The NCAA Division III men's cross country championships are contested at an annual meet hosted by the NCAA to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate cross country running among its Division III members in the United States. It has been held every fall, usually in November, since the NCAA split into its current three-division format in 1973.

North Central (IL) have been the most successful program, with 19 national titles.

The current champions are Wisconsin-La Crosse, who won their fifth national title in 2025.

Format The field for the national championship race varied in the early years, reaching a high of 52 teams in 1977. From 1982 to 1998 the field was fixed at 21 teams. From 1999 to 2005 the field included 24 teams. Beginning in 2006, the national championship race has included 32 teams. Teams compete in one of ten regional championships to qualify. In addition to the 32 teams, 70 individual runners qualify for the national championship.

The race distance from 1973 to 1975 was 5 miles (8,046 meters). Since 1976 the race distance has been 8,000 meters (4.97 miles).

Results NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country ChampionshipYear Site(Host Team)Championship ResultsIndividual ChampionshipChampionPointsRunner-upPointsWinner(Team)Time1973Wheaton, IL(Wheaton)Ashland66Albany (NY)172Steve Foster(Ashland)24:271974 Mount Union 105 Occidental 148David Moller(Rochester–NY)24:39.1975Waltham, MA(Brandeis) North Central (IL) 91 Occidental 111 Vin Fleming(Lowell) 24:27The race distance changes from 5 miles to 8,000 meters1976Cleveland, OH(Case) North Central (IL) (2) 109 Humboldt State 132 Dale Kramer(Carleton)24:56†1977 Occidental 149 Humboldt State 15225:441978Rock Island, IL(Augustana–IL) North Central (IL) (3) 60 Luther 151 Dan Henderson(Wheaton–IL) 23:54†1979 North Central (IL) (4) 85 Humboldt State 93 Steve Hunt(UMass Boston) 24:12.11980Rochester, NY(Rochester) Carleton 121 Augustana (IL) 125 Jeff Milliman(North Central–IL) 25:20.21981Kenosha, WI(Carthage) North Central (IL) (5) 89 Brandeis 107 Mark Whalley(Principia) 25:251982Fredonia, NY(Fredonia) North Central (IL) (6) 51 Brandeis 89 Nicholas Manciu(St. Thomas–MN) 26:061983Newport News, VA(Christopher Newport) Brandeis 52 North Central (IL) 89 Tony Bluell(North Central–IL) 23:46†1984Delaware, OH(Ohio Wesleyan) St. Thomas (MN) 52 North Central (IL) 89 Mark Beeman(Brandeis) 24:44.711985Atlanta, GA(Emory) Luther 98 North Central (IL) 150 James White(UMass Dartmouth) 25:351986Fredonia, NY(Fredonia) St. Thomas (MN) (2) 51 UW–La Crosse 72 Arnie Schraeder(UW–Stevens Point) 26:471987Holland, MI(Hope) North Central (IL) (7) 67 UW–La Crosse 78 Jukka Tammisuo(St. Lawrence) 24:19.31988St. Louis, MO(Washington) UW–Oshkosh 66 North Central (IL) 75David Terronez(Augustana–IL) 24:43.21989Rock Island, IL(Augustana–IL) UW–Oshkosh (2) 55 North Central (IL) 118 23:581990Grinnell, IA(Grinnell) UW–Oshkosh (3) 87 North Central (IL) 100 Seamus McElligott(Haverford) 24:46.611991Newport News, VA(Christopher Newport) Rochester (NY) 139 North Central (IL) 147 Sandu Rebenciuc(Augustana–IL) 24:261992Schenectady, NY(Union) North Central (IL) (8) 107 Rochester (NY) 114 Gary Wasserman(Nebraska Wesleyan) 24:50.41993Grinnell, IA(Grinnell) North Central (IL) (9) 32 UW–La Crosse 123 Dan Mayer(North Central–IL) 24:29.81994Bethlehem, PA(Moravian) Williams 98 North Central (IL) 110 Jeremie Perry(Williams) 24:41.81995La Crosse, WI(UW–La Crosse) Williams (2) 83 North Central (IL) 91 John Weigel(North Central–IL) 23:57.51996Rock Island, IL(Augustana–IL) UW–La Crosse 86 North Central (IL) 94 Matt Brill(North Central–IL) 23:571997Cambridge, MA(MIT) North Central (IL) (10) 94 Mount Union 96 Brett