Each autumn since 1938, with the exception of 1943, 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 current 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.
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 (6.4Â km). From 1965 to 1975 the race distance was 6 miles (9.7Â km). Since 1976 the race distance has been 10,000 meters (6.2Â mi).
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.
- The race distance was 4 miles from 1938 to 1964, 6 miles from 1965 to 1975, and 10,000 meters from 1976 to the present.
- A time highlighted in ██ indicates a 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 2016 Championships
Individual titles
- List updated through the 2016 Championships.
Appearances
- List updated through the 2014 Championships.
Most team appearances (top 15)
Records
- Best Team Score: 17
- UTEP (1981; Matthews Motshwarateuâ€"1, Michael Musyokiâ€"2, Gabriel Kamanâ€"3, Suleiman Nyambuiâ€"5, Gidamis Shahangaâ€"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
- Max Truex, USC (1957)
- 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)
- Pre-NCAA Cross Country Champions
References
External links
- NCAA Men's Cross Country