Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Founded in 1899, it was the final university established in the Arizona Territory.
The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference for all sports except men's volleyball which is a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. They were a member of the West Coast Conference from 2011 to 2022. From 1999 to 2011 they were a member of the Mountain West Conference and before the formation of the MW, the Cougars competed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Mountain States Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference. BYU officially joined the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.
Edward D. Eyestone is a two-time Olympic marathoner, long distance runner, and an NCAA coach.
The NAU Lumberjacks are the varsity athletic teams representing Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in intercollegiate athletics. The school's mascot was adopted in 1946. The Lumberjacks compete in NCAA Division I and are full members of the Big Sky Conference with the exception of the women's swimming and diving team which is an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's basketball team represents Northern Arizona University, located in Flagstaff, Arizona, in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team has competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1970. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 2000. Northern Arizona also appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1998. In 2023, the Lumberjacks have reached the Big Sky conference tournament title game as a Cinderella team as they were the 9th seed in the tournament. The Lumberjacks are currently led by head coach Shane Burcar who replaced Jack Murphy in June 2019. NAU Lumberjack basketball games are broadcast on KAFF Country Legends 93.5/AM 930 in Flagstaff, Fun Oldies 1450 AM/100.9 in Prescott and KDUS AM 1060 in Phoenix, with commentary provided by the "Voice of the Lumberjacks" Mitch Strohman, Coach Dave Brown with the play-by-play and Dave Zorn, host of the NAU Halftime Report. All games can be also heard online at KAFFLegends.com
The NAU Lumberjacks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Northern Arizona University located in Flagstaff, Arizona. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1915. The team plays its home games at the 10,500 seat Walkup Skydome. Brian Wright was hired as the Head Football Coach on December 3, 2023.
Gina Procaccio is a retired American long and middle-distance runner. In 1995, she was the USATF National Champion in the indoor 5000 metres, which qualified her to run for her native country in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in Barcelona, Spain.
Jim Hunt was the renowned former head cross-country and track and field coach at Humboldt State University, where he coached Lumberjack teams from 1965 until 1986. His cross-country team won the 1980 NCAA Division II National Championships and his teams regularly finished in the top ten at NCAA Nationals, producing 64 All-Americans and eleven National Champions. He coached numerous Humboldt State distance greats including Gary Tuttle, Bill Scobey, Danny Grimes, Chuck Smead and 1988 US Olympic marathon trials winner Mark Conover, his most accomplished protégé. Hunt was hired as the head track & field and cross country coach at University of California, Davis from 1986 to 1993. He guided the UC Davis women's cross country program to a runner-up finish at the 1991 NCAA Division II cross country championships with four All-Americans, among three other top-10 team finishes. The men's cross country program finished fourth that same season with two All-Americans. Hunt became well respected nationally as a coach and innovator of new training methods. He continues coaching to this day, and has produced a video "Training the Neurological Aspects of Distance Running" used by coaches across the United States. In 2018, Hunt published "The Rhythm of Running".
The NCAA Division III men's cross country championships are contested at an annual cross country meet hosted by the NCAA to decide the team and individual national champions of men's intercollegiate cross country running among its Division III members in the United States. It has been held every fall, usually in November, since the NCAA split into its current three-division format in 1973.
The 1986 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 48th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 6th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.
Johanna Nilsson was a Swedish middle- and long-distance runner. She was a bronze medallist at the European Cross Country Championships in 2005. Despite an early retirement in 2006 she had a highly successful collegiate career in the United States, winning three NCAA indoor titles and winning the NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship in 2005. Her sister, Ida Nilsson, is also an international distance runner.
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's basketball team represents Northern Arizona University, located in Flagstaff, Arizona, in NCAA Division I women's competition. The school's team competes in the Big Sky Conference. Loree Payne, formerly the head coach at the University of Puget Sound, was named the head coach of the lumberjacks in April 2017. The women's basketball team reached the conference tournament championship in 2023. The Lumberjacks play home games at the Findlay Toyota Court.
Matt Baxter is a New Zealand long-distance runner.
Luis Miguel Grijalva is a Guatemalan long-distance runner. Born in Guatemala, he attended Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, where he was a state champion in cross country and track. He competed for Northern Arizona University from 2017 to 2021, securing multiple All-American finishes in the NCAA. In 2021, Grijalva began competing professionally, sponsored by Hoka One One. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he finished 12th in the 5000m. He also finished fourth in the 5000m at both the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Nicolas Young is an American long-distance runner. He is a two-time NCAA champion having won both the 3000 m and 5000 m at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships while competing for Northern Arizona University. He also holds the collegiate records in the 5000 m (12:57.14) and 10,000 m (26:52.72), both set in 2024. He came out as gay in 2022.
Conner Blair Mantz is an American long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon. He ran collegiately for Brigham Young University and won the 2020 and 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Mantz was the winner of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. He has competed professionally for Nike since 2021.
George Beamish is a New Zealand middle- and long-distance runner, who won the 1500 metres at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. He holds the Oceania area record in the 3000 m steeplechase of 8:09.64 and the New Zealand record in the indoor 3000 m and 5000 m. He finished fifth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 3000 m steeplechase.
Abdihamid "Abdi" Nur is a Somali-born American long-distance runner. He competed collegiately for Northern Arizona University from 2019 to 2022, where he won multiple national titles in the NCAA and set a collegiate record in the outdoor 5000 m. After graduating, Nur signed with Nike and has since won 2 national titles and represented the US at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's cross country team is the men's cross country team that represents Southern Utah University (SUU) in Cedar City, Utah. The school's team currently competes in the Western Athletic Conference from 2022 forward. SUU previously competed in the Big Sky Conference from 2012 to 2021, the Summit League from 2007 to 2011, the Mid-Continent Conference from 1997 to 2006, the American West Conference from 1993 to 1996, Independent from 1987 to 1992, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference from 1967 to 1986. The Thunderbirds are currently coached by Eric Houle. SUU is one of 319 NCAA Division I cross country teams in the nation.
Mike Smith is an American coach who has been the director of cross country and track and field at Northern Arizona University since 2017. As the head coach of the men's and women's programs, he has led the men's teams to five NCAA Division I men's cross country championships titles.
