NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship
Current season, competition or edition: 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships | |
 | |
| Sport | College cross country running |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1938 |
| No. of teams | 31 (253 individuals) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Northern Arizona (5) |
| Most titles | Arkansas (11) |
Each autumn since 1938, with the exception of 1943 and 2020, the National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. Teams and individual runners qualify for the championship at regional competitions approximately a week before the national championships, typically held in November.
Northern Arizona are the defending men's team champions.
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.[1][2]
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 4 miles (6.4 km). From 1965 to 1975 the race distance was 6 miles (9.7 km). Since 1976 the race distance has been 10,000 meters (6.2 mi).[3]
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.[4]
| NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host City (Host Team) |
Team Championship | Individual Championship | ||||||
| Winner | Points | Runner-up | Points | Winner (Team) |
Time | ||||
| 1938 Details |
East Lansing, MI (Michigan State) |
Indiana | 51 | Notre Dame | 61 | Greg Rice (Notre Dame) |
20:12.9 | ||
| 1939 Details |
Michigan State | 54 | Wisconsin | 57 | (Wisconsin) |
20:30.9 | |||
| 1940 Details |
Indiana | 65 | Eastern Michigan | 68 | Gil Dodds (Ashland) |
20:30.2 | |||
| 1941 Details |
Rhode Island | 83 | Penn State | 110 | Fred Wilt (Indiana) |
20:32.1 | |||
| 1942 Details |
Indiana Penn State |
57 | Rhode Island | 79 | Oliver Hunter (Notre Dame) |
20:18.0 | |||
| 1943 | Not Held due to World War II | ||||||||
| 1944 Details |
East Lansing, MI (Michigan State) |
Drake | 25 | Notre Dame | 64 | (Drake) |
21:04.2 | ||
| 1945 Details |
Drake | 50 | Notre Dame | 65 | (Drake) |
21:14.2 | |||
| 1946 Details |
Drake | 42 | NYU | 98 | (Ohio Wesleyan) |
20:22.9 | |||
| 1947 Details |
Penn State | 60 | Syracuse | 72 | Jack Milne (North Carolina) |
20:41.1 | |||
| 1948 Details |
Michigan State | 41 | Wisconsin | 69 | (Rhode Island) |
19:52.3 | |||
| 1949 Details |
Michigan State | 59 | Syracuse | 81 | (Rhode Island) |
20:25.7 | |||
| 1950 Details |
Penn State | 53 | Michigan State | 55 | (Kansas) |
20:31.7 | |||
| 1951 Details |
Syracuse | 80 | Kansas | 118 | (Kansas) |
20:09.5 | |||
| 1952 Details |
Michigan State | 65 | Indiana | 68 | (Georgetown) |
19:36.7 | |||
| 1953 Details |
Kansas | 70 | Indiana | 82 | Wes Santee (Kansas) |
19:43.5 | |||
| 1954 Details |
Oklahoma State | 61 | Syracuse | 118 | (Kansas) |
19:54.2 | |||
| 1955 Details |
Michigan State | 46 | Kansas | 68 | Charles Jones (Iowa) |
19:57.4 | |||
| 1956 Details |
Michigan State | 28 | Kansas | 88 | (Texas) |
19:55.7 | |||
| 1957 Details |
Notre Dame | 121 | Michigan State | 127 | Max Truex (USC) |
19:12.3† | |||
| 1958 Details |
Michigan State | 79 | Western Michigan | 104 | (Michigan State) |
20:07.1 | |||
| 1959 Details |
Michigan State | 44 | Houston | 120 | Al Lawrence (Houston) |
20:35.7 | |||
| 1960 Details |
Houston | 54 | Michigan State | 80 | Al Lawrence (Houston) |
19:28.2 | |||
| 1961 Details |
Oregon State | 68 | San Jose State | 82 | (Oregon State) |
19:46.6 | |||
| 1962 Details |
San Jose State | 58 | Villanova | 69 | Tom O'Hara (Loyola–Chicago) |
19:20.3 | |||
| 1963 Details |
San Jose State | 53 | Oregon | 68 | Victor Zwolak (Villanova) |
19:35.0 | |||
| 1964 Details |
Western Michigan | 86 | Oregon | 116 | (Ohio) |
20:07.5 | |||
| The race distance changes from 4 miles to 6 miles | |||||||||
| 1965 Details |
