The NCAA Division I men's cross country championships (formerly the NCAA University Division cross country championships) are contested at an annual meet hosted by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate
cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...
among its
Division I members in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It has been held every fall (typically in November) since the NCAA split into its current three-division format in 1973.
Teams and individual runners qualify for the championship at regional competitions approximately a week before the national championships.
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
have been the most successful program, with eleven national titles.
BYU are the defending team national champion, winning their second title in 2024.
History
Each
autumn
Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), 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 ( Southern Hemisphe ...
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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
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.
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 .
Wisconsin and Syracuse are the only two teams East of the Mississippi River that have won in the 21st Century
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.
Results
*''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.
Champions
Team titles
*''List updated through the 2023 Championships''
Individual titles
*''List updated through the 2023 Championships.''
Appearances
*''List updated through the
2019 Championships.''
Most team appearances (top 15)
Records
*Best Team Score: 17
**
UTEP (1981;
Matthews Motshwarateu–1,
Michael Musyoki–2,
Gabriel Kaman–3,
Suleiman Nyambui–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 United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
(1966, 1967, and 1969)
**
Steve Prefontaine,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
(1970, 1971, and 1973)
**
Henry Rono
Henry Rono (12 February 1952 – 15 February 2024) was a Kenyan 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 collegia ...
,
Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
(1976, 1977, and 1979)
**
Edward Cheserek,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
(2013, 2014, and 2015)
*Best Individual Time, 4 miles: 19:21.3
**
Max Truex,
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
(1957)
*Best Individual Time, 6 miles: 28:00.2
**
Steve Prefontaine,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
(1970)
*Best Individual Time, 10,000 meters: 28:06.6
**
Henry Rono
Henry Rono (12 February 1952 – 15 February 2024) was a Kenyan 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 collegia ...
,
Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
(1976)
See also
*
NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
*
NCAA Men's Division II Cross Country Championship (from 1958)
*
NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship (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
A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy.
Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...
,
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...
)
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 British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...
Men's athletics competitions