Award History
NCAA DI mXC All-Academic TeamsNational Champion Oklahoma State Named 2012 DI Men’s Cross Country Scholar Team of the Year
NEW ORLEANS – The Cowboys of Oklahoma State University are the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men’s Scholar Team of the Year for the 2012 cross country season as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Oklahoma State won the NCAA Cross Country Championship title this fall – its third in four years.
Scholar Teams of the year are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest as a team at the most recent NCAA Championships.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I
Cross Country Men’s Scholar Team of the Year – Oklahoma State University
The Cowboys, coached by Bill Dellinger National DI Men’s Coach of the Year Dave Smith, have earned a 3.203 cumulative grade point average through the 2012 fall semester.
After sharing the Midwest Regional crown with in-state Rival Oklahoma, the Cowboys stormed back for one of the more dominant NCAA Championship performances in recent memory, taking their third NCAA title in four years with a trim 72 points – the fewest since Wisconsin’s 37 in 2005 – in a 63-point victory over runner-up and defending champion Wisconsin.
Senior Girma Mecheso led the Cowboys with a fifth-place individual finish as one of Oklahoma State’s national-best four All-Americans. Junior Tom Farrell (ninth), junior Shadrack Kipchirchir (18th) and junior Joseph Manilafasha (24th) also earned All-America honors from the USTFCCCA.
Past Winners
2012: Oklahoma State
2011: Wisconsin
2010: Florida State
2009: Oklahoma State
2008: Iona
2007: Iona
2006: Iona
145 Teams Earn All-Academic Status
In addition to the Scholar Team of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced those Men’s teams who earned 2012 Division I All-Academic Cross Country status.
A total of 145 institutions represent 30 conferences that compose the group. The Big East Conference had the most squads make the list with nine. The Big Ten followed with eight.
Memphis reported the highest cumulative team GPA in the country through the fall 2012 semester at 3.65. Chattanooga followed at 3.64.
Seven of the top ten finishing teams at the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Championships earned All-Academic status. Of the 31 teams that participated in the national meet, 23 of those earned All-Academic status.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team, the team must have had a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or better and have started at least five runners at their respective NCAA regional championship.
USTFCCCA 2012 Division I Cross Country Men’s All-Academic Teams
| Institution | Conference | GPA |
| American University | Patriot | 3.24 |
| Appalachian State University | Southern | 3.172 |
| Arizona State University | Pac-12 | 3.48 |
| Auburn University | SEC | 3.55 |
| Baylor University | Big 12 | 3.45 |
| Binghamton University | America East | 3 |
| Boston College | ACC | 3.252 |
| Bowling Green State University | Mid-American | 3.533 |
| Bradley University | Missouri Valley | 3.16 |
| Brigham Young University | West Coast | 3.16 |
| Bucknell University | Patriot | 3.12 |
| Central Connecticut State University | Northeast | 3.06 |
| Central Michigan University | Mid-American | 3.25 |
| Coastal Carolina University | Big South | 3.342 |
| Colgate University | Patriot | 3.41 |
| Colorado State University | Mountain West | 3.301 |
| Columbia University | Ivy | 3.05 |
| Cornell University | Ivy | 3.2 |
| Dartmouth College | Ivy | 3.44 |
| Davidson College | Southern | 3.34 |
| DePaul University | Big East | 3.196 |
| Drake University | Missouri Valley | 3.386 |
| Duke University | ACC | 3.38 |
| East Tennessee State University | Atlantic Sun | 3.32 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Ohio Valley | 3.42 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Ohio Valley | 3.24 |
| Elon University | Southern | 3.11 |
| Fairfield University | Metro Atlantic | 3.44 |
| Florida Atlantic University | Sun Belt | 3.285 |
| Florida State University | ACC | 3.207 |
| Fordham University | Atlantic 10 | 3.353 |
| Furman University | Southern | 3.21 |
| George Mason University | Colonial | 3.285 |
| George Washington University | Atlantic 10 | 3.1 |
| Georgetown University | Big East | 3.23 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | ACC | 3.15 |
| Harvard University | Ivy | 3.491 |
| Idaho State University | Big Sky | 3.1 |
| Indiana State University | Missouri Valley | 3.2 |
| Indiana University, Bloomington | Big Ten | 3.05 |
| Iona College | Metro Atlantic | 3.18 |
| IUPUI | Summit League | 3.24 |
| Kennesaw State University | Atlantic Sun | 3.11 |
| La Salle University | Atlantic 10 | 3.23 |
| Lafayette College | Patriot | 3.18 |
| Lamar University | Southland | 3.24 |
| Lehigh University | Patriot | 3.14 |
| Lipscomb University | Atlantic Sun | 3.42 |
