Is NCAA Track/XC Dying?
Is NCAA Track/XC Dying?
A breakdown of where our sport currently stands within the NCAA system.
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The recent announcements of program cuts to men's cross country at Akron and men's track at Central Michigan have resurfaced a feeling of uncertainty for the future of NCAA cross country and track. Here is a breakdown of where our sport currently stands within the NCAA system.
DI SPORTS WITH HIGHEST PARTICIPATION
Data as of the 2018-19 season...
| Sport | DI Teams | % Of DI Schools With Team |
| Men's Basketball | 351 | 100.0% |
| Women's Basketball | 349 | 99.4% |
| Women's Cross Country | 348 | 99.1% |
| Women's Outdoor Track | 340 | 96.9% |
| Women's Volleyball | 334 | 95.2% |
| Women's Soccer | 333 | 94.9% |
| Women's Indoor Track | 332 | 94.6% |
| Men's Cross Country | 317 | 90.3% |
| Women's Tennis | 312 | 88.9% |
| Men's Golf | 299 | 85.2% |
| Men's Baseball | 297 | 84.6% |
| Women's Softball | 295 | 84.0% |
| Men's Outdoor Track | 289 | 82.3% |
| Men's Indoor Track | 269 | 76.6% |
| Women's Golf | 267 | 76.1% |
| Men's Football | 254 | 72.4% |
| Men's Tennis | 251 | 71.5% |
| Men's Soccer | 205 | 58.4% |
| Women's Swimming & Diving | 194 | 55.3% |
| Men's Swimming & Diving | 131 | 37.3% |
| Women's Lacrosse | 116 | 33.0% |
| Women's Rowing | 88 | 25.1% |
| Women's Field Hockey | 77 | 21.9% |
| Men's Wrestling | 75 | 21.4% |
| Men's Lacrosse | 73 | 20.8% |
| Women's Gymnastics | 61 | 17.4% |
| Women's Sand Volleyball | 60 | 17.1% |
| Men's Ice Hokey | 60 | 17.1% |
| Women's Ice Hokey | 35 | 10.0% |
| Women's Bowling | 34 | 9.7% |
DI SCHOOLS WITHOUT MEN'S INDOOR TRACK (87)
| SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. |
| Dayton | A-10 | Old Dominion | C-USA | Robert Morris | NEC |
| Duquesne | A-10 | UAB | C-USA | Austin Peay | OVC |
| Richmond | A-10 | College of Charleston | CAA | Jacksonville State | OVC |
| St. Bonaventure | A-10 | Delaware | CAA | Morehead State | OVC |
| Florida Gulf Coast | A-SUN | Drexel | CAA | Murray State | OVC |
| Jacksonville | A-SUN | Elon | CAA | Tennessee Tech | OVC |
| North Alabama | A-SUN | James Madison | CAA | Oregon State | PAC-12 |
| Stetson | A-SUN | Towson | CAA | Utah | PAC-12 |
| SMU | AAC | UNC-Wilmington | CAA | Loyola (MD) | PATRIOT |
| Temple | AAC | Cleveland State | HORIZON | Vanderbilt | SEC |
| Tulane | AAC | Green Bay | HORIZON | Chattanooga | SOUTHERN |
| UCF | AAC | Wright State | HORIZON | Mercer | SOUTHERN |
| West Virginia | BIG 12 | Fairfield | MAAC | Denver | SUMMIT |
| Creighton | BIG EAST | Niagara | MAAC | Nebraska-Omaha | SUMMIT |
| Seton Hall | BIG EAST | Quinnipiac | MAAC | Coastal Carolina | SUN BELT |
| St. John's | BIG EAST | Ball State | MAC | Georgia Southern | SUN BELT |
| Longwood | BIG SOUTH | Bowling Green | MAC | Georgia State | SUN BELT |
| Presbyterian | BIG SOUTH | Central Michigan | MAC | Troy | SUN BELT |
| Radford | BIG SOUTH | Miami (OH) | MAC | Alabama A&M | SWAC |
| Maryland | BIG TEN | Northern Illinois | MAC | Grambling | SWAC |
| Northwestern | BIG TEN | Ohio | MAC | Cal Baptist | WAC |
| Cal Poly | BIG WEST | Toledo | MAC | Cal State Bakersfield | WAC |
| Cal State Fullerton | BIG WEST | Western Michigan | MAC | New Mexico State | WAC |
| Hawaii | BIG WEST | Florida A&M | MEAC | Loyola Marymount | WCC |
| UC Davis | BIG WEST | Missouri State | MVC | Pacific | WCC |
| UC Irvine | BIG WEST | Fresno State | MWC | Pepperdine | WCC |
| UC Santa Barbara | BIG WEST | Nevada | MWC | Saint Mary's | WCC |
| Florida Atlantic | C-USA | San Diego State | MWC | San Diego | WCC |
| Marshall | C-USA | UNLV | MWC | San Francisco | WCC |
