The 2005 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships begin Friday in all three divisions, headlined by the NCAA Division I Championships March 11-12 at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center in Fayetteville.

The host Razorbacks qualified the most athletes for this year's event with 19 followed by Stanford (18), Florida (17) and Nebraska (16).

LSU's track and field program made history in 2004 by becoming the first school ever to sweep both the men's and women's indoor national titles at the same event. It marked the third time that LSU has won the men's and women's titles at the same NCAA Championship, accomplishing the feat in both 1989 and 1990 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The Lady Tigers won their third straight indoor crown, and their 11th overall, sliding past runner-up Florida in the final event of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay. LSU entered the race three points behind the Gators and needed a strong showing in the final event to take the lead. The foursome of Hazelann Regis, Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Monique Hall and Nadia Davy posted a school record 3 minutes, 30.14 seconds to finish second, while Florida followed in fifth as the Lady Tigers squeaked out the 52-51 team victory.

The LSU men's squad also used the 4x400 to clinch its second indoor national title. Entering the final event with a seven and a half point lead over Florida, the Tigers needed to simply finish the race and have the Gators place second or lower. The quartet of Robert Parham, Pete Coley, Bennie Brazell and Kelly Willie clocked a solid 3:04.69 to finish in fifth, while Florida placed fourth (3:04.49), securing the national title for the Tigers.

For the sixth consecutive year the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships will take place at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. With the addition of the distance medley relay and the 200-meters to the schedule, a total of 400 participants are expected to compete this weekend.

Abilene Christian University won its third straight championship in 2004, while Lincoln University took home the women's crown. ACU won the men's title with 55 points, with Lincoln winning the women's championship with 64 points.

Abilene Christian's men scored 55 points to capture first place while St. Augustine's finished second with 50 points. On the women's side, Lincoln secured first place in the overall championship in the final event of the day by finishing second in the 4x400 relay. Lincoln tallied 64 points to capture its first NCAA Indoor Championship. Adams State was second with 50 points.

Four hundred participants are expected to compete at the 2005 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships March 11-12 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

Last year the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh women won the team titles held in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

On the men's side, Wisconsin-La Crosse scored the second highest point total in championship history to win its fourth consecutive crown and 11th overall. UW-La Crosse amassed 70 points, with Lincoln University (Pa.) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater tied for second place with 29 points apiece. Nebraska Wesleyan University (28) and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (25) rounded out the top five.

In women's competition, Wisconsin-Oshkosh earned its fourth title and ended Wheaton College's five-year run as champions. Oshkosh tallied 56.5 points to outdistance Wheaton College (28), Bates College (Maine) and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (23), and the University of Wisconsin-Stout (21).

For more information on the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, visit www.ncaasports.com.