The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the
cross country championship held by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in
Division I. Teams and individual runners qualify for the championship at regional competitions approximately a week before the national championships.
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially-defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. Generally consisting of Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Gila counties, the region is geographically dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the sout ...
are the defending men's team champions.
History
Each
autumn
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...
since 1938, with the exception of 1943 and 2020, the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
has hosted men's
cross country championships. Since 1958, the NCAA has had multiple division championships. Since 1973, Divisions I, II and III have all had their own national championships.
Qualifying
Teams compete in one of nine regional championships to qualify, where the top two teams automatically advance and thirteen additional teams are chosen as at-large selections. In addition to the 31 teams, 38 individual runners qualify for the national championship.
History
The field for the
Division I national championship race has ranged in size from a low of 6 teams in 1938 to a high of 39 teams in 1970. From 1982 to 1997 the field was fixed at 22 teams. Beginning in 1998, the national championship race has included 31 teams.
The race distance from 1938 to 1964 was . From 1965 to 1975 the race distance was . Since 1976 the race distance has been .
Champions
*''Prior to 1958, only a single national championship was held between all members of the NCAA; Division II started in 1958 and Division III in 1973.''
*A time highlighted in
██ indicates an NCAA championship record time for that distance at the time.
*A † indicates the all-time NCAA championship record for that distance.
*
UTEP
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...
's 1983 championship was vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
Titles
Team titles
*''List updated through the 2022 Championships''
Individual titles
*''List updated through the 2022 Championships.''
Appearances
*''List updated through the
2019 Championships.''
Most team appearances (top 15)
Records
*Best Team Score: 17
**
UTEP
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...
(1981;
Matthews Motshwarateu–1,
Michael Musyoki
Michael Musyoki (born May 28, 1956) is a retired long-distance runner from Kenya. He won the bronze medal in 10,000 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Running career
Collegiate
Musyoki was recruited by University of Texas at El Paso, a school ...
–2,
Gabriel Kaman–3,
Suleiman Nyambui
Suleiman Nyambui (born February 13, 1953) is a former track athlete from Tanzania who specialized in various long-distance disciplines. Nyambui won the bronze medal at the 1978 All-Africa Games, the silver medal in 5000 metres at the 1980 Summer ...
–5,
Gidamis Shahanga
Gidamis Shahanga (born September 4, 1957 in Katesh, Hanang District in Manyara Region), is a retired Tanzanian long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and the marathon race. His personal best at the marathon was 2:08:32 at the ...
–6)
*Most Individual Titles: 3 (tie)
**
Gerry Lindgren
Gerald "Gerry" Paul Lindgren (born March 9, 1946) is an American track and field runner who set many long-standing high school and national records in the United States. In 1965, Lindgren and Billy Mills both broke the world record for the six-mi ...
,
Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
(1966, 1967, and 1969)
**
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
(1970, 1971, and 1973)
**
Henry Rono
Henry Rono (born 12 February 1952, in Kapsabet) is a Kenyan retired track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific coll ...
,
Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
(1976, 1977, and 1979)
**
Edward Cheserek
Edward Cheserek (born 2 February 1994) is a Kenyan distance runner. He is a 17-time NCAA champion collegiate distance runner for the University of Oregon. Cheserek was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the nation out of Sain ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
(2013, 2014, and 2015)
*Best Individual Time, 4 miles: 19:21.3
**
Max Truex,
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
(1957)
*Best Individual Time, 6 miles: 28:00.2
**
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
(1970)
*Best Individual Time, 10,000 meters: 28:06.6
**
Henry Rono
Henry Rono (born 12 February 1952, in Kapsabet) is a Kenyan retired track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific coll ...
,
Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
(1976)
See also
*
NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Athlete's individual performances earn points for ...
*
NCAA Men's Division II Cross Country Championship (from 1958)
*
NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship
The NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship is an annual cross country meet to decide the team and individual national champions of men's NCAA Division III intercollegiate cross country running in the United States. It has been held eve ...
(from 1973)
*
NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and ...
(from 1981)
*
NCAA Women's Division II Cross Country Championship
The NCAA Women's Division II Cross Country Championship is an annual cross country meet to decide the team and individual national champions of women's intercollegiate cross country running in the United States. It has been held every November sin ...
(from 1981)
*
NCAA Women's Division III Cross Country Championship
The NCAA Women's Division III Cross Country Championship is an annual cross country meet to decide the team and individual national champions of women's NCAA Division III intercollegiate cross country running in the United States. It is held ever ...
(from 1981)
*
Pre-NCAA Cross Country Champions
*NAIA Cross Country Championships (
Men
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...
,
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
)
References
External links
NCAA Men's Cross Country
{{Cross country running in the United States
Division I
Crosscountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
Men's athletics competitions