Wisconsin’s Favor Goes Into The Record Book … Again

Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships

Wisconsin’s Favor Goes Into The Record Book … Again

June 2, 1990

Can you name the most decorated female individual champion in NCAA Division I Track & Field history, combining the indoor and outdoor seasons? What if we told you that same woman never lost an NCAA final on the track in her illustrious career (She competed in NINE of them!)?

That would be none other than Suzy Favor of Wisconsin.

But we aren’t concerned with those four indoor titles today. Nor are we focused on the three outdoor crowns she captured as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

These particular moments happened 30 years ago when Favor recorded a series of firsts, some of which have yet to be matched in the long history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

When Favor won the 1500 in a collegiate record of 4:08.26, she became the first woman to win an event in this meet four times. Her time broke the meet record of 4:09.85 that she set as a freshman in 1987 – also a CR at the time – making her the first (and still only) woman to set multiple 1500 CRs in this meet.

Just one day earlier, Favor became the first collegiate woman to crack the two-minute barrier in the 800 during the collegiate season with a collegiate record of 1:59.11. Couple that with her victory the following day in the 1500 and she remains the only woman to complete the 800-1500 double in meet history.

Favor left a lasting impact on the collegiate record book. Her collegiate record in the 800 stood for 27 years until 2017 The Bowerman winner Raevyn Rogers bettered it by one-hundredth of a second (1:59.10 versus 1:59.11), while her all-time best in the 1500 spanned 13 years until 2003 when Lena Nilsson of UCLA lowered it to 4:07.69.

posted: June 23, 2020
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
NCAA 100 On Spring Break

With the plethora of collegiate track & field and cross country slated to take place over the first-half of March, our daily posts highlighting the best from a century of NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will take a “spring break” from March 1-15.

Greene Came Up Clutch In 1989 Long Jump
June 2, 1989

One of Joe Greene’s best days of long jumping started off dismally. It would end with a victory in one of the most memorable competitions in the near 100-year history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Cal’s Williams Set World Record In 1936
June 20, 1936

Archie Williams set a world record in the 400 of 46.1 in the heats of the 1936 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships. Williams then won the NCAA title by just 0.1 seconds!