Women
- Key
- A=Altitude assisted
This is a list of the NCAA outdoor champions in the 800 meters or its imperial equivalent, the 880 yard run. The imperial distance was run until 1975, while the metric 800 meters was contested in 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 began in 1982.
| Year | Name, (Country) | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | Earl Eby | Pennsylvania | 1:57.4y |
| 1922 | Alan Helffrich | Penn St | 1:58.1y |
| 1923 | Alan Helffrich | Penn St | 1:56.3y |
| 1924 | not held | ||
| 1925 | James Charteris | Washington | 1:55.4y |
| 1926 | Alva Martin | Northwestern | 1:51.7y* |
| 1927 | John Sittig | Illinois | 1:54.2y |
| 1928 | Virgil Jess Gist | Chicago | 1:54.4y |
| 1929 | Edwin Genung | Washington | 1:55.0y |
| 1930 | Orval Martin | Purdue | 1:54.1y |
| 1931 | Dale Letts | Chicago | 1:53.5y |
| 1932 | Charles Hornbostel | Indiana | 1:52.7 |
| 1933 | Charles Hornbostel | Indiana | 1:50.9y |
| 1934 | Charles Hornbostel | Indiana | 1:51.9y |
| 1935 | Elroy Robinson | Fresno St | 1:52.9y |
| 1936 | Charlie Beetham | Ohio St | 1:53.0 |
| 1937 | John Woodruff | Pittsburgh | 1:50.3y |
| 1938 | John Woodruff | Pittsburgh | 1:51.3y |
| 1939 | John Woodruff | Pittsburgh | 1:51.3y |
| 1940 | Campbell Kane | Indiana | 1:51.5y |
| 1941 | Campbell Kane | Indiana | 1:51.2y |
| 1942 | Bill Lyda | Oklahoma | 1:50.8y |
| 1943 | Joe Nowicki | Fordham | 1:54.2y |
| 1944 | Robert Kelley | Illinois | 1:55.1y |
| 1945 | Ross Hume | Michigan | 1:55.7y |
| 1946 | Lewis Smith | Virginia Union | 1:52.6y |
| 1947 | William Clifford | Ohio St | 1:50.8yA |
| 1948 | Mal Whitfield | Ohio St | 1:51.1 |
| 1949 | Mal Whitfield | Ohio St | 1:50.3y |
| 1950 | Bill Brown | Morgan St | 1:51.2y |
| 1951 | John Barnes | Occidental | 1:50.7y |
| 1952 | John Barnes | Occidental | 1:49.6 |
| 1953 | Lang Stanley | San Jose St | 1:52.4y |
| 1954 | Arnie Sowell | Pittsburgh | 1:50.5y |
| 1955 | Tom Courtney | Fordham | 1:49.5y |
| 1956 | Arnie Sowell | Pittsburgh | 1:46.7 |
| 1957 | Don Bowden | California | 1:47.2y |
| 1958 | Ron Delany  Ireland | Villanova | 1:48.6y |
| 1959 | George Kerr  Jamaica | Illinois | 1:47.6y |
| 1960 | George Kerr Jamaica | Illinois | 1:46.4 |
| 1961 | John Bork | Western Mich | 1:48.3y |
| 1962 | Jim Dupree | Southern Illinois | 1:48.2y |
| 1963 | Norm Hoffman | Oregon St | 1:48.0Ay |
| 1964 | Tom Farrell | St. John's NY | 1:48.5 |
| 1965 | Tom Farrell | St. John's NY | 1:48.1y |
| 1966 | Peter Scott | Nebraska | 1:47.9y |
| 1967 | Wade Bell | Oregon | 1:47.6Ay |
| 1968 | Byron Dyce Jamaica | New York | 1:47.3 |
| 1969 | Byron Dyce Jamaica | New York | 1:45.9y |
| 1970 | Ken Swenson | Kansas St | 1:46.3y |
