33 schools have won at least one NCAA cross country championship, whether that be a men's or women's title. From those 33, just 22 schools have won multiple NCAA track and field championships in their history.
Villanova leads all schools with 13 total championships, followed by Arkansas with 12 and Oregon with 10. In 2023, Oklahoma State captured the men's championship while NC State won the women's championship.
Here is a complete breakdown of the schools with the most NCAA team championships across men's and women's cross country.
Total Championships
Here are the schools with the most combined (men's and women's) team championships.
| School | Number of Championships |
|---|---|
| Villanova | 13 |
| Arkansas | 12 |
| Oregon | 10 |
| Michigan State, Stanford | 9 |
| Colorado | 8 |
| UTEP, Wisconsin | 7 |
| BYU, Northern Arizona | 6 |
| Oklahoma State | 5 |
| Drake, Indiana, NC StatePenn State | 3 |
| Iowa State, New Mexico, Providence, San Jose State, Syracuse, Virginia, Western Michigan |
2 |
| BYU, Georgetown, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington |
1 |
Men's team championships
Here are the schools with the most men's team championships.
| School | Number of Championships |
|---|---|
| Arkansas | 11 |
| Michigan State | 8 |
| UTEP | 7 |
| Oregon, Northern Arizona | 6 |
| Colorado, Oklahoma StateWisconsin | 5 |
| Stanford, Villanova | 4 |
| Drake, Indiana, Penn State | 3 |
| Iowa State, San Jose State, Syracuse, Western Michigan | 2 |
| BYU, Houston, Kansas, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Rhode Island, Tennessee |
1 |
Women's team championships
Here are the schools with the most women's team championships.
| School | Number of Championships |
|---|---|
| Villanova | 9 |
| Stanford, BYU | 5 |
| Oregon | 4 |
| Colorado, NC State | 3 |
| New Mexico, Providence, Virginia, Wisconsin | 2 |
| Arkansas, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan State, Texas, Washington |
1 |
NCAA championship streaks
Back-to-back
There have been 27 back-to-back (only counting streaks once) national champions in the history of NCAA cross country. Here's a breakdown of repeat champions by season.
| Sport | Back-to-back occurrences |
|---|---|
| Men's | 20 times |
| Women's | 7 times |
Streaks
A school has won three or more championships in a row 10 times in cross country history. Villanova has the longest streak winning six women's cross country championships in a row from 1989-1994.
See every championship streak of three or more years below.
| Length of Streak | School | Years of Streak | Type of Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 years | Villanova | 1989-94 | Women's |
| 4 years | Arkansas | 1990-93 | Men's |
| 4 years | UTEP | 1978-81 | Men's |
| 3 years | NC State | 2021-2023 | Women's |
| 3 years | Northern Arizona | 2020-22 | Men's |
| 3 years | Northern Arizona | 2016-18 | Men's |
| 3 years | Stanford | 2005-07 | Women's |
| 3 years | Arkansas | 1998-2000 | Men's |
| 3 years | Villanova | 1966-68 | Men's |
| 3 years | Drake | 1944-46 | Men's |
Sweeps
A school has swept the men's and women's cross country titles four times in NCAA history. See the instances below:
- 2004 Colorado
- 2003 Stanford
- 1996 Stanford
- 1985 Wisconsin
🏃♂️LATEST CROSS COUNTRY NEWS 🏃♀️
🗓: Regional championship sites
🧠 WHAT TO KNOW: XC Glossary | How the championships work
🏆 AWARDS: The history of the USTFCCCA’s cross country national athlete of the year
👀 HISTORY: Teams with the most titles | Men's champ history | Women's champ history | Inside Villanova's dominance
🔥 MORE: The fastest finishes | Top cross country courses
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
