Cross Country Scholarships by the Numbers
There are more opportunities to run cross country at the college level than almost any other college sport. With so many programs, finding an opportunity to run in college and earn a scholarship comes down to looking at schools you did not initially consider. Use our graphic as a guide for finding programs different programs.
Cross country scholarships are combined with track and field, so coaches can get the best all around teams. There are more athletes on a cross country team than scholarships available; getting an athletic scholarship as a runner can be difficult. If you are not going to be in the top 5 runners on the team, or scoring points at the conference level in track, most times you will not get a scholarship.
Being a college distance runner is a year round sport. You will be running cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring. With the jump up in training, you will undoubtedly become a better runner. Keep that in mind when you are considering schools and scholarship money. It is always beneficial to set up markers with your coaches so you know what it will take to earn a scholarship.
Some schools will only have cross country programs and no track and field. These can be great programs for athletes who enjoy competing and running, but might want to focus more on academics and not just running. Typically, these programs are lower key as you are not running year round like you would with a track team. Additionally, you can get a reasonable size scholarship without having to be one of the best runners in your conference.
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