Women
- Key
- A=Altitude assisted
This is a list of the NCAA Division I outdoor champions in the 5000 meters or its imperial equivalent 3 mile run. The imperial distance was contested until 1975, except during Olympic years starting in 1932. Metrication occurred in 1976, so all subsequent championships were at the metric distance. Hand timing was used until 1973, while starting in 1974 fully automatic timing was used. The women's race has been contested since 1982.
| Year | Name, (Country) | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Don Lash | Indiana | 14:58.5 |
| 1948 | Jerry Thompson | Texas | 15:04.5 |
| 1952 | Wes Santee | Kansas | 14:36.3 |
| 1956 | Bill Dellinger | Oregon | 14:48.5 |
| 1959 | Paul Whiteley | Emporia St | 13:59.0y |
| 1960 | Al Lawrence  Australia | Houston | 14:19.8 |
| 1961 | Pat Clohessy Australia | Houston | 13:47.7y |
| 1962 | Pat Clohessy Australia | Houston | 13:51.6y |
| 1963 | Julio Marín  Costa Rica | Southern Cal | 14:24.9Ay |
| 1964 | Jim Murphy | Air Force | 14:12.3 (tie) |
| Bill Straub | Army | ||
| 1965 | Doug Brown | Montana | 13:40.2y |
| 1966 | Gerry Lindgren | Wash St | 13:33.7y |
| 1967 | Gerry Lindgren | Wash St | 13:47.8Ay |
| 1968 | Gerry Lindgren | Wash St | 13:47.2 |
| 1969 | Ole Oleson | Southern Cal | 13:42.0y |
| 1970 | Steve Prefontaine | Oregon | 13:22.0y |
| 1971 | Steve Prefontaine | Oregon | 13:20.1y |
| 1972 | Steve Prefontaine | Oregon | 13:31.4 |
| 1973 | Steve Prefontaine | Oregon | 13:05.3y |
| 1974 | Paul Geis | Oregon | 13:38.89y |
| 1975 | John Ngeno  Kenya | Wash St | 13:22.73Ay |
| 1976 | Joshua Kimeto Kenya | Wash St | 13:47.8 |
| 1977 | Joshua Kimeto Kenya | Wash St | 13:38.1 |
| 1978 | Rudy Chapa | Oregon | 13:35.3 |
| 1979 | Sydney Maree  South Africa | Villanova | 13:20.6 |
| 1980 | Suleiman Nyambui  Tanzania | UTEP | 13:44.4 |
| 1981 | Suleiman Nyambui Tanzania | UTEP | 13:38.8 |
| 1982 | Suleiman Nyambui Tanzania | UTEP | 13:54.09A |
| 1983 | Gidamis Shahanga Tanzania | UTEP | 13:54.1 |
| 1984 | Julius Korir Kenya | Wash St | 13:47.8 |
| 1985 | Ed Eyestone | Brigham Y | 13:56.7 |
| 1986 | Terry Brahm | Indiana | 13:56.6 |
| 1987 | Dean Crowe  New Zealand | Boston | 13:43.3 |
| 1988 | Matt Giusto | Arizona | 13:55.9 |
| 1989 | Marc Davis | Arizona | 14:07.88A |
| 1990 | John Trautmann | Georgetown | 14:07.5 |
| 1991 | Shannon Butler | Montana St | 13:41.6 |
| 1992 | Jon Dennis  United Kingdom | South Florida | 14:02.4 |
| 1993 | Jon Dennis United Kingdom | South Florida | 13:59.0 |
| 1994 | Brian Baker | Arkansas | 14:22.1 |
| 1995 | Martin Keino Kenya | Arizona | 14:36.8 |
| 1996 | Alan Culpepper | Colorado | 13:47.3 |
| 1997 | Mebrahtom Keflezighi  Eritrea [1] | UCLA | 13:44.2 |
| 1998 | Adam Goucher | Colorado | 13:31.6 |
| 1999 | Bernard Lagat Kenya | Wash St | 14:01.1 |
| 2000 | Brad Hauser | Stanford | 13:48.8 |
| 2001 | Jonathon Riley | Stanford | 13:42.5 |
| 2002 | David Kimani Kenya | South Alabama | 13:59.3 |
| 2003 | Alistair Cragg  Ireland | Arkansas | 13:47.9 |
| 2004 | Robert Cheseret Kenya | Arizona | 13:49.9 |
| 2005 | Ryan Hall | Stanford | 13:22.3 |
| 2006 | Chris Solinsky | Wisconsin | 14:11.7 |
| 2008 | Bobby Curtis | Villanova | 13:33.93 |
| 2009 | Galen Rupp | Oregon | 14:04.12 |
| 2010 | David McNeill Australia | Northern Arizona | 13:44.81 |
| 2011 | Sam Chelanga | Liberty | 13:29.30 |
| 2012 | Cameron Levins  Canada | Southern Utah | 13:40.05 |
| 2013 | Lawi Lalang Kenya | Arizona | 13:35.19 |
| 2014 | Lawi Lalang Kenya | Arizona | 13:18.36 |
| 2015 | Edward Cheserek Kenya | Oregon | 13:48.67 |
| 2016 | Edward Cheserek | Oregon | 13:25.59 |
| 2017 | Grant Fisher | Stanford | 14:35.60 |
| 2018 | Sean McGorty | Stanford | 13:54.81 |
| 2019 | Morgan McDonald Australia | Wisconsin | 14:06.01 |
| 2020 | [not held] | ||
| 2021 | Cooper Teare | Oregon | 13:12.27 |
| 2022 | Olin Hacker | Wisconsin | 13:27.73 |
| 2023 | Ky Robinson Australia | Stanford | 14:04.77 |
| 2024 | Parker Wolfe | North Carolina | 13:54.43 |