Lawrence, KS (Kansas) |
Western Michigan | 81 | Northwestern | 114 | (Kansas) |
29:24.0 | ||
| 1966 Details |
Villanova | 79 | Kansas State | 155 | Gerry Lindgren (Washington State) |
29:01.4 | |||
| 1967 Details |
Laramie, WY (Wyoming) |
Villanova | 91 | Air Force | 96 | Gerry Lindgren (Washington State) |
30:45.6 | ||
| 1968 Details |
Bronx, NY (Manhattan) |
Villanova | 78 | Stanford | 100 | (Air Force) |
29:16.8 | ||
| 1969 Details |
UTEP | 74 | Villanova | 88 | Gerry Lindgren (Washington State) |
28:59.2 | |||
| 1970 Details |
Williamsburg, VA (William & Mary) |
Villanova | 85 | Oregon | 86 | Steve Prefontaine (Oregon) |
28:00.2† | ||
| 1971 Details |
Knoxville, TN (Tennessee) |
Oregon | 83 | Washington State | 122 | Steve Prefontaine (Oregon) |
29:14.0 | ||
| 1972 Details |
Houston, TX (Houston) |
Tennessee | 134 | East Tennessee State | 148 | Neil Cusack (East Tennessee State) |
28:23.0 | ||
| 1973 Details |
Pullman, WA (Washington State) |
Oregon | 89 | UTEP | 157 | Steve Prefontaine (Oregon) |
28:14.8 | ||
| 1974 Details |
Bloomington, IN (Indiana) |
Oregon | 77 | Western Kentucky | 110 | Nick Rose (Western Kentucky) |
29:22.00 | ||
| 1975 Details |
State College, PA (Penn State) |
UTEP | 88 | Oregon | 92 | Craig Virgin (Illinois) |
28:23.3 | ||
| *The race distance changes from 6 miles to 10 kilometers | |||||||||
| 1976 Details |
Denton, TX (North Texas) |
UTEP | 62 | Oregon | 117 | Henry Rono (Washington State) |
28:06.6† | ||
| 1977 Details |
Pullman, WA (Washington State) |
Oregon | 100 | UTEP | 105 | Henry Rono (Washington State) |
28:33.5 | ||
| 1978 Details |
Madison, WI (Wisconsin) |
UTEP | 56 | Oregon | 72 | Alberto Salazar (Oregon) |
29:29.7 | ||
| 1979 Details |
Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh) |
UTEP | 86 | Oregon | 93 | Henry Rono (Washington State) |
28:19.6 | ||
| 1980 Details |
Wichita, KS (Wichita State) |
UTEP | 58 | Arkansas | 152 | Suleiman Nyambui (UTEP) |
29:04.0 | ||
| 1981 Details |
Wichita, KS (Wichita State) |
UTEP | 17 | Providence | 109 | Matthews Motshwarateu (UTEP) |
28:45.6 | ||
| 1982 Details |
Bloomington, IN (Indiana) |
Wisconsin | 59 | Providence | 138 | (Colorado) |
30:12.6 | ||
| 1983 Details |
Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh) |
(Vacated) | 108 | Wisconsin | 164 | Zakarie Barie (UTEP) |
29:20.0 | ||
| 1984 Details |
State College, PA (Penn State) |
Arkansas | 101 | Arizona | 111 | Ed Eyestone (BYU) |
29:28.8 | ||
| 1985 Details |
Milwaukee, WI (Marquette) |
Wisconsin | 67 | Arkansas | 104 | (Wisconsin) |
29:17.88 | ||
| 1986 Details |
Tucson, AZ (Arizona) |
Arkansas | 69 | Dartmouth | 141 | Aaron Ramirez (Arizona) |
30:27.53 | ||
| 1987 Details |
Charlottesville, VA (Virginia) |
Arkansas | 87 | Dartmouth | 119 | Joe Falcon (Arkansas) |
29:14.97 | ||
| 1988 Details |
Ames, IA (Iowa State) |
Wisconsin | 105 | Northern Arizona | 160 | Bob Kennedy (Indiana) |
29:20.00 | ||
| 1989 Details |
Annapolis, MD (Navy) |
Iowa State | 54 | Oregon | 72 | John Nuttall (Iowa State) |
29:30.55 | ||
| 1990 Details |
Knoxville, TN (Tennessee) |
Arkansas | 68 | Iowa State | 96 | (Iowa State) |
29:05 | ||
| 1991 Details |
Tucson, AZ (Arizona) |
Arkansas | 52 | Wisconsin | 148 | Sean Dollman (Western Kentucky) |
30:17.1 | ||
| 1992 Details |
Bloomington, IN (Indiana) |
Arkansas | 46 | Wisconsin | 87 | Bob Kennedy (Indiana) |
30:15.3 | ||
| 1993 Details |
Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh) |
Arkansas | 31 | BYU | 153 | (Washington State) |
29:32.4 | ||
| 1994 Details |
Fayetteville, AR (Arkansas) |
Iowa State | 65 | Colorado | 88 | (Arizona) |
30:08.7 | ||
| 1995 Details |
Ames, IA (Iowa State) |
Arkansas | 100 | Northern Arizona | 142 | Godfrey Siamusiye (Arkansas) |
