USTFCCCA NCAA DIII Program of the Year Standings – Mid-Year Update
NEW ORLEANS – Two down. One to go.
With two of the three NCAA Championships in the books – cross country and (thankfully) indoor track & field – it’s time to look at the standings for the Al Carius Program of the Year Award and the Deb Vercauteren Women’s Program of the Year Award.
USTFCCCA Program of the Year Standings – Mid-Year Update |
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Men’s Program
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POY Points
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Women’s Program
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POY Points
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Williams
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6
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Johns Hopkins
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5
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Washington (Mo.)
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8.5
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SUNY Geneseo
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10
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MIT
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9.5
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Wartburg
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10
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John Carroll
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11.5
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Washington (Mo.)
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10
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SUNY Geneseo
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13
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UW-La Crosse
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13
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The USTFCCCA Program of the Year 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 Championships.
In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team’s finish at each NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.
Men’s Story
There has been a total of 21 top-10 spots awarded at the NCAA Championships this year.
The top-6 teams in the race to be named Al Carius Program of the Year has combined for 12.
Williams tops the standings with six POY points, following a pair of third-place efforts. Back in November, the Ephs reached the cross-country podium for the ninth time in program history, while they made just their second indoors two weeks ago (first in the past 26 years). Williams has never won this honor, let alone finish among the top-3 programs by the end of the year.
Co-indoor champion Washington (Mo.) sits second with 8.5 POY points. The Bears shared the indoor crown with UW-Eau Claire after a total team effort in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. WashU also took seventh in cross country. The Bears finished third in the Al Carius Program of the Year Award standings back in 2019, which was the last time this honor was bestowed.
MIT holds down third place in the standings with 9.5 POY points. The Engineers were a clear runner-up in cross country and shared sixth place indoors with three other teams.
John Carroll is fourth in this Mid-Year Update with 11.5 POY points, followed by SUNY Geneseo in fifth with 13. UW-Whitewater isn’t too far back with 15.5 points of its own.
Women’s Story
For as many titles as Johns Hopkins has won, it has never been named the Deb Vercauteren Women’s Program of the Year. Well, that could certainly change this year for the Blue Jays.
Johns Hopkins holds the outright lead in the Mid-Year Update, as it has five POY points thanks to a cross country title and a fourth-place finish indoors. It was a banner accomplishment for the Blue Jays in Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Johns Hopkins made its first podium indoors.
SUNY Geneseo, Wartburg and Washington (Mo.) are all tied for second with 10 POY points. For the New York-based Knights, they’ve used a third-place finish in cross country and a seventh-place effort indoors. The Iowa-based Knights were fourth in cross country and sixth indoors. The Bears were fifth, both in cross country and indoors.
Indoor runner-up UW-La Crosse rounds out the top-5 teams with 13 POY points. In addition to their 13th podium finish in program history indoors, the Eagles earned 11th place on the grass circuit.