DI SCHOOLS WITHOUT MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK (64)
| SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. |
| Dayton | A-10 | College of Charleston | CAA | Nevada | MWC |
| Richmond | A-10 | Delaware | CAA | San Diego State | MWC |
| Florida Gulf Coast | A-SUN | Drexel | CAA | UNLV | MWC |
| Jacksonville | A-SUN | Elon | CAA | Robert Morris | NEC |
| North Alabama | A-SUN | James Madison | CAA | Austin Peay | OVC |
| Stetson | A-SUN | Towson | CAA | Jacksonville State | OVC |
| SMU | AAC | Cleveland State | HORIZON | Murray State | OVC |
| Temple | AAC | Green Bay | HORIZON | Tennessee Tech | OVC |
| UCF | AAC | Wright State | HORIZON | Oregon State | PAC-12 |
| West Virginia | BIG 12 | Fairfield | MAAC | Utah | PAC-12 |
| Creighton | BIG EAST | Niagara | MAAC | Loyola (MD) | PATRIOT |
| Seton Hall | BIG EAST | Quinnipiac | MAAC | Vanderbilt | SEC |
| St. John's | BIG EAST | Ball State | MAC | Chattanooga | SOUTHERN |
| Longwood | BIG SOUTH | Bowling Green | MAC | Mercer | SOUTHERN |
| Presbyterian | BIG SOUTH | Central Michigan | MAC | Denver | SUMMIT |
| Radford | BIG SOUTH | Northern Illinois | MAC | Nebraska-Omaha | SUMMIT |
| Northwestern | BIG TEN | Ohio | MAC | Georgia Southern | SUN BELT |
| Hawaii | BIG WEST | Toledo | MAC | Georgia State | SUN BELT |
| Florida Atlantic | C-USA | Western Michigan | MAC | Alabama A&M | SWAC |
| Marshall | C-USA | Florida A&M | MEAC | New Mexico State | WAC |
| Old Dominion | C-USA | Missouri State | MVC | Pacific | WCC |
| UAB | C-USA |
DI SCHOOLS WITHOUT MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (35)
| SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. |
| SMU | AAC | James Madison | CAA | USC | PAC-12 |
| UCF | AAC | Towson | CAA | Utah | PAC-12 |
| West Virginia | BIG 12 | Cleveland State | HORIZON | Mississippi State | SEC |
| St. John's | BIG EAST | Akron | MAC | South Carolina | SEC |
| Maryland | BIG TEN | Ball State | MAC | Denver | SUMMIT |
| Northwestern | BIG TEN | Northern Illinois | MAC | Nebraska-Omaha | SUMMIT |
| Hawaii | BIG WEST | Western Michigan | MAC | Georgia Southern | SUN BELT |
| Old Dominion | C-USA | Missouri State | MVC | Georgia State | SUN BELT |
| Southern Miss | C-USA | San Diego State | MWC | Alabama A&M | SWAC |
| UAB | C-USA | UNLV | MWC | New Mexico State | WAC |
| Delaware | CAA | Robert Morris | NEC | Pacific | WCC |
| Drexel | CAA | Oregon State | PAC-12 |
DI SCHOOLS WITHOUT WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK (22)
| SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. |
| St. Bonaventure | A-10 | Northwestern | BIG TEN | Mercer | SOUTHERN |
| Florida Gulf Coast | A-SUN | UC Santa Barbara | BIG WEST | Denver | SUMMIT |
| North Alabama | A-SUN | Old Dominion | C-USA | Cal Baptist | WAC |
| Stetson | A-SUN | Drexel | CAA | Loyola Marymount | WCC |
| Creighton | BIG EAST | Green Bay | HORIZON | Pacific | WCC |
| Seton Hall | BIG EAST | Fairfield | MAAC | Saint Mary's | WCC |
| Longwood | BIG SOUTH | Niagara | MAAC | San Diego | WCC |
| Presbyterian | BIG SOUTH |
DI SCHOOLS WITHOUT WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK (13)
| SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. |
| Florida Gulf Coast | A-SUN | Longwood | BIG SOUTH | Drexel | CAA |
| North Alabama | A-SUN | Presbyterian | BIG SOUTH | Green Bay | HORIZON |
| Stetson | A-SUN | Northwestern | BIG TEN | Fairfield | MAAC |
| Creighton | BIG EAST | Old Dominion | C-USA | Denver | SUMMIT |
| Seton Hall | BIG EAST |
DI SCHOOLS WITHOUT WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (3)
| SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. | SCHOOL | CONF. |
| Old Dominion | C-USA | Drexel | CAA | Denver | SUMMIT |
