Top Colleges for Track & Field and Cross Country Scholarships
The 50 U.S. colleges with the largest track & field and cross country programs by athlete participation — each shown with its school-level athletic-aid context.
Among schools that sponsor track & field and cross country, Stanford University in California tops our list — a NCAA Division I-FBS program with one of the largest athletic-aid budgets and 179 track & field and cross country athletes. We rank scholarship-awarding schools (NCAA Division I/II & NAIA — Division III awards no athletic aid) by division tier, then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by track & field and cross country roster size — because EADA reports athletic aid only school-wide (men’s/women’s totals), never per sport.
⚠️ About these aid figures
The athletic-aid columns below are school-level totals (all sports combined, split men’s/women’s) straight from EADA. They are not the amount awarded to track & field and cross country athletes specifically — EADA does not publish per-sport aid. Use them only as a signal of how much a school invests in athletics overall.
| # | School | Division | Track & Field and Cross Country athletes | Men’s aid school-wide, all sports | Women’s aid school-wide, all sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 179 | $19,645,560 | $20,055,491 |
| 2 | Ann Arbor, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 296 | $17,359,163 | $13,811,731 |
| 3 | Notre Dame, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 237 | $18,224,011 | $12,830,979 |
| 4 | Durham, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 261 | $15,690,493 | $14,408,801 |
| 5 | Columbus, OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 233 | $15,234,454 | $13,816,950 |
| 6 | Los Angeles, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 170 | $15,118,920 | $13,525,051 |
| 7 | Evanston, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25 | $14,880,630 | $13,049,548 |
| 8 | Chestnut Hill, MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 203 | $14,106,996 | $12,962,005 |
| 9 | Dallas, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 59 | $14,048,800 | $12,058,976 |
| 10 | Charlottesville, VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 251 | $14,175,770 | $11,154,557 |
| 11 | New Brunswick, NJ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 277 | $13,653,780 | $11,643,557 |
| 12 | Fort Worth, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 221 | $14,468,095 | $10,661,381 |
| 13 | University Park, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 271 | $14,065,058 | $10,299,943 |
| 14 | Knoxville, TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 302 | $12,260,488 | $11,447,980 |
| 15 | Syracuse, NY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 185 | $12,255,855 | $11,189,256 |
| 16 | Berkeley, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 259 | $12,306,273 | $10,832,606 |
| 17 | Nashville, TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 125 | $12,975,789 | $8,521,844 |
| 18 | Winston-Salem, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 186 | $13,950,491 | $7,501,401 |
| 19 | Blacksburg, VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 206 | $12,472,888 | $8,380,411 |
| 20 | Coral Gables, FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 175 | $11,056,171 | $9,527,348 |
| 21 | Waco, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 208 | $11,199,854 | $8,961,215 |
| 22 | Pittsburgh, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 195 | $11,887,217 | $8,225,423 |
| 23 | Houston, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 185 | $12,535,937 | $7,429,458 |
| 24 | Norman, OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 223 | $10,356,127 | $9,262,904 |
| 25 | Tempe, AZ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 165 | $10,976,181 | $8,596,399 |
| 26 | East Lansing, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 336 | $11,243,351 | $8,241,631 |
| 27 | Bloomington, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 233 | $10,607,303 | $8,778,138 |
| 28 | New Orleans, LA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 174 | $11,564,470 | $7,807,326 |
| 29 | Los Angeles, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 192 | $9,893,320 | $9,235,885 |
| 30 | Minneapolis, MN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 185 | $9,757,332 | $9,264,581 |
| 31 | Auburn, AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 193 | $10,416,469 | $8,415,182 |
| 32 | Madison, WI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 215 | $10,704,429 | $7,924,356 |
| 33 | Seattle, WA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 161 | $10,619,493 | $7,984,481 |
| 34 | College Park, MD | NCAA Division I-FBS | 125 | $10,293,805 | $8,222,557 |
| 35 | Tulsa, OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 184 | $10,173,077 | $7,886,717 |
| 36 | Tuscaloosa, AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 271 | $9,257,661 | $7,931,284 |
| 37 | Iowa City, IA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 247 | $7,802,248 | $9,371,272 |
| 38 | Lexington, KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 194 | $9,552,135 | $7,404,713 |
| 39 | Chapel Hill, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 228 | $9,121,336 | $8,028,006 |
| 40 | Salt Lake City, UT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 93 | $9,858,505 | $6,785,141 |
| 41 | Gainesville, FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 254 | $8,560,624 | $7,735,235 |
| 42 | Austin, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 219 | $8,766,679 | $7,450,570 |
| 43 | Louisville, KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 229 | $8,893,178 | $7,003,358 |
| 44 | Philadelphia, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 78 | $8,339,753 | $7,200,812 |
| 45 | Eugene, OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 245 | $8,451,656 | $6,692,741 |
| 46 | Champaign, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 178 | $8,613,622 | $6,396,796 |
| 47 | Lawrence, KS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 286 | $7,519,848 | $7,211,641 |
| 48 | Clemson, SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 207 | $7,600,229 | $7,089,086 |
| 49 | Boise, ID | NCAA Division I-FBS | 181 | $7,557,561 | $7,039,372 |
| 50 | Storrs, CT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 203 | $7,415,129 | $6,962,175 |
How we ranked this
Schools are ranked by NCAA/NAIA division tier (Division I-FBS and I-FCS first), then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by track & field and cross country roster size (men + women), all reported to the U.S. Department of Education under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Division III schools are excluded because they do not award athletic scholarships. The athletic-aid columns are the school’s men’s and women’s aid totals across all sports, shown for context; they are not allocated to track & field and cross country — EADA reports aid only school-wide, never per sport. Only schools that can be matched to a named institution and report at least one track & field and cross country participant are listed (minimum 5schools to publish a page). Empty cells (“—”) mean the school reported no value; we never estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Does EADA data show track & field and cross country scholarship amounts per sport?+
No. The federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) reports athletic student aid only as a school-level total, split into men’s and women’s totals — it does not break aid down by individual sport. This page therefore ranks schools by their participation in track & field and cross country and shows the school’s overall athletic-aid totals as context only. We never present a per-sport aid figure.
Which colleges rank highest for track & field and cross country scholarships?+
Stanford University (California), a NCAA Division I-FBS program, leads our ranking of scholarship-awarding track & field and cross country schools. We rank by division tier and the school's overall athletic-aid scale (athletic aid is reported school-wide, not per sport), then by track & field and cross country roster size.
Do all track & field and cross country programs offer athletic scholarships?+
No. NCAA Division III and some other associations do not award athletic scholarships at all, while Division I, Division II and NAIA schools may. A school showing $0 in athletic aid in our table typically does not offer athletic scholarships. Always confirm with the program directly.
How are these track & field and cross country colleges ranked?+
By the number of student-athletes participating in the sport (men plus women) as reported to EADA — the only per-sport signal the dataset provides. A larger program generally means more roster spots and recruiting activity, but it does not guarantee a larger scholarship.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) · IPEDS · College Scorecard. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.