College Sports - Cross Country
Schools sponsored varsity Cross Country teams in 2021:
| # of Scholarships | Average Athletic | ||||||||||
| # of | # of teams | Total Athletes | Average team size | limit per team | Scholarship | ||||||
| Division | Schools | Men's | Women's | Men | Women | Men's | Women's | Men | Women | Men | Women |
| NCAA I | 351 | 320 | 351 | 4,945 | 6,017 | 16 | 17 | 12.6 | 18 | 17,810 | 18,671 |
| NCAA II | 298 | 275 | 297 | 3,640 | 3,790 | 13 | 13 | 12.6 | 18 | 6,525 | 7,863 |
| NCAA III | 430 | 407 | 426 | 5,785 | 5,845 | 14 | 14 | - | - | - | - |
| NAIA | 222 | 213 | 221 | 2,075 | 2,097 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 7,478 | 7,440 |
| NJCAA | 185 | 174 | 182 | 1,126 | 939 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 2,205 | 2,580 |
| CCCAA | 65 | 61 | 65 | 615 | 471 | 10 | 7 | - | - | - | - |
| Other | 64 | 60 | 64 | 468 | 381 | 8 | 6 | - | - | 875 | 846 |
| Totals | 1,615 | 1,510 | 1,606 | 18,654 | 19,541 | 12 | 12 | - | - | - | - |
** NCAA scholarship limits per school apply to cross country and track & field teams combined. Cross Country and track & field are equivalency sports for scholarship purposes, so partial scholarships can be awarded to meet the NCAA limit per school. For example, an NCAA Division II school can award 36 female cross country (including track & field) athletes each an equivalent 1/2 scholarship and still meet the division limit of 18. See our page on scholarship limits for more information.
* Average Athletic Scholarship is the average amount of athletically related student aid per athlete for ALL varsity sports sponsored by the specific school. Some athletes receive full awards, some receive partial and many receive none. Additionally some sports within a school may be fully funded, some partially and some sports provide no athletic scholarships. Private schools generally have higher tuition than public schools and the average award will reflect this.
Odds of a High School Cross Country Player competing in College 2021:
| Male | Female | |
| Estimated Number of US High School Cross Country Runners 2019-20 | 272,260 | 221,760 |
| Number of College Cross Country Runners | 18,654 | 19,541 |
| % of US High School Cross Country Runners competing at any College Level | 6.60% | 8.40% |
| % of US High School Cross Country Runners Competing at NCAA I Schools | 1.70% | 2.50% |
| Odds of a US High School Cross Country Runner making any College Roster | 15:1 | 12:1 |
| Odds of a US High School Cross Country Runner making an NCAA I Roster | 60:1 | 41:1 |
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