URI’s Black Rolled To NCAA’s 1st 10K Title

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

URI’s Black Rolled To NCAA’s 1st 10K Title

June 18, 1948

The NCAA’s first 10,000-meter race was held in 1948 at the Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis.

It was by far the longest distance in meet history – previously the longest event was the 2-mile, with the exception of a 5000 meters being held once in 1936. The race was even longer than the 4-mile that the NCAA used for its cross country championships.

However, the distance wasn’t new to Robert Black of Rhode Island – two years earlier as a freshman he won the AAU national cross country title at 10K in 1946 after serving more than three years in the Army’s Air Forces in World War II.

And just a week before the NCAA 10K race Black set the American record for the similar 6 miles in 30:28.2.

In that inaugural NCAA 10K, Black proved himself the class of the field as he easily won in 32:13.5, finishing some 300 yards ahead of runner-up Vic Twomey of Illinois (33:01.6). The race was the only final held on Friday of the two-day meet and became a regular event on the NCAA schedule in 1963.

Later in the fall of 1948, Black won the first of his two NCAA cross country crowns, both over Wisconsin’s Don Gehrmann, who was the first winner of three-straight NCAA 1500/mile titles (1948-50).

Black is remembered as one of Rhode Island’s greatest distance runners. Though he graduated from Rhode Island State (now University of Rhode Island), the track & field facility at Rhode Island College is named Robert J. “Bob” Black Track for him, following a gift to RIC from Bob’s wife Sarah in his name after his death in 1998.

posted: February 12, 2021
1921-2021
The NCAA's First Championships

The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.

This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.

To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.

The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Memorable Moments
O-H-I- Oh, Reynolds Was Fast!
June 6, 1987

Butch Reynolds set a meet record in the 400 of 44.13 at the 1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships. He barely missed his own collegiate record of 44.10.

Fynes Won NCAA Titles For Two Programs

Sevatheda Fynes won three career titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. What’s even more impressive is that she did it for two programs – Eastern Michigan & Michigan State.

El Moutawakel Had Legendary Year In 1984

Nawal El Moutawakel set a meet record in the 400 hurdles of 55.84 at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also won Olympic gold that year in the event.

Florida State’s England Kicked To 1500 CR
June 15, 2008

Hannah England set a collegiate record in the 1500 of 4:06.19 at the 2008 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships & led two other women under 4:08 in one of the meet’s fastest finals.