NCAA Cross Country Preview Part 1 — Overview/Schedule

 

THE MURKIEST OF CRYSTAL BALLS is all that is available when one attempts to analyze the NCAA Cross Country scene in mid-September. At this point, none of the teams have been tested in significant competition and the condition of some of the top runners almost seems to be a closely-guarded secret.

Complicating the matter somewhat — or at least our terminology — is that the battle in Tallahassee on November 20 will be the second Nationals of the calendar year, and that strange bifurcated 1920–21 season that culminated in March didn’t count against anyone’s eligibility because of the pandemic. Don’t be surprised by surprises when the Nationals go down; expect them.

Coming up over the next few days will be links to the 4 detailed sections of our Div. I-based NCAA Cross Country Preview:

Men’s Teams	Women’s Teams
Men’s Individuals	Women’s Individuals

2021 Collegiate Cross Country Schedule

Major Invitationals
September
17	Commodore Classic	Nashville, Tennessee
18	Cowboy Jamboree	Stillwater, Oklahoma
	McNichols Invitational	Terre Haute, Indiana
24	Battle In Beantown	Boston, Massachusetts
October
01	Piane Invitational	Notre Dame, Indiana
02	Chile Pepper Invitational	Fayetteville, Arkansas
	Louisville Classic	Louisville, Kentucky
15	Nuttycombe Invitational	Madison, Wisconsin
15	Pre-Nationals	Tallahassee, Florida

Div. I Conferences
October
18	SWAC	Clinton, Mississippi
29	ACC	Notre Dame, Indiana
	American Athletic	Lakeland, Florida
	Big 10	State College, Pennsylvania
	Big 12	Stillwater, Oklahoma
	Big East	Carmel, Indiana
	Big Sky	Portland, Oregon
	Big South	Kernersville, North Carolina
	Big West	Davis, California
	Missouri Valley	Normal, Illinois
	Mountain West	Albuquerque, New Mexico
	Pac-12	Salt Lake City, Utah
	SEC	Columbia, Missouri
	Southland	Thibodaux, Louisiana
	Sun Belt	Mobile, Alabama
	West Coast	Concord, California
30	America East	Durham, New Hampshire
	Atlantic 10	Cedarville, Ohio
	Atlantic Sun	Orlando, Florida
	Colonial	Boston, Massachusetts
	Conference USA	Charlotte, North Carolina
	Heps	Princeton, New Jersey
	Horizon League	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
	Metro-Atlantic	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
	Mid-American	Ypsilanti, Michigan
	Ohio Valley	Nashville, Tennessee
	Southern	Lexington, Virginia
	Summit League	Tulsa, Oklahoma
	WAC	Riverside, California
31	Patriot League	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
November
20	IC4A/ECAC	Bronx, New York

Collegiate Nationals
November
06	NCAA Div. II Regionals	8 sites
12	NCAA Div. I Regionals	9 sites
	Great Lakes	Evansville, Indiana
	Mid-Atlantic	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
	Midwest	Iowa City, Iowa
	Mountain	Provo, Utah
	Northeast	Boston, Massachusetts
	South	Huntsville, Alabama
	South Central	Waco, Texas
	Southeast	Louisville, Kentucky
	West	Sacramento, California
13	JUCO Championships;	Richmond, Virginia
	NCAA Div. III Regionals	10 sites
19	NAIA Championships	Vancouver, Washington
20	NCAA Championships	Tallahassee, Florida
	NCAA II Championships	Tampa, Florida
	NCAA III Championships	Louisville, Kentucky