| 1971 | Mark Winzenried | Wisconsin | 1:48.8y |
| 1972 | Willie Thomas | Tennessee | 1:47.1 |
| 1973 | Skip Kent | Wisconsin | 1:47.2y |
| 1974 | Willie Thomas | Tennessee | 1:48.72y |
| 1975 | Mark Enyeart | Utah St | 1:47.01Ay |
| 1976 | Tom McLean | Bucknell | 1:47.4 |
| 1977 | Mark Enyeart | Utah St | 1:45.2 |
| 1978 | Peter Lemashon  Kenya | UTEP | 1:45.7 |
| 1979 | Don Paige | Villanova | 1:46.2 |
| 1980 | Don Paige | Villanova | 1:45.8 |
| 1981 | Sammy Koskei Kenya | Southern Meth | 1:46.4 |
| 1982 | David Mack | Oregon | 1:48.00A |
| 1983 | Joaquim Cruz  Brazil | Oregon | 1:44.9 |
| 1984 | Joaquim Cruz Brazil | Oregon | 1:45.1 |
| 1985 | Earl Jones | Eastern Mich | 1:45.1 |
| 1986 | Freddie Williams  Canada | Abilene Christian | 1:46.6 |
| 1987 | Tracy Baskin | Seton Hall | 1:46.6 |
| 1988 | Paul Ereng Kenya | Virginia | 1:46.8 |
| 1989 | Paul Ereng Kenya | Virginia | 1:47.50A |
| 1990 | Mark Everett | Florida | 1:44.7 |
| 1991 | George Kersh | Mississippi | 1:45.8 |
| 1992 | Jose "Tony" Parrilla | Tennessee | 1:46.5 |
| 1993 | Jose "Tony" Parrilla | Tennessee | 1:46.5 |
| 1994 | Jose "Tony" Parrilla | Tennessee | 1:46.0 |
| 1995 | Brandon Rock | Arkansas | 1:46.4 |
| 1996 | Einārs Tupurītis  Latvia | Wichita St | 1:45.1 |
| 1997 | Bryan Woodward | Georgetown | 1:46.5 |
| 1998 | Khadevis Robinson | Texas Christian | 1:46.0 |
| 1999 | Derrick Peterson | Missouri | 1:47.0 |
| 2000 | Jean-Patrick Nduwimana  Burundi | Arizona | 1:45.1 |
| 2001 | Otukile Lekote  Botswana | South Carolina | 1:46.7 |
| 2002 | Otukile Lekote Botswana | South Carolina | 1:45.2 |
| 2003 | Sam Burley | Pennsylvania | 1:46.5 |
| 2004 | Jonathan Johnson | Texas Tech | 1:46.4 |
| 2005 | Dmitrijs Miļkevičs Latvia | Nebraska | 1:44.7 |
| 2006 | Ryan Brown | Washington | 1:46.3 |
| 2007 | Andrew Ellerton Canada | Michigan | 1:47.48 |
| 2008 | Jacob Hernandez | Texas | 1:45.31 |
| 2009 | Andrew Wheating | Oregon | 1:46.21 |
| 2010 | Andrew Wheating | Oregon | 1:45.69 |
| 2011 | Robby Andrews | Virginia | 1:44.71 |
| 2012 | Charles Jock | UC Irvine | 1:45.59 |
| 2013 | Elijah Greer | Oregon | 1:46.58 |
| 2014 | Brandon McBride Canada | Mississippi State | 1:46.26 |
| 2015 | Edward Kemboi Kenya | Iowa State | 1:49.26 |
| 2016 | Donavan Brazier | Texas A&M | 1:43.55 |
| 2017 | Emmanuel Korir | UTEP | 1:45.03 |
| 2018 | Isaiah Harris | Penn State | 1:44.76 |
| 2019 | Bryce Hoppel | Kansas | 1:45.26 |
| 2020 | not held | ||
| 2021 | Isaiah Jewett | USC | 1:44.68 |
| 2022 | Moad Zahafi | Texas Tech | 1:44.49 |
| 2023 | Will Sumner | University of Georgia | 1:44.26 |
| 2024 | Shane Cohen | Virginia | 1:44.97 |
| 2025 | Sam Whitmarsh | Texas A&M | 1:45.86 |