Altergott(UW–La Crosse) 25:061998Carlisle, PA(Dickinson) North Central (IL) (11) 106 Calvin 122 Erik Dieckman(North Central–IL) 24:58.271999Oshkosh, WI(UW–Oshkosh) North Central (IL) (12) 84 Keene State 100 Dave Davis(Puget Sound)23:42.3†2000Spokane, WA(Whitworth) Calvin 65 Keene State 87 Tim McCoskey(North Central–IL) 24:47.82001Rock Island, IL(Augustana–IL) UW–La Crosse (2) 80 Calvin 140 J.B. Haglund(Haverford) 24:162002Northfield, MN(St. Olaf) UW–Oshkosh (4) 66 Calvin 122 Ryan Bak(Trinity–CT) 25:01.12003Hanover, IN(Hanover) Calvin (2) 48 UW–Stevens Point 128 Josh Moen(Wartburg) 24:34.42004Eau Claire, WI(UW–Eau Claire) Calvin (3) 107 North Central (IL) 137 24:28.72005Delaware, OH(Ohio Wesleyan) UW–La Crosse (3) 94 Calvin 117 Neal Holtschulte(Williams) 25:13.82006Wilmington, OH(Wilmington) Calvin (4) 37 NYU 92 Macharia Yuot(Widener) 26:312007Northfield, MN(St. Olaf) NYU 128 Haverford 150 Tyler Sigl(UW–Platteville) 24:242008Hanover, IN(Hanover) SUNY Cortland 80 North Central (IL) 115 Peter Kosgei(Hamilton) 24:22.032009Berea, OH(Baldwin Wallace) North Central (IL) (13) 50 Williams 181 Ricky Flynn(Lynchburg) 25:09.82010Waverly, IA(Wartburg) Haverford 87 North Central (IL) 104 Anders Hulleberg(Haverford) 24:22.22011Winneconne, WI(UW–Oshkosh) North Central (IL) (14) 110 Haverford 172 Ben Sathre(St. Thomas–MN) 23:44.272012 Terre Haute, IN(Rose-Hulman) North Central (IL) (15) 167 CalvinHaverford 188 Tim Nelson(UW–Stout) 24:26.82013Hanover, IN(Hanover) St. Olaf 84 North Central (IL) 86 Michael LeDuc(Connecticut College) 24:29.32014Wilmington, OH(Wilmington) North Central (IL) (16) 130 St. Olaf 143 Grant Wintheiser(St. Olaf) 23:44.9 2015 Winneconne, WI(UW-Oshkosh) UW–Eau Claire 135 Williams 144 Ian LaMere(UW–Platteville) 23:35.4 2016 Louisville, KY North Central (IL) (17) 60 SUNY Geneseo 204 Ian LeMere(UW–Platteville) 23:40.42017DetailsElsah, IL(Principia) North Central (IL) (18) 57 UW–La Crosse 196 Darin Lau(UW–Eau Claire) 24:03.59 2018Details Winneconne, WI(UW-Oshkosh) North Central (IL) (19) 43 Washington (MO) 110 Dhruvil Patel(North Central-IL) 24:24.5 2019Details Louisville, KY Pomona-Pitzer 164 North Central (IL) 182 Patrick Watson (Stevenson) 24:13.9 2020Terre Haute, IN(Rose-Hulman) Not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic 2021DetailsLouisville, KY Pomona-Pitzer (2) 80 MIT 112 Alex Phillip(John Carroll)23:27.62022Lansing, MI(Olivet)MIT82Wartburg12924:37.62023Carlisle, PA(Dickinson)Pomona-Pitzer (3)158UW–La Crosse159 Ethan Gregg(UW–La Crosse) 24:02.42024Terre Haute, IN(Rose-Hulman)UW-La Crosse (4)77Wartburg173Christian Patzka(UW–Whitewater)24:01.62025Spartanburg, SC(Converse)UW-La Crosse (5)82SUNY Geneseo132Emmanuel Leblond(Johns Hopkins)23:35.02026Northfield, MN(Carleton) † indicates a then-NCAA record-setting time for that particular distance.

A time highlighted in ██ indicates the all-time NCAA championship record for that distance.

Source:

Champions Active programs Team Titles Years 19 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 5 1996, 2001, 2005, 2024, 2025 4 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006 4 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002 3 2019, 2021, 2023 2 1994, 1995 1 2022 1 2015 1 2013 1 2010 1 2008 1 2007 1 1991 1 1985 1 1983 1 1980 1 1977 1 1974 Source:

Former programs Team Titles Years 2 1984, 1986 1 1973

See also NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships (Division I, Division II) NCAA Women's Cross Country Championships (Division I, Division II, Division III) Pre-NCAA Cross Country Champions NAIA Cross Country Championships (Men, Women)

References

External links NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association - Year by Year Results