AUGUSTA, GA -- The Peach Belt Conference and commissioner David Brunk are pleased to announce that the league will begin men's and women's indoor track and field as a championship sports beginning with the upcoming 2023-24 season. The addition of indoor track & field will boost the league's championship offerings to 18 sports.

"The addition of indoor track & field offers our student-athletes another opportunity to showcase their incredible skills," said commissioner Brunk from the league office in Augusta. "The incredible success we have enjoyed since we started outdoor track and field in 2013 has driven the desire of our member institutions to expand to indoor track. Working closely with our athletic departments and athletic directors, we feel now is the time to move forward with this and we can't wait to host our first indoor event next February."

The first PBC Indoor Track & Field Championship will be held on Monday, Feb. 19, at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center in Gainesville, Fla. The facility opened in January of 2023 and features Florida's first 200-meter indoor banked Mondo track along with a 60-meter Mondo sprint area. The facility also features pole vault, long and triple jump areas, high jump and a cage for weight throws and shot put.

Indoor Track & Field will be the second and third new sports added to the conference in the last four years after the league started men's lacrosse in 2021. The PBC has held outdoor track & field since 2013 with two individual national champions: North Georgia's Journey Gurley in the pole vault in 2021 and Embry-Riddle's Ukeyvia Beckwith in the 800m this past season.

The inaugural 2024 PBC Indoor Track & Field Championships will feature Clayton State University, Flagler College, Lander University, the University of South Carolina Beaufort and associate member Embry-Riddle University. More information, including a meet schedule, will be available in the coming weeks.