OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 7, 2021) – Construction has begun on what eventually will be a new iteration of Ray Vaughn Track on the northwest corner of the Oklahoma Christian campus.

The long-awaited $700,000 project should be completed by November and will once again give OC's track and field teams a facility that will allow the Eagles to practice on campus and even host small meets with two or three teams.

Three couples (all OC alumni) gave sizable gifts toward the project – Vaughn's son, Ray Vaughn Jr., and his wife Suzanne, Barry and Lynn Mitchell and Dennis and Dena Lovett. Track and field alumni contributed more than $165,000 toward the project in a little more than two months, with Kent Allen, OC's chief advancement officer and chief of staff, calling it the "fastest athletic fundraiser in our history."

The old version of the track, built in the early 1990s, had deteriorated to the point that OC's teams no longer were able to use it, forcing them to practice at off-campus facilities the past few years. Due to the track's condition, OC hasn't hosted an on-campus track meet since April 2010.

The track and field facility is named for Ray Vaughn, the patriarch of the university's athletic program who served as OC's athletic director from 1958 (when OC moved from Bartlesville to Oklahoma City) until his death in September 1980.

He coached OC's basketball team for four years as it transitioned into four-year competition, and likewise built the fledgling college's track and field and cross country programs. He eventually handed off cross country to his assistant, Randy Heath, in 1969, and did the same with track and field in 1979. Heath coached through May 2015, when one of Heath's former runners, Wade Miller, became the Eagles' track and field coach, after having already served as cross country coach since 2012.

The new facility, being built by a company owned by former OC basketball player Dillon Ripley, will retain the name of Ray Vaughn Track. The old track surface already has been removed, with a six-lane, all-weather track – using the unique east-west layout familiar to generations of OC athletes – to be installed in its place in the coming months. Field-event areas also will receive an upgrade.

The refurbished facility also will include restrooms, improved bleachers and restoration of a building built by Vaughn in the 1960s, in the early days of the track. A sidewalk also will be installed to the west of the Bobby Murcer Indoor Training Facility (used by OC's baseball program) to guide visitors to the track.

"We are really thankful for everyone who worked so hard on the fundraising campaign and to everyone who donated to make a new facility possible," Miller said. "The opportunities they have provided will create a safe training surface on campus, enable flexibility with practice options and will eliminate travel to other practice sites as well as many other intangible benefits. Our team is extremely excited to put our new track facility to good use!"