USTFCCCA NCAA DII Program of the Year Standings – 2023 Mid-Year Update

NEW ORLEANS –Two down. One to go.

With two of the three NCAA Championships in the books – cross country and indoor track & field – it’s time to look at the standings for the Damon Martin Men’s Program of the Year Award and the Jerry Baltes Women’s Program of the Year Award in NCAA Division II.

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

Grand Valley State has a sizeable lead in the race to be named the Damon Martin Men’s Program of the Year. The Lakers, who finished on the podium twice during the academic year, currently top the chart with seven POY points. GVSU was fourth in cross country and just finished third indoors.

Wingate sits second with 13.5 POY points following a second-place finish in cross country and tying for tenth place indoors. The Bulldogs were a surprise runner-up to Colorado School of Mines back in December thanks to a quartet of All-America athletes.

Missouri Southern is the only other men’s program with two top-10 finishes and finds itself third in the standings. The Lions were ninth in cross country and fourth indoors.

Colorado School of Mines, which topped the podium in cross country, owns the fourth spot in the standings with 15 POY points, followed by West Texas A&M in fifth with 20 POY points.

Women’s Story

Adams State is two-thirds of the way to a Triple Crown – meaning that the Grizzlies won national titles in both cross country and indoor track & field. If Adams State takes home the outdoor title in May, it would be the first women’s program since Grand Valley State in 2013 to complete the trifecta. The Grizzlies had a much closer go of it two weeks ago at the NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships when they won by just one point over Minnesota State (Adams State romped to the grass-circuit crown by 51 points).

Grand Valley State and Colorado School of Mines, both of which posted two top-10 finishes this academic year, sit second and third, respectively. The Lakers, with their runner-up effort in cross country and a sixth-place finish indoors, have eight POY points. The Orediggers, third in cross country and tied for eighth indoors, amassed 11.5 POY points.

West Texas A&M and Winona State are locked in a fourth-place tie with 16 POY points.