What are the NJCAA Track & Field Championships?
The NJCAA Track & Field Championships are the national championships of the National Junior College Athletic Association, whose members are two-year colleges. Outdoors, the NJCAA holds two separate championships, one for Division I and one for Division III, each with a men's and a women's team title as well as individual event titles.[1][4][6]
The editions table on this page covers the Division I outdoor championships. The Division III outdoor championships are a separate meet with their own champions: in 2026 DuPage (Ill.) won both team titles in Utica, N.Y.[3]
Who organizes the NJCAA Track & Field Championships?
The NJCAA sanctions and awards the championships. Its own championship and archive pages could not be retrieved, so the dates, sites and team champions on this page come from the meet history kept by the USTFCCCA, the U.S. coaches' association for track and field and cross country, and from its meet recaps.[1][2] The USTFCCCA is a separate body; it publishes NJCAA polls and names eight national honours for NJCAA Division I outdoor track and field, from national track and field athletes of the year to men's and women's coaches of the year.[6][7]
When and where are they held?
The Division I outdoor championships are held once a year over three days in mid-May. In recent seasons the meet has rotated among a small group of hosts: Hutchinson, Kan. (Gowan Stadium), Hobbs, N.M. (Ross Black Track) and Levelland, Texas, with 2018 in El Dorado, Kan. and 2024 at Brown Stadium in Monroe, La.[1] The 2020 championships, scheduled for Hutchinson on 14–16 May, were cancelled.[1] The 2026 meet in Hobbs finished on 16 May 2026.[1][2] The USTFCCCA lists the next two: Hutchinson on 13–15 May 2027 and Hobbs on 18–20 May 2028.[1]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | — | Hutchinson, Kan., Gowan Stadium — 13–15 May 2027 — upcoming |
| 2026 | M: New Mexico JC · W: New Mexico JC | Hobbs, N.M., Ross Black Track — 14–16 May 2026 |
| 2025 | M: South Plains (Texas) · W: Iowa Western CC | Hutchinson, Kan., Gowan Stadium — 15–17 May 2025 |
| 2024 | M: South Plains (Texas) · W: New Mexico JC | Monroe, La., Brown Stadium (ULM) — 16–18 May 2024 |
| 2023 | M: New Mexico JC · W: New Mexico JC | Hobbs, N.M., Ross Black Track — 18–20 May 2023 |
| 2022 | M: South Plains (Texas) · W: Iowa Western CC | Hutchinson, Kan., Gowan Stadium — 19–21 May 2022 |
| 2021 | M: Barton (Kan.) CC · W: South Plains (Texas) | Levelland, Texas — 11–13 May 2021 |
| 2019 | M: Cloud County (Kan.) CC · W: New Mexico JC | Hobbs, N.M., Ross Black Track — 16–18 May 2019 |
| 2018 | M: Barton (Kan.) CC · W: New Mexico JC | El Dorado, Kan. — 17–19 May 2018 |
| 2017 | M: South Plains (Texas) · W: New Mexico JC | Hutchinson, Kan., Gowan Stadium — 18–20 May 2017 |
| 2016 | M: South Plains (Texas) · W: Iowa Central CC | Levelland, Texas — 17–19 May 2016 |
M: men's team champion · W: women's team champion, NJCAA Division I outdoor, as the USTFCCCA meet history names the colleges. The 2020 championships were cancelled.[1]
Since when do they exist?
The USTFCCCA's meet history begins its list of NJCAA Division I outdoor championships with 1939 in Sacramento, Calif., followed by 1940 in Modesto, Calif. and 1941 in Denver, Colo.[1] That dating rests on this single secondary source; the NJCAA's own history of the championship could not be retrieved. The USTFCCCA records the Division I and Division III championships as separate series, each with its own list of editions.[1][4]
How do athletes qualify?
Entry is by performance against published standards. The NJCAA issues Division I outdoor qualification standards for men and women each season; the 2026 lists could not be retrieved from the NJCAA directly. The 2026 NJCAA DI outdoor qualifying list kept on TFRRS, the results database, prints the NJCAA Division I standard at the head of each event, for example 10.48 in the men's 100 metres and 11.92 in the women's, followed by the season's ranked marks with meet, date and wind.[5] The NJCAA's current rules on region qualifiers and declarations could not be retrieved.
Why do they matter?
The measurable proxies are the team scores and the honours built around the meet. Team titles are decided on points: in 2026 New Mexico JC won the men's title with 97 points to South Plains (Texas)'s 93, and the women's with 107.5 points to Iowa Western CC's 107.[2] The USTFCCCA recap reported that the T-Birds "captured both team titles for the first sweep since 2023, when the meet was last held on their home facility of Ross Black Track."[2] The USTFCCCA also presents national athlete and coach of the year awards for NJCAA Division I outdoor track and field.[7]
Who competes?
The field is made up of athletes from two-year colleges in the NJCAA's Division I, entered by event against the published standards.[5] Across the last ten Division I championships the team titles went to a small group of colleges: South Plains (Texas), New Mexico JC, Barton (Kan.) CC and Cloud County (Kan.) CC among the men, and New Mexico JC, Iowa Western CC, South Plains (Texas) and Iowa Central CC among the women.[1] The 2026 women's title was decided by half a point.[2]
References
- USTFCCCA InfoZone — Meet History: NJCAA Division I Outdoor Championships. Accessed 2026-09-27.
- USTFCCCA — Meet Recap: 2026 NJCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. Accessed 2026-09-27.
- USTFCCCA — Meet Recap: 2026 NJCAA DIII Outdoor T&F Championships. Accessed 2026-09-27.
- USTFCCCA InfoZone — Meet History: NJCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. Accessed 2026-09-27.
- TFRRS — 2026 NJCAA DI Outdoor Qualifying List. Accessed 2026-09-27.
- USTFCCCA — NJCAA hub. Accessed 2026-09-27.
- USTFCCCA — 2025 NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Awards. Accessed 2026-09-27.