by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. This list ranks 30 colleges for Men’s Cross Country by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To arm you with the information you need, College Factual scores each program on a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:
No school ranked higher than Stanford University this year for Men's Cross Country. Located in Stanford, CA, Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 998. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $32,868, with expenses of about $32,868 per participant. Athletic aid averages $42,012 per athlete.
California Institute of Technology landed the #2 spot for Men's Cross Country. Based in Pasadena, CA, California Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $8,884 in revenue per athlete, compared with $8,884 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of San Francisco landed the #3 spot for Men's Cross Country. Based in San Francisco, CA, University of San Francisco is a private not-for-profit institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $16,442, compared with $16,442 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $31,788.
Pepperdine University landed the #4 spot for Men's Cross Country. This private not-for-profit school is set in Malibu, CA. Pepperdine University records an NCAA APR of 990. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $14,649, compared with $14,649 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $27,861.
University of San Diego came in at #5 on this year's ranking for Men's Cross Country. This private not-for-profit school is set in San Diego, CA. University of San Diego records an NCAA APR of 1000. Team revenue averages $7,913 per participant, with expenses of about $7,913 per participant. The school awards about $19,537 in athletic aid per athlete.
Santa Clara University placed #6 among the best colleges for Men's Cross Country. Located in Santa Clara, CA, Santa Clara University is a private not-for-profit institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 981. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $51,913, compared with $51,913 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $19,355 per athlete.
Saint Mary's College of California ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Men's Cross Country. Based in Moraga, CA, Saint Mary's College of California is a private not-for-profit institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 991. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $14,110, with expenses of about $14,110 per participant. The school awards about $18,999 in athletic aid per athlete.
Chapman University landed the #8 spot this year. Chapman University is a private not-for-profit school based in Orange, CA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $4,136, against $4,136 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of California-Irvine ranked #9 on our 2026 list for Men's Cross Country. University of California-Irvine is a public school based in Irvine, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $1,283, against $1,283 in expenses. The school awards about $13,955 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Nevada-Reno did well this year, earning the #10 position. University of Nevada-Reno is a public school based in Reno, NV. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 989. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $21,294, against $14,668 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $21,799.
California Lutheran University ranked #11 on our 2026 list for Men's Cross Country. California Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit school based in Thousand Oaks, CA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $3,212, with expenses of about $3,212 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
University of California-Santa Barbara ranked #12 on our 2026 list for Men's Cross Country. University of California-Santa Barbara is a public school based in Santa Barbara, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 988. The program generates about $7,823 in revenue per athlete, compared with $7,823 spent per athlete. The school awards about $11,355 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Redlands landed the #13 spot this year. Located in Redlands, CA, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $7,471 per participant, compared with $7,957 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Lewis & Clark College came in at #14 in this year's ranking. Based in Portland, OR, Lewis & Clark College is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $4,646 in revenue per athlete, compared with $4,646 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Willamette University came in at #15 in this year's ranking. This private not-for-profit school is set in Salem, OR. Team revenue averages $3,321 per participant, against $3,321 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Pacific Lutheran University came in at #16 in this year's ranking. Based in Tacoma, WA, Pacific Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $5,883 per participant, against $5,883 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
California Baptist University did well this year, earning the #17 position. Based in Riverside, CA, California Baptist University is a private not-for-profit institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 962. Team revenue averages $17,870 per participant, against $16,134 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $23,790.
University of California-Merced landed the #18 spot this year. University of California-Merced is a public school based in Merced, CA. Team revenue averages $7,944 per participant, with expenses of about $7,944 per participant. The school awards about $1,179 in athletic aid per athlete.
San Francisco State University did well this year, earning the #19 position. Based in San Francisco, CA, San Francisco State University is a public institution. The program generates about $18,881 in revenue per athlete, against $18,881 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $2,480 per athlete.
Linfield University ranked #20 on our 2026 list for Men's Cross Country. Based in McMinnville, OR, Linfield University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $10,378 per participant, compared with $7,366 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
California State University-Los Angeles landed the #21 spot this year. This public school is set in Los Angeles, CA. Team revenue averages $10,769 per participant, against $10,769 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $3,687 per athlete.
Portland State University came in at #22 in this year's ranking. Portland State University is a public school based in Portland, OR. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 987. The program generates about $8,467 in revenue per athlete, compared with $8,467 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $13,026.