NCAA Triathlon for Athletes
From recruiting to NCAA bylaws, there's a lot for prospective NCAA triathletes to manage before joining a team.
NCAA Triathlon
Over the last decade, women’s triathlon has made significant progress towards becoming a full-fledged NCAA championship sport. In 2022, Cal Poly Humboldt became the 40th school to add varsity women’s triathlon, meeting one of the NCAA’s requirements surrounding sustainability and success at the NCAA varsity level. Only becoming an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women in 2014, triathlon is already a varsity sport at schools in all three levels of NCAA competition across the nation.
Every fall, USA Triathlon hosts a sprint distance draft-legal championship race for schools in each of the three NCAA divisions. By sponsoring a national championship race, providing resources and funding to schools adding triathlon and championing triathlon at all levels of intercollegiate competition, USA Triathlon is committed to helping the sport reach full NCAA status.
About NCAA Triathlon
Teams
Each member institution is allowed a maximum of 6.5 (Division I) or 5.0 (Division II) equivalency scholarships. There is no lower scholarship equivalency limit.
Teams must have at least three athletes. There is no upper roster limit.
Teams must participate in at least four and at most six intercollegiate contests (except dates of competition excluded under Bylaws).
Races
Races are draft-legal and cover the sprint distance (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run)
- Distances for each discipline can vary slightly
Five participants per team may compete in the varsity draft-legal race.
Scoring
Scoring will be modeled after the cross country scoring system.
- All athletes who finish a race will be given an overall-finish place.
- Team scoring will be calculated by totaling the points of the first three finishing athletes on each team. The team with the lowest number of points will be the winner.
- Although the athletes finishing after their fourth-place teammate on a team to finish do not score points towards their team's total, their places, if any better than those of any of the first four (4) of an opposing team, serve to increase the team score of the opponents.
Schools that Sponsor Triathlon
As of March 2023, 42 NCAA schools sponsor women's triathlon. Stretched across all three NCAA divisions and located in 25 states, NCAA Triathlon is nationwide. No matter any prospective student-athlete's school preferences, they can find a school that fits their need.
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NCAA Races
West National Qualifier
October 12, 2024
Springfield, Missouri
East National Qualifier
October 12, 2024
Charlotte, North Carolina
Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships
November 8, 2024
Clermont, Florida
NCAA Triathlon in the News
Meet NCAA Triathlete Kathryn Berlew from Trine University
Trine University women’s collegiate triathlete Kathryn Berlew grew up doing a variety of sports.
NCAA Division I La Salle University Adds Women’s Collegiate Triathlon Program
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — La Salle University in Philadelphia is the latest NCAA program to add women's collegiate triathlon to its varsity collegiate sport offerings. An NCAA Division I program, La Salle University competes in the Atlantic 10 Conferen...
USA Triathlon Foundation Receives Record-Breaking Gift by the TriDave Legacy Trust to Support NCAA Women’s Triathlon
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Triathlon and the USA Triathlon Foundation today announced the largest gift in the history of the Foundation, $850,000 from the TriDave Legacy Trust to support women’s collegiate triathlon becoming an o...
Warren Wilson College to Add Women's Collegiate Triathlon
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, is the latest NCAA program to add women's collegiate triathlon to its varsity collegiate sport offerings. An NCAA Division III program, Warren Wilson will begin competition i...
NCAA Division I Northern Kentucky University Adds Women's Collegiate Triathlon
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The University of Northern Kentucky will become the 15th NCAA Division I program to offer women’s triathlon at the varsity level, as the Norse will begin competition in fall 2024. “We are thrilled to see new athletic opportuni...
Arizona State, Lenoir-Rhyne, North Central Win National Titles at 2023 Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona State University women's collegiate triathlon team won its seventh consecutive NCAA Division I national title on Saturday, Nov. 11 at home in Tempe, Arizona, at the 2023 Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships. L...
NCAA National Titles up for Grabs this Saturday in Tempe at 2023 Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The 2023 Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships are set to take place this Saturday, Nov. 11 as Tempe, Arizona, hosts the country’s top women’s varsity collegiate triathletes all vying for individual and team nati...
These 2 NCAA Collegiate Athletes Share Their Journeys to Delaware State and Lenoir-Rhyne
For more than a decade, Women’s Collegiate Triathlon has shown incredible strides to become an official NCAA championship sport. With more than 40 schools across the country at the Division I, II and III levels, Women’s Collegiate Triathlon offers a pa...