| Loyola Marymount University | West Coast | 3.18 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Horizon | 3.386 |
| Manhattan College | Metro Atlantic | 3.14 |
| Marist College | Metro Atlantic | 3.26 |
| Marquette University | Big East | 3.265 |
| Marshall University | Conference USA | 3.3 |
| Mercer University | Atlantic Sun | 3.462 |
| Miami University (Ohio) | Mid-American | 3.37 |
| Michigan State University | Big Ten | 3.122 |
| Mississippi State University | SEC | 3.51 |
| Monmouth University | Northeast | 3.214 |
| Montana State University-Bozeman | Big Sky | 3.207 |
| Morehead State University | Ohio Valley | 3.17 |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | Great West | 3.08 |
| New Mexico State University | WAC | 3.243 |
| North Carolina State University | ACC | 3.002 |
| North Dakota State University | Summit League | 3.45 |
| Northeastern University | Colonial | 3.316 |
| Northern Arizona University | Big Sky | 3.39 |
| Oakland University | Summit League | 3.13 |
| Ohio University | Mid-American | 3.207 |
| Oklahoma State University | Big 12 | 3.203 |
| Pennsylvania State University | Big Ten | 3.28 |
| Purdue University | Big Ten | 3.06 |
| Quinnipiac University | Northeast | 3.35 |
| Rice University | Conference USA | 3.467 |
| Richmond | Atlantic 10 | 3.29 |
| Rider University | Metro Atlantic | 3.28 |
| Robert Morris University | Northeast | 3.513 |
| Rutgers University, New Brunswick | Big East | 3.328 |
| Sacred Heart University | Northeast | 3.107 |
| Saint Francis University (Pennsylvania) | Northeast | 3.32 |
| Sam Houston State University | Southland | 3.18 |
| Seattle University | WAC | 3.46 |
| South Dakota State University | Summit League | 3.306 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | Ohio Valley | 3.48 |
| Southern Illinois University at Carbondale | Missouri Valley | 3.477 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Ohio Valley | 3.41 |
| Southern Utah University | Big Sky | 3.41 |
| Stony Brook University | America East | 3.15 |
| Syracuse University | Big East | 3.218 |
| Temple University | Atlantic 10 | 3.03 |
| Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | Southland | 3.127 |
| Texas Tech University | Big 12 | 3.061 |
| The University of Pennsylvania | Ivy | 3.24 |
| U.S. Military Academy | Patriot | 3.19 |
| U.S. Naval Academy | Patriot | 3.05 |
| UNCG | Southern | 3.27 |
| University at Albany | America East | 3.14 |
| University of Akron | Mid-American | 3.342 |
| University of Arkansas, Little Rock | Sun Belt | 3.14 |
| University of California, Davis | Big West | 3.15 |
| University of California, Riverside | Big West | 3.013 |
| University of Central Arkansas | Southland | 3.235 |
| University of Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 3.34 |
| University of Detroit Mercy | Horizon | 3.388 |
| University of Evansville | Missouri Valley | 3.181 |
| University of Georgia | SEC | 3.16 |
| University of Hartford | America East | 3.33 |
| University of Idaho | WAC | 3.19 |
| University of Illinois, Champaign | Big Ten | 3.298 |
| University of Kansas | Big 12 | 3.19 |
| University of Kentucky | SEC | 3.324 |
| University of Louisville | Big East | 3.302 |
| University of Memphis | Conference USA | 3.65 |
| University of Michigan | Big Ten | 3.013 |
| University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | Big Ten | 3.079 |
| University of Mississippi | SEC | 3.28 |
| University of Missouri, Columbia | SEC | 3.033 |
| University of North Carolina, Charlotte | Atlantic 10 | 3.067 |
| University of North Dakota | Big Sky | 3.225 |
| University of North Texas | Sun Belt | 3.31 |
| University of Notre Dame | Big East | 3.298 |
| University of Oklahoma | Big 12 | 3.15 |
| University of Portland | West Coast | 3.282 |
| University of San Francisco | West Coast | 3.19 |
| University of South Alabama | Sun Belt | 3.091 |
| University of South Carolina Upstate | Atlantic Sun | 3.076 |
| University of South Dakota | Summit League | 3.54 |
| University of South Florida | Big East | 3.14 |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanooga | Southern | 3.64 |
| University of Texas at Arlington | WAC | 3.4 |
| University of Tulsa | Conference USA | 3.53 |
| University of Vermont | America East | 3.14 |
| University of Virginia | ACC | 3.115 |
| University of Wisconsin, Madison | Big Ten | 3.07 |
| University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee | Horizon | 3.021 |
| University of Wyoming | Mountain West | 3.385 |
| Utah Valley University | Great West | 3.25 |
| Vanderbilt University | SEC | 3.377 |
| Villanova University | Big East | 3.287 |
| Virginia Tech | ACC | 3.02 |
| Washington State University | Pac-12 | 3.35 |
| Weber State University | Big Sky | 3.39 |
| Western Carolina University | Southern | 3.275 |
| Western Kentucky University | Sun Belt | 3.457 |
| Wright State University | Horizon | 3.36 |
| Yale University | Ivy | 3.56 |