The University of Birmingham in conjunction with RLF will host an evening of high-class athletics on June 19 when the illustrious Ivy League meeting returns for the 13th time to take place on campus.

Every fourth year since 1895, with an exception of the war years, American University athletes have come to England to compete against athletes of Oxford and Cambridge. In 1962 however a Penn-Cornell combination team was brought to Birmingham to compete for the first time against a non-Oxbridge University.

More than 40 years of tradition sees current internationals, past Olympians and now 2012 hopefuls come together as the University Sport Birmingham (USB) Championship winning athletics squad line up alongside some of the finest young athletes in the world. This year involves competitors from Harvard & Yale Universities in the United States and a team from the high performance centre based at St Mary’s University College.

University Sport Birmingham is a premier sports performance institute within the UK and its Athletics club is the current British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) cross-country champions. USB has numerous past and present BUSA athletics champions and senior Olympic medallists along with 12 current elite government and scholarship funded young USB athletes.

Harvard University is the oldest of the eight Ivy League Universities synonymous with Academic and Athletic excellence in America. They visit Birmingham boasting the current 10k Heptagonal champion, which should set up interesting distance races considering the strength of both USB and St Mary’s.

Yale University complete the line up following their most successful season on the track since 1985. Heptagonal champions Brandon Giles and Dan O’Brien will be the focus of a strong sprints set up.

University Sport Birmingham Athletics Head Coach and UKA National Marathon Coach Bud Baldaro said: "We are very excited about the impending visit of our American friends from Harvard and Yale. It’s great that in the 21st century we are maintaining the Ivy League tradition, fostering both student friendship and athletic excellence. We owe great thanks to RLF for sponsoring Ivy League 2007 and ensuring the successful continuation of this Anglo American fixture."

The competition starts at 6pm and spectators are encouraged to come and support the event and some of GB rising stars including Hannah England, Somto Eruchie and Julian Thomas. Entrance to the University track on campus is £1 including a free programme and there will be refreshments available on site. Parking is available in the North Car Park on Pritchatts Road. For any further information contact John Mulcahy on 0121 415 8213 or j.m.mulcahy@bham.ac.uk.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

Further information:

Lucy Hood - PR, Media and Promotions Officer, University Sport Birmingham

tel: 0121 414 2662 / email: l.hood@bham.ac.uk

Anna Dingley – Communications Officer, University of Birmingham

tel: 0121 415 8134 / mob: 07769 952763 / email: a.j.dingley@bham.ac.uk

University Sport Birmingham:

University Sport Birmingham aims to enhance the sporting experience of the University and its wider community by providing opportunities at all levels, from beginner to world-class performer.

The University has some of the best sports facilities in the country, providing sport and recreation for all, whether a student, member of staff or member of the community.  It is a Centre for Excellence for many sports including athletics, squash, hockey, gymnastics and triathlon.

The University offers Sports Scholarships to support students who compete at international level of their sport. Past recipients of a Scholarship include Allison Curbishley (Athletics 400m Olympic finalist); Shelley Newman (nee Drew, Athletics discus Commonwealth Games medalist); Tom Bertram (Olympic Hockey team) and Melanie Easter (Paralympic Swimming Champion).

For further details please contact

BUSA - The British University Sports Association (BUSA) is the governing body of student competitive sport. It organises the inter-university sports programme nationally, as well as co-ordinating the UK representative team for the World University Championships and World University Games. For more information see www.busa.org.uk Birmingham University has been consistently ranked in the top three of the BUSA league.