And they’re off! The NCAA returns to Stillwater, which hosted the ’20 Nationals in March of ’21. (KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT)
TRYING TO READ THE TEA LEAVES is about all that is available when one attempts to analyze the NCAA Cross Country scene for this mid-September posting.
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 as Oklahoma State prepares to host the big meet on November 19.
One big factor for success in Stillwater is the course itself, which more than a few coaches described in March ’21 as one of the toughest championship courses they had ever seen. It will favor strength runners, so fast times on the flat will not necessarily carry over well.
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 |
| 2022 Collegiate Cross Country Schedule |
| Major Invitationals | ||
| September | ||
| 01 | Cowboy Preview | Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| 09 | Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational | University Park, Pennsylvania |
| 17 | McNichols Invitational | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| 23 | Battle In Beantown | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Griak Invitational | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| 24 | Cowboy Jamboree | Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| 30 | Chile Pepper Invitational | Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Piane Invitational | Notre Dame, Indiana | |
| Short Invitational | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | |
| October | ||
| 01 | Louisville Classic | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 14 | Nuttycombe Invitational | Madison, Wisconsin |
| 15 | Pre-Nationals | Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Virginia Invite | Charlottesville, Virginia | |
| Div. I Conferences | ||
| October | ||
| 14 | IC4A/ECAC | New York, New York |
| 24 | SWAC | Tallahassee, Florida |
| 28 | ACC | Charlottesville, Virginia |
| American Athletic | Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
| Big 10 | Ann Arbor | |
| Big 12 | Lubbock, Texas | |
| Big East | Attleboro, Massachusetts | |
| Big Sky | Cheney, Washington | |
| Colonial | Newark, Delaware | |
| Heps | New York, New York | |
| Missouri Valley | Terre Haute, Indiana | |
| Mountain West | Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Pac-12 | Riverside, California | |
| SEC | Oxford, Mississippi | |
| Southland | Thibodaux, Louisiana | |
| West Coast | Portland, Oregon | |
| 29 | America East | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Atlantic 10 | Mechanicsville, Virginia | |
| Atlantic Sun | Huntsville, Alabama | |
| Big South | Farmville, Virginia | |
| Big West | Riverside, California | |
| Conference USA | Denton, Texas | |
| Horizon League | Rochester, Michigan | |
| Metro-Atlantic | Loudenville, New York | |
| Mid-American | Athens, Ohio | |
| Ohio Valley | Cookeville, Tennessee | |
| Summit League | Grand Forks, North Dakota | |
| Sun Belt | Foley, Alabama | |
| WAC | Nacogdoches, Texas | |
| Patriot League | Lewisburg, Pennsylvania | |
| 30 | Southern | Johns Island, South Carolina |
| Collegiate Nationals | ||
| November | ||
| 06 | NCAA Div. II Regionals | 8 sites |
| 11 | Great Lakes Regional | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | University Park, Pennsylvania | |
| Midwest Regional | Columbia, Missouri | |
| Mountain Regional | Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Northeast Regional | New York, New York | |
| South Regional | Huntsville, Alabama | |
| South Central Regional | College Station, Texas | |
| Southeast Regional | Louisville, Kentucky | |
| West Regional | Seattle, Washington | |
| 12 | JUCO Championships; | Tallahassee, Florida |
| NCAA Div. III Regionals | 10 sites | |
| 18 | NAIA Championships | Tallahassee, Florida |
| 19 | NCAA Championships | Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| NCAA III Championships | East Lansing, Michigan | |
| December | ||
| 03 | NCAA II Championships | University Place, Washington |