Could it be possible that Wilt Chamberlain, one of the most dominant basketball players of all time, opted to attend the University of Kansas not because of the basketball program, but for another reason not related to basketball at all?

“Wilt Chamberlain loved track and field,” said Tim Weaver, meet director for the Kansas Relays. “He said on a number of occasions that track was his first and greatest love in sports. He made his recruiting trip here during the Kansas Relays, and that was one of the things that convinced him to come to Kansas. He said a lot of great places in this country have great basketball teams, but I’ve never seen anything before like the Kansas Relays. That’s why he ended up here at KU.”

Chamberlain only adds to the rich history of what is one of the most significant annual athletics events at the University. The first relays were held in 1923 and were started by Kansas football coach John Outland, with the help of basketball coach Phog Allen. Refereed by sports legends such as the inventor of basketball James Naismith, KU basketball All-American and future Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, and Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, the event would become one of the major events in track and field.

On Thursday night, more than 5,000 athletes will have traveled to Lawrence for the first night of the 78th Kansas Relays. These high school, college and professional athletes will represent more than 600 teams from 16 states and 15 countries.

As one of the “Big 5” relay events in the country, this year’s Kansas Relays is garnering significant attention. The other four major events are the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, the Texas Relays in Austin, the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Mount San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Calif.

“This year, I would argue, although I’m a biased source, we’re creating more buzz than anybody,” Weaver said. “Kansas Relays this year has been the most talked about of those five events without a doubt. We’re getting more regional and national press.”

This year’s event is highlighted by the Gold Zone on Saturday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m. Olympic champions and world record holders Maurice Greene, Marion Jones and Stacy Dragila will compete in addition to Olympians Allen Johnson, Inger Miller and Nick Hysong.

“I know a lot this year has been made of the all-star cast of world champions and Olympians,” Kansas junior middle distance runner Brandon Hodges said. “There are a lot of high-caliber performers coming.”

On top of all of the Olympic champions that will grace the Memorial Stadium track, the newest breed of future track and field stars will also be present.

“We just don’t have the household names that have been around since Sydney and Athens,” Weaver said. “We’ve got a lot of people that are expected to be the stars of Beijing in that Olympic games. That combination has the track world really excited.”

The Kansas Relays were close to folding several years ago. The event was canceled in 1998 and 1999. Weaver said many residents felt as though the relays were done, but after some track and field alumni made some noise about raising money to renovate Memorial Stadium, the event returned with success in 2000.

“The passion that people have for the Kansas Relays has been tremendous,” Weaver said. “There are so many people that come into my office every week to volunteer to help out.”

On top of impacting the University, the Kansas Relays have an economic impact of more than $4 million.

“That’s a tremendous benefit to all the local businesses here.” Weaver said. “It also benefits the community with the tax dollars that are brought in based on all that revenue.”

The relays start on Thursday night and continue through Saturday, culminating with the Gold Zone in the afternoon.

“It’s a great bragging point for the city of Lawrence.” Weaver said. “It’s a great point of pride for the University.”

Hodges said he didn’t realize how big this event was until he came to the University after winning his event the year before at the Kansas Relays as a high school senior.

“We put this huge meet on, tons of people come in, it’s a big deal and everyone talks about it,” he said. “It’s such a tradition, and it’s really nice to be a part of that. This is pretty much as big as it gets.”

Weinstein is an Overland Park senior in English.