University dedicates Allyson Felix Field


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Allyson Felix gives speech at Allyson Felix Field
USC alum Allyson Felix took to the stage to accept a commemorative glass plaque. In her acceptance speech, Felix mentioned her family and Christian faith as sources of inspiration. (Louis Chen | Daily Trojan)

Confetti flew Monday afternoon as a curtain pulled away to reveal a new adornment to the scoreboard in front of the Katherine B. Loker Stadium: “ALLYSON FELIX FIELD” in brilliant red letters.

“We are here to celebrate an incredible Trojan,” President Carol Folt said to an audience of students, faculty and alumni — including Felix herself — at a ceremony celebrating the field’s official dedication. “We’re here to mark a new day for this historic field and for the legendary USC Track and Field teams and the student-athletes and coaches who use this field every day.” 

The renaming, which Folt announced in January, seeks to honor the Olympian, mother and longtime Trojan for her many contributions to the University and athletic activism. Felix is one of the most decorated athletes in the country — being an 11-time Olympic medalist for her performances in the 200-meter and 4×400-meter relay — as well as a frequent collaborator with her alma mater. 

Felix earned her bachelor’s degree from USC Rossier School of Education in 2008.

Last May, Felix served as the commencement speaker for the Class of 2022. In her address, she encouraged her audience to use their voice, “even if it shakes.”

Felix has embodied this motto in her personal life: In a 2019 The New York Times op-ed, she criticized Nike, her sponsor, for refusing to guarantee salary protections for herself and other athletes in the months following their respective pregnancies. Having succeeded in getting Nike and other athletic conglomerates to alter their maternity leave policy, she soon became inspired to start her own sportswear company, Saysh, which she founded alongside her brother, Paul Wesley “Wes” Felix, in 2021. 

Allyson Felix fights on in front of Allyson Felix Field sign
Felix will continue her activism for women’s rights in athletics post-retirement, not only for her own sake, but for her daughter, Camryn’s. “You helped me find my voice. I will never stop fighting to make this world a better place for you to grow up in,” she told her daughter in her speech. (Louis Chen | Daily Trojan)

After brief statements from Athletics Director Mike Bohn, Track and Field Head Coach Quincy Watts and other representatives of USC Track and Field, Felix took to the stage to accept a commemorative glass plaque, touching on her Christian faith and her family as sources of inspiration. 

“There was nothing that I accomplished by myself,” Felix said. “There have been so many people who have poured into my life and made it all possible, and I’m beyond grateful for that.” 

Folt said renaming the field has been a long-held ambition of hers, not only to distance the field from its previous namesake — former track and field coach Dean Cromwell, a proponent of anti-Semitic views — but also to recognize Felix as an accomplished Trojan.

“I had been thinking about Allyson Felix almost since I arrived,” Folt said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “I’d been watching her career, just the beautiful stands that she took in this amazing way … And it just turned out to be exactly what we all wanted.” 

The now-retired Olympian vows to continue her activism, not only for her own sake, but for her daughter, Camryn.

“You helped me find my voice,” Felix told her daughter in her address. “I will never stop fighting to make this world a better place for you to grow up in.”