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(AP) --  Drake University will host the NCAA
Track and Field Championships in 2011 and 2012.

 Drake made the announcement Tuesday, noting it's the third time
the private university in Des Moines will host the event. The
championships were also held at Drake Stadium in 1970 and 2008.
 

Organizers credited a $15 million renovation to Drake Stadium
completed five years ago.
 

Holly Sheilley, the chairwoman of the NCAA committee that chose
Drake, noted the school has shown an ability to host world-class
meets.
 

In 2008, more than 40,000 people attended the four-day NCAA
championships at Drake despite severe flooding in Iowa. That's
about double the number who watched the 2009 championships in
Fayetteville, Ark.

(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)