The McKinley Mile Bike Race and field events will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday along McKinley Avenue and in LaFollette Field.
Lynda Wiley, director of the Office of Student Life, said in the fall there was a discussion to bring back the event.
She said there were several fall traditions that brought students together, and Student Life searched for one that would unite students in the spring. "Since the bike-a-thon had such a strong history, we thought it would be a natural fit," she said.
Betsy Mills, former Student Government Association president, said her administration wanted to create a spring tradition and thought of many possible ideas.
SGA had nothing to do with the planning of the event, she said, but worked with Wiley and Student Life about the idea of having a spring tradition.
Wiley said the race, which begins at 1 p.m., would have five male teams and two female teams participating in the tournament.
There will be a relay race, and teams will have to incorporate strategy into how many laps team member runs, she said.
The race, which was last run about four years ago, will begin at the corner of McKinley and Neely avenues, she said.
Tyler Speer, freshman telecommunications major and event organization for the University Program Board, said the bike race would go from McKinley to Riverside to New York to Neely avenues and back to McKinley.
Singer Ben Clark and disc jockey DJDJ will be in LaFollette Field during the day, Speer said.
Four inflatables, volleyball nets and a rock wall also will be in the field, he said.
Wiley said Lambda Chi Alpha, a fraternity not currently on campus that will recolonize at the university, sponsored the event four years ago.
Wiley said weather should not be an issue and the race would go on regardless of bad weather. The games would be canceled in the case of poor weather, she said.
"Students are really looking for something to do in the spring to really rally around," she said.
Students who have not registered cannot ride in the race, she said.
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