It will be hard to top what Metro State offers next week for a variety of college sports.
Starting Tuesday, about 800 college athletes will begin competition in the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival. After five days of competition, titles will be awarded in men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s softball and women’s lacrosse.
An opening ceremony is scheduled Monday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and a closing ceremony will be held Saturday in downtown. The Denver Sports Commission is partnering with Metro State to stage the ninth sports festival, the first in the western part of the country.
“The planning for this began four years ago,” said Metro State athletic director Anthony Grant.
The Regency Athletic Complex (RAC) was completed a year ago, providing a top-notch facility to stage championships.
“When I first got here (2014), I remember hearing a vague mention of a sports project in the future,” assistant athletic director Erin Hiltner said. “I’ve found out what it was and how much work has been involved. But we have the best of the best coming here.”
Men’s golf at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club (7:30 a.m.) and softball at the RAC (noon) open the competition Tuesday. Women’s tennis at the RAC (8 a.m.), men’s tennis at Gates Tennis Center (2 p.m.) and women’s golf at CommonGround Golf Course (8 a.m.) in Aurora are on Wednesday’s schedule.
Women’s lacrosse joins the competition at 11 a.m. Thursday at the RAC. Competition in all sports continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or @irvmoss
