Kansas Relays Meet Director to Change Fields
Aug. 25, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Tim Weaver, meet director of the Kansas Relays since 2001, is leaving the Relays and the field of athletics event management to take a position with a commercial real estate company in Kansas City, Mo. He will remain with Kansas Athletics until his successor is named. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
“After seven Kansas Relays and 10 years of events at KU,” Weaver said, “I know the time for change – for the event and for myself – is now. At the heart of this decision is my desire to spend more time with my young family while it’s still a young family. As strong as my passion is for the Relays, it pales in comparison.”
Weaver said the time is right to make this move. “We set out in 2001,” he said, “with a very lofty goal: to return the Kansas Relays to national prominence. With that goal now achieved, it’s an appropriate point to hand off the baton to new leadership and give someone else the opportunity to take this event to even greater heights. I’m exceptionally proud of all that we’ve accomplished as a team, yet I believe this is just the beginning of the event’s potential. (Kansas Athletics Director) Lew Perkins has played a vital role in our recent success and will continue to be a driving force behind the growth of the event. I have every reason to believe that the success of the Kansas Relays will continue. I know he’ll be able to attract an excellent meet director.”
Weaver said he talked to Perkins about his plans the week after this year’s Relays. “This has been a decision made over the past several months based on the amount of time I’ve invested in our events over the past 10 years, the desire to seek out personal goals on new horizons, and, most importantly, a need to place a greater focus on my family,” Weaver said.
Perkins said the Kansas Relays returned to prominence largely because of Tim’s hard work. “There’s a good reason he’s so respected in the world of track and field,” Perkins said. “We remain committed to keeping the Relays as a preeminent meet in this country, and we will hire someone who shares that goal. I admire Tim’s decision and the reason behind it; that doesn’t mean I have to like it! We will miss him very much.”
Weaver came to KU as a volunteer coach in 1995. He helped administer the 1998 NCAA Cross Country Championships at KU’s Rim Rock Farm, and became meet director for the Relays two years later. He ran collegiately at Tulsa University for current Kansas Coach Stanley Redwine. The past seven years have seen record highs in team and athlete participation, volunteerism, sponsorship and private giving. The two most recent Kansas Relays rank second and third on the all-time Kansas Relays attendance list. The U.S. Meet Directors’ Association recognized the event in 2005 by awarding Weaver their Director of the Year Award.
Weaver said he will continue his involvement in the sport though consulting for athletic events and in his role as manager for the USA Track and Field national teams program.
