The National Intercollegiate Running Club Association (NIRCA) is the
National governing body for
club level collegiate cross country,
road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ...
and
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
clubs at over 50 colleges and universities across the U.S.
History
On campus running clubs existed at various schools prior to the formation of the NIRCA. The
Ball State Runners Association dated to October 2003 and hosted the MC5 meet as early as 2004 which set the trend. The official organization was formed during the National Club Cross Country Conference at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
in May, 2006. That resulted in the first national championship meet held at
Penn State University on November 4, 2006.
Major meets
There are several major meets held by NIRCA, including regional and national cross country championships, and an outdoor track and field and half marathon championship meet. The 2020 outdoor track championship meet, set to be hosted in Oxford, Ohio, was cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Divisions
The organization is broken down into 7 regional divisions, each hosting their own regional championship.
[ ]
*Heartland
*Great Lakes
*Great Plains
*Mid-Atlantic
*Northeast
*Pacific
*Southeast
References
2006 establishments in the United States
College sports governing bodies in the United States
Sports organizations established in 2006
Athletics organizations
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