USTFCCCA NAIA Program of the Year Standings – 2023 Mid-Year Update

NEW ORLEANS – Two down. One to go.

With two of the three NAIA Championships in the books – cross country and indoor track & field – it’s time to look at the standings for the Jack Hazen (Men’s) Program of the Year Award and the Fred Beile (Women’s) Program of the Year Award.

The namesakes of these awards had legendary success at the NAIA level: the Hazen-led men at Malone University won four team titles at the NAIA Cross Country Championships, including three in a row from 2007 to 2009, as well as recording 35 top-10 NAIA national finishes; Beile guided Doane (Neb.)’s women to a pair of team titles at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, more than 250 All-America honors and numerous conference championships.

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 NAIA Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NAIA Championships. Scoring is based on the team’s finish at each NAIA 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

Dordt (Iowa) leads Indiana Wesleyan, 4-8 in terms of POY points. The Defenders won the cross country title in November and finished third in the indoor track & field championships earlier this month, while the Wildcats finished fourth in both contests. Both programs are seeking a first-ever Jack Hazen Men’s Program of the Year award – Indiana Wesleyan was second last year and Dordt was fourth.

Close behind is Milligan (Tenn.) – the cross-country runners-up – with 10.5 POY points ahead of The Master’s (Calif.) (13) and Grace (Ind.) (23). Saint Mary (Kan.), the 2021-22 winner, is currently seventh with 29 POY points.

Women’s Story

Milligan (Tenn.) is in the lead for the Fred Beile Program of the Year with 7 POY points, followed by Huntington (Ind.), which has 15 POY points. Both programs were runners-up this year, the Buffs at the cross country championships in November and the Foresters at the indoor track & field championships earlier this month.

A tight threesome follows: Indiana Tech (19), College of Idaho (19.5) and William Carey (Miss.) (20). Indiana Tech finished second in last year’s standings.