30:09 | ||
| 1996 Details |
Tucson, AZ (Arizona) |
Stanford | 46 | Arkansas | 74 | Godfrey Siamusiye (Arkansas) |
29:49 | ||
| 1997 Details |
Greenville, SC (Furman) |
Stanford | 53 | Arkansas | 56 | Mebrahtom Keflezighi (UCLA) |
28:54 | ||
| 1998 Details |
Lawrence, KS (Kansas) |
Arkansas | 97 | Stanford | 114 | Adam Goucher (Colorado) |
29:26.9 | ||
| 1999 Details |
Bloomington, IN (Indiana) |
Arkansas | 58 | Wisconsin | 185 | (South Alabama) |
30:06.6 | ||
| 2000 Details |
Ames, IA (Iowa State) |
Arkansas | 83 | Colorado | 94 | Keith Kelly (Providence) |
30:14.5 | ||
| 2001 Details |
Greenville, SC (Furman) |
Colorado | 90 | Stanford | 91 | (Eastern Michigan) |
28:47 | ||
| 2002 Details |
Terre Haute, IN (Indiana State) |
Stanford | 47 | Wisconsin | 107 | Jorge Torres (Colorado) |
29:04.7 | ||
| 2003 Details |
Cedar Rapids, IA (Northern Iowa) |
Stanford | 24 | Wisconsin | 147 | Dathan Ritzenhein (Colorado) |
29:14.1 | ||
| 2004 Details |
Terre Haute, IN (Indiana State) |
Colorado | 90 | Wisconsin | 94 | Simon Bairu (Wisconsin) |
30:37.7 | ||
| 2005 Details |
Wisconsin | 37 | Arkansas | 105 | Simon Bairu (Wisconsin) |
29:15.9 | |||
| 2006 Details |
Colorado | 94 | Wisconsin | 142 | Josh Rohatinsky (BYU) |
30:44.9 | |||
| 2007 Details |
Oregon | 85 | Iona | 113 | (Liberty) |
29:22.4 | |||
| 2008 Details |
Oregon | 93 | Iona | 147 | Galen Rupp (Oregon) |
29:03.2 | |||
| 2009 Details |
Oklahoma State | 127 | Oregon | 143 | Sam Chelanga (Liberty) |
28:41.3 | |||
| 2010 Details |
Oklahoma State | 73 | Florida State | 193 | Sam Chelanga (Liberty) |
29:22.2 | |||
| 2011 Details |
Wisconsin | 97 | Oklahoma State | 139 | Lawi Lalang (Arizona) |
28:44.1 | |||
| 2012 Details |
Louisville, KY (Louisville) |
Oklahoma State | 72 | Wisconsin | 135 | Kennedy Kithuka (Texas Tech) |
28:31.3 | ||
| 2013 Details |
Terre Haute, IN (Indiana State) |
Colorado | 149 | Northern Arizona | 169 | Edward Cheserek (Oregon) |
29:41.1 | ||
| 2014 Details |
Colorado | 65 | Stanford | 98 | Edward Cheserek (Oregon) |
30:19.4 | |||
| 2015 Details |
Louisville, KY (Louisville) |
Syracuse | 82 | Colorado | 91 | Edward Cheserek (Oregon) |
28:45.8 | ||
| 2016 Details |
Terre Haute, IN (Indiana State) |
Northern Arizona | 125 | Stanford | 158 | Patrick Tiernan (Villanova) |
29:22.0 | ||
| 2017 Details |
Louisville, KY (Louisville) |
Northern Arizona | 74 | Portland | 127 | Justyn Knight (Syracuse) |
29:00.2 | ||
| 2018 Details |
Madison, WI (Wisconsin) |
Northern Arizona | 83 | BYU | 116 | Morgan McDonald (Wisconsin) |
29:08.3 | ||
| 2019 Details |
Terre Haute, IN (Indiana State) |
BYU | 109 | Northern Arizona | 163 | (Iowa State) |
30:32.7 | ||
| 2020 Details |
Stillwater, OK (Oklahoma State) |
Northern Arizona | 60 | Notre Dame | 87 | Conner Mantz (BYU) |
29:26.1 | ||
| 2021 Details |
Tallahassee, FL (Florida State) |
Northern Arizona | 92 | Iowa State | 137 | Conner Mantz (BYU) |
28:33.1 | ||
| 2022 Details |
Stillwater, OK (Oklahoma State) |
||||||||
| 2023 Details |
Charlottesville, VA (Virginia) |
||||||||
| 2024 Details |
Madison, WI (Wisconsin) |
||||||||
| 2025 Details |
Columbia, MO (Missouri) |
||||||||
- 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 2021 Championships
| Team | Titles | Year Won |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 11 | 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| Michigan State | 8 | 1939, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959 |
| UTEP | 7 | 1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
| Oregon | 6 | 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2007, 2008 |
| Colorado | 5 | 2001, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2014 |
| Northern Arizona | 5 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 1982, 1985, 1988, 2005, 2011 |
