A History of the NCAA Cross Country Championships
The NCAA cross country championships are an annual event that determines the best individual and team cross country runners in the United States. The NCAA hosts both men's and women's Division I championships. The men's meet began in 1938, while the women's meet was added in 1981.
Women's Division I Championship
The NCAA Division I women's cross country championships are held annually to determine the individual and team national champions of women's collegiate cross country running among its Division I members in the United States.
Qualification
Teams compete in one of nine regional championships to qualify for the NCAA Division I women's cross country championships. The top two teams from each regional automatically advance to the national championship meet. In addition, thirteen additional teams are chosen as at-large selections to round out the field.
Championship History
Cross country was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981-82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women for sole governance of women's collegiate sports.
The Division I national championship race included 13 teams in 1981, 16 teams from 1982 to 1988 and 22 teams from 1989 to 1997. The race distance from 1981 to 1999 was 5,000 meters (3.1 miles).
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Villanova have been the most successful program, with nine team and nine individual titles. Villanova has won more NCAA Division I women's titles (9) than any other school, followed by BYU with 6. BYU and North Carolina State have competed in the most NCAA Division I women's championships (25).
Men's Division I Championship
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 to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate cross country running among its Division I members in the United States. 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.
Qualification
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.
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. 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). From 1976 to the present, the race distance is 10K (6.21M).
Noteworthy Teams
The University of Wisconsin Badgers have a rich history in the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships, securing five national titles, sharing the lead with the most championships by a Big Ten Conference school.
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1982 Championship: In 1982, the Badgers became the third Big Ten team to win an NCAA championship, placing five runners in the top 26. Tim Hacker and Scott Jenkins were fourth and fifth, respectively, while John Easker was 16th, Joe Stintzi 23rd, and Jim Brice 26th. Wisconsin finished with 59 points and easily defeated runner-up Providence, which had 138. Mark Scrutton, an Englishman attending Colorado, took the lead 300 yards from the finish to win the individual title.
Coach Dan McClimon emphasized team unity as the key ingredient for Wisconsin. “All season long these guys ran as a team,” he said. “I still honestly don’t think they really care who wins. Just as long as they do well as a group.”
1985 Championship: Wisconsin won its second NCAA Championship in 1985 behind individual champion Tim Hacker. The undefeated Badgers, ranked first in the nation throughout the season, placed five runners-Hacker, Joe Stintzi, Scott Jenkins, Kelley Delaney and Rusty Korhonen-in the first 43 runners to score 67 points and defeat defending champion Arkansas. Hacker ran the hilly, snow-covered 10,000-meter course in 29 minutes, 17.88 seconds.
“This is something really special-the best one ever,” said Hacker, who was only the second American champion since 1978. “We were happy to win the team championship in 1982, but to win the race and win the team title again is really something.”
1988 Championship: All five Badgers finished with the top 40 to lead Wisconsin to the 1988 NCAA Championship. This title, UW’s third overall and second in four years, came without an individual in the top 15. The Badgers finished with 105 points. Northern Arizona was second with 160.
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UW finishes from 17th to 44th proved more than adequate when the team score was computed. The Badgers finished with 105 points. Northern Arizona was second with 160.
2005 Championship: Individual champion Simon Bairu lead the Badgers to their fourth NCAA championship. Bairu, who defended his individual title, and Solinsky were joined by Matt Withrow (ninth), senior Antony Ford (14th), Stuart Eagon (17th) and Tim Nelson (18th). Christian Wagner was the team’s final runner across the line in 58th.
“I think the thing they did better today than I’ve ever seen them do was they ran a race like they would typically run but they didn’t put a lot of emotional energy into thefirst half of the race,” Wisconsin coach Jerry Schumacher said. “They really were patient.”
2011 Championship: NCAA title No. 5 came in 2011. The Badgers' co-captain Elliot Krause physically collapsed on the final straightaway of the previous year's competition, laboring through the final 400 meters en route to a shocking 137th place finish. This time around at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course, Krause got his redemption and then some. The senior finished 17th overall, one of four UW runners to claim All-American honors as the top-ranked Badgers dethroned two-time defending national champion Oklahoma State to claim their first national title since 2005 and the fifth in program history.
UW finished with 97 points, followed by the Cowboys (139) and third-place Colorado (144). Arizona freshman Lawi Lalang won the individual title in 28 minutes, 44.1 seconds
Championship Venues and Dates
Since 2002, Indiana State University and the city of Terre Haute have hosted the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships 12 times at prestigious LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Only Michigan State has hosted the Division I men's championship more times than Indiana State, hosting every iteration from 1938-1964 being run in East Lansing, Mich.
The race was held on the Monday after Thanksgiving in the years of ‘38, ‘40, ‘41, ‘49, ‘50, ‘51, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘56, ‘61, ‘62 & ‘67. From 1968 to 2011, the race was held on the Monday preceding Thanksgiving. In 2012 the meet was moved to the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. Prior to 2012, the race was held on a Saturday only three times: before Thanksgiving in ’42; after in ’44 & ’45. In ’63 the race was delayed a day until the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in the wake of the Kennedy Assassination the previous Friday. The 2012 meet was held on November 17, the earliest date the meet had ever been held (it was held on November 18 twice and November 19 six times).
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