Track and Field

On January 30, 1878, rower and runner William B. Curtis founded what became the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in New York City. The name was formally adopted in 1887. The AAU governed the sport until 1979, when the first Amateur Sports Act decreed that the AAU could no longer hold international franchises for more than one sport.

The Athletics Congress became fully operational in late 1979 with its first annual meeting, conducted in Las Vegas in conjunction with that year's AAU Convention, and a constitutional convention held in Dallas/Fort Worth in 1980. The first stand-alone annual meeting occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in the late fall of 1980.
In 1992, the name was changed to USA Track & Field (USATF) to increase recognition for the organization and the sport in the United States.

Quotes

"The pursuit of excellence may best characterize who we are and what we do, but it also reminds us that it begins and ends with you."

"Everyone has a plan until you knock them in the jaw."

"Losers never lose, they just run out of time."

"True champions are never satisfied."

"Respect all, fear none."

"Pain is weakness leaving the body."

Life is God's gift to us, and what we do with Life is our gift to God."