Award History
NCAA DIII Program of the Year2024 NCAA Division III Track & Field and Cross Country Program of the Year
NEW ORLEANS – Back on top again.
UW-La Crosse’s men and Washington (Mo.)’s women were named the Al Carius Program of the Year and the Deb Vercauteren Women’s Program of the Year, respectively, for the 2023-2024 academic year. This is the fifth honor for the Eagles and the sixth for the Bears.
USTFCCCA Program of the Year Standings – Final 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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UW-La Crosse
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4
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Washington (Mo.)
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16
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UW-Whitewater
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20.5
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MIT
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19
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Pomona-Pitzer
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28.5
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UChicago
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19.5
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Lynchburg
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29.5
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UW-La Crosse
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24
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Williams
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37.5
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Wartburg
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27
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Men’s Story
It wasn’t even close.
UW-La Crosse ran away from the competition in the race to be named Al Carius Division III Men’s Program of the Year. The Eagles, who take home this honor for the first time since 2017, barely missed the Triple Crown and finished with four POY points. UW-La Crosse swept both the indoor and outdoor track & field titles after a runner-up finish in cross country.
UW-Whitewater landed on the Program of the Year podium for the first time in program history. The Warhawks totaled 20.5 POY points with a tenth-place finish in cross country, a fourth-place finish indoors and tie for sixth place outdoors.
Pomona-Pitzer parlayed a cross country title into its first Program of the Year podium finish in program history. The Sagehens tied for 14th place indoors and tied for 12th place outdoors.
Lynchburg just missed the Program of the Year podium, 1.5 POY points behind Pomona-Pitzer. The Hornets were ninth in cross country, tied for seventh indoors and tied for 12th outdoors. A bit farther back was Williams in fifth place with 37.5 POY points.
Women’s Story
It’s not how you start…
It’s how you finish, which Washington (Mo.) proved for the second year in a row. The Bears were named Deb Vercauteren Division III Women’s Program of the Year once again following an impressive track & field campaign. WashU started the year with a 13th-place finish in cross country and then took runner-up honors indoors and won the national title outdoors. This is the fifth time in program history that the Bears have nabbed this prestigious honor.
Consistency on the track and in the field propelled MIT past UChicago for second place by just 0.5 POY points. The Engineers spotted the Maroons eight POY points in cross country, but closed the gap with a fifth-place finish indoors and then jumped them with a third-place finish outdoors. UChicago’s tenth-place tie indoors gave it those extra 0.5 POY points.
UW-La Crosse and Wartburg lagged slightly behind with 24 and 27 POY points, respectively, in fourth and fifth place. Both the Eagles and the Knights stepped up outdoors: UW-La Crosse was runner-up behind WashU; Wartburg was fifth for its best outdoor finish since 2013.