The Road to the Championship
National Participation
There are 339 NCAA member institutions that sponsor Division I Women’s Track and Field teams and 287 NCAA member institutions that sponsor Division I Men’s Track & Field teams and are eligible to compete in the National Championship. All of the Division I programs support over 24,000 Track and Field student-athletes across the country.
Selection Process
For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), are not contested at the First Round sites. For combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), the top 24 declared student-athletes in each event based on their position on the national descending-order list will be accepted directly into the Championships.
The individual event student-athletes and relay teams accepted into First Round competition will be announced and posted on NCAA.com the week prior to First Round competition.
First Round Competition - May 26-27, 2027
Qualifying to the Championships site is accomplished through performance in the First Rounds. Twelve competitors from each individual event and twelve teams from each relay event advance from each First Round site. The individual event student-athletes and relay teams accepted into Championships competition based on their performance at the First Rounds will be announced and posted on NCAA.com the week prior to Championships competition. East First Round competition will be held in Jacksonville, Florida at Hodges Stadium. West First Round competition will be held in College Station, Texas at John McDonnell Field.
National Championship - June 9-12, 2027
The 2027 NCAA Division I Men's & Women's Track and Field Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.