INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. –  The NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet announced Tuesday that Indiana State and Terre Haute have been chosen to serve as host of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, November 23, 2009, at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. 

The 2009 championships will mark the seventh time in which the university has held the event.  ISU hosted its first championship in 2002, before the meet was hosted by fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Northern Iowa in 2003.  The championship returned to Terre Haute in 2004 and has been held there each year since, including the 2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship set for November 24 at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.

ISU head men’s track and cross country coach John McNichols was pleased to hear that the event would be staying put at Indiana State. 

“We’re extremely honored to once again be chosen by the NCAA to serve as host of the championships,” said McNichols.  “Having this meet once again is the result of a lot of hard work from our championship committee, the university and its administration, and from the entire community of Terre Haute.”

In 2007, the event was hosted by ISU for the fourth-straight year and saw Oregon run away with the 10 k men’s team title and Stanford take home the women’s team title for the third-consecutive year and for the fourth time in the last five years. The event, which was televised nationally on CSTV for the first time in history, lived up to its billing as both the men’s and women’s team races were extremely competitive and gave the thousands of fans in attendance an exciting show.

McNichols knows how much work has been put into hosting the event in the past and hopes that it will only continue to get better.

“As a committee, we have not settled on our previous successes with the meet,” said McNichols.  “We are constantly looking for ways to improve the meet, the course and the community as well.  Terre Haute has come to really embrace this event and the results can be seen throughout town.  Our current and future successes are due to a strong community effort and we look forward to putting on another first-class championship event in 2009.”

In addition to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, ISU has also hosted several Pre-Nationals meets, the 2003 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the 2000 and 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Championships and the 2006 Indiana Intercollegiates.

For more information on the 2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, visit the official website of the NCAA at NCAA.com or visit Indiana State’s official athletics website at GoSycamores.com.