COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)/Sports Commission and the University of Missouri will serve as hosts to the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, as announced by the NCAA on Wednesday. The event will mark the first time an NCAA championship of any kind has been held in Columbia.
A press conference to announce addition details will be held at 8:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 15 at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. Representatives from Mizzou Athletics and the city of Columbia will be on-hand to share information about the event and take questions from the media.
The Gans Creek Cross Country Course, which will be the site of the championships, opened last season in coordination with the City of Columbia and Mizzou Athletics. The state-of-the-art course features a permanent finish line structure, timing tower and an outdoor shelter and indoor building with restrooms. The raised viewing area, along with multiple vantage points along the course to accommodate spectators and media members makes the course spectator-friendly. The course also features a 500-meter long starting chute, 2,000-meter loop and 3,000-meter loop to accommodate multiple race distances.
The NCAA received more than 3,000 bid submissions from NCAA member schools, conferences, sports commissions and cities vying to host predetermined rounds for 86 of the NCAA’s 90 championships. The sites were selected by the respective NCAA sports committees and approved by the divisional competition oversight and championships committees.
The additional NCAA Championship sites announced Wednesday for cross country are as follows:
- 2022 – Stillwater, Okla.
- 2023 – Charlottesville, Va.
- 2024 – Madison, Wis.
In addition to the NCAA bid, the Gans Creek Cross Country Course will also serve as host to the 2021 SEC Cross Country Championships, as well as multiple MSHSAA championships.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram(MizzouTFXC).
QUOTES
Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk
“The University of Missouri and Mizzou Athletics are thrilled to partner with the City of Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Columbia Sports Commission to bring the 2025 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships to our community and the world-class Gans Creek Cross Country Course. While Mizzou has successfully hosted several NCAA Regional championship events over the years, this marks the first time Columbia has been selected to host an NCAA Championship, and I know that we will work with the city officials to make it a special event for all of the participants.
“When we came together with the City to build Gans Creek, our vision was to host the NCAA Championships as well as other events of this stature, and we are thrilled that it has happened so quickly. We enjoy a great relationship with the City, and look forward to working with it to bring more events like this to Columbia for our community.”
Mizzou Cross Country Head Coach Marc Burns
“We are thrilled to be hosting the NCAA Cross Country Championships here in Columbia at Gans Creek in 2025. We appreciate the confidence the NCAA has in us to host this great championship event. Thanks to the Columbia CVB/Sports Commission and Zach Franklin for all of their work throughout the bid process. Mike Griggs and his staff have done an amazing job helping us develop Gans Creek into one of the premier cross country courses in the world. Thanks to MU Health Care for their support to help us add the infrastructure that makes our course so unique and on the cutting edge of technology. Finally, this course would not have happened without the support of Jim Sterk, Coach Halter and our senior administration here at Mizzou Athletics. This has been truly a team effort between Mizzou and our community, and we are very proud to be hosting the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships.”
Mizzou Track & Field Head Coach Brett Halter
“We are thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to welcome the NCAA DI Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships. The development of the Gans Creek Cross Country Course has been a collaborative effort with the City of Columbia and Athletics Director, Jim Sterk. Without the shared vision of building a world-class cross country facilities for thousands of kids to enjoy annually, this would not have become a reality. I know I speak for the entire City of Columbia and University of Missouri in that we are looking forward to providing a world-class experience for those student-athletes who earn the opportunity to run at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships.”