| Oklahoma State | 4 | 1954, 2009, 2010, 2012 |
| Stanford | 4 | 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003 |
| Villanova | 4 | 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 |
| Drake | 3 | 1944, 1945, 1946 |
| Indiana | 3 | 1938, 1940, 1942 |
| Penn State | 3 | 1942, 1947, 1950 |
| Iowa State | 2 | 1989, 1994 |
| San Jose State | 2 | 1962, 1963 |
| Syracuse | 2 | 1951, 2015 |
| Western Michigan | 2 | 1964, 1965 |
| BYU | 1 | 2019 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1972 |
| Oregon State | 1 | 1961 |
| Houston | 1 | 1960 |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 1957 |
| Kansas | 1 | 1953 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1941 |
Individual titles[]
- List updated through the 2021 Championships.
| Rank | Team | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 8 |
| 2 | Washington State | 7 |
| 3 | Kansas | 5 |
| 4 | Colorado BYU |
4 |
| 5 | Arizona Arkansas Indiana Iowa State Liberty UTEP |
3 |
| 6 | Drake Houston Notre Dame Rhode Island Villanova Western Kentucky |
2 |
Appearances[]
- List updated through the 2019 Championships.
Most team appearances (top 15)[]
| Rank | Team | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisconsin | 57 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 51 |
| 3 | Arkansas Colorado |
49 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 45 |
| 5 | Oregon | 44 |
| 6 | Providence | 42 |
| 7 | Penn State | 41 |
| 8 | Indiana | 39 |
| 9 | Georgetown Texas |
37 |
| 10 | BYU | 36 |
| 11 | Michigan Villanova |
34 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State Tennessee |
32 |
| 13 | NC State | 31 |
| 14 | Kansas Northern Arizona |
29 |
| 15 | Iowa State Miami (OH) Stanford |
28 |
Records[]
- Best Team Score: 17
- UTEP (1981; Matthews Motshwarateu–1, Michael Musyoki–2, –3, Suleiman Nyambui–5, Gidamis Shahanga–6)
- Most Individual Titles: 3 (tie)
- Gerry Lindgren, Washington State (1966, 1967, and 1969)
- Steve Prefontaine, Oregon (1970, 1971, and 1973)
Henry Rono, Washington State (1976, 1977, and 1979)- Edward Cheserek, Oregon (2013, 2014, and 2015)
- Best Individual Time, 4 miles: 19:21.3
- Best Individual Time, 6 miles: 28:00.2
- Steve Prefontaine, Oregon (1970)
- Best Individual Time, 10,000 meters: 28:06.6
- Henry Rono, Washington State (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
References[]
- ^ "NCAA Championship Qualifying Criteria". U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
- ^ "How the DI college cross country championship works | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ NCAA 2010 Men's Division I Cross Country All Time Championship Records [1].
- ^ "NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 3–4. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
External links[]
National Collegiate Athletic Association | ||
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| NCAA |
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| Division I |
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| Division II |
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| Division III |
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| Single-division sports and championships |
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Events listed in italics have been discontinued. | ||
Cross country running in the United States | ||
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| Championships |
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| Meetings | ||
| World events |
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Categories:
- NCAA Cross Country Championships
- NCAA Division I championships
- Men's athletics competitions