Oregon Men Lead the John McDonnell Program of the Year Standings

NEW ORLEANS – The Oregon men have a lot to be happy about this year and plenty of hardware to show for it. The Ducks have won the cross country Pac-10 title, the cross country NCAA title, the indoor NCAA title, and the outdoor Pac-10 title. Winning both the cross country and indoor track and field National Championships has put the Ducks in a great position heading into the final event to determine the winner of the inaugural NCAA Division I John McDonnell Program of the Year Award given by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The NCAA Division I John McDonnell Program of the Year Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men’s cross country/track & field program.  The award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution’s finish at the NCAA Division I Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for the NCAA Championships.  Scoring is based on the team’s finish at each NCAA Division I Championship in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1^st = 1 point, 2^nd = 2 points, 31^st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award recipient.

Oregon has earned two points towards the award standings (one point apiece for each championship title) giving the Ducks a sizeable margin over Stanford in the standings. The Cardinal earned 14 points by virtue of a third place and 11^th place finish in the cross country and indoor track & field National Championships. That means Oregon will need a finish of 12^th place or better at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in order to clinch the John McDonnell Program of the Year Award.

Florida State and Minnesota are tied for third place with 29.5 points each followed by California and Wisconsin who are tied for fifth place in the standings with 34 points each. Arkansas, Texas A&M, Providence, and Auburn round out the top ten in the NCAA Division I John McDonnell Program of the Year standings.

The John McDonnell Program of the Year Award is named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer and former Arkansas head coach John McDonnell.  McDonnell’s Arkansas teams won a combined 40 National Championships and finished in the top ten in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field in 24 of his 36 seasons in Fayetteville. Five of his teams won the NCAA Triple Crown.

The John McDonnell Program of the Year Award Standings:

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