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 athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...
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 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 ( S ...
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 athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...
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'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 (1981;
Matthews Motshwarateu
Matthews Motshwarateu (1958–2001) was a South African track, cross country, and road runner.
In 1978 Matthews Motshwarateu won the South African 5000m championship, setting a new South African record for the event. He retained his title the fol ...
–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
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
–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–6)
*Most Individual Titles: 3 (tie)
**
Gerry Lindgren,
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 Washingto ...
(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 state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
(1970, 1971, and 1973)
**
Henry Rono,
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 Washingto ...
(1976, 1977, and 1979)
**
Edward Cheserek,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
(2013, 2014, and 2015)
*Best Individual Time, 4 miles: 19:21.3
**
Max Truex
Max Edwin Truex ( b. November 4, 1935 Warsaw, Indiana, d. March 24, 1991 Milton, Massachusetts) was an American long-distance runner. He was a two-time Olympian, running the 10,000 metres at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. He also was a two-time U ...
,
USC (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 state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
(1970)
*Best Individual Time, 10,000 meters: 28:06.6
**
Henry Rono,
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 Washingto ...
(1976)
See also
*
NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
*
NCAA Men's Division II Cross Country Championship
The NCAA Men's Division II Cross Country Championship is an annual cross country meet to decide the team and individual national champions of men's intercollegiate cross country running in the United States. It has been held every fall, usually i ...
(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 ev ...
(from 1973)
*
NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship (from 1981)
*
NCAA Women's Division II Cross Country Championship (from 1981)
*
NCAA Women's Division III Cross Country Championship (from 1981)
*
Pre-NCAA Cross Country Champions
*NAIA Cross Country Championships (
Men,
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
)
References
External links
NCAA Men's Cross Country
{{Cross country running in the United States
Division I
Crosscountry
Men's athletics competitions