliminary held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, May 22-25. The top-12 finishes per event advance to the NCAA Championships held June 5-8 in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Current and former Coyotes will look to advance to the U.S. Olympic Trials scheduled for June 21-30 back in Eugene. Track and field at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is scheduled to run from Aug. 1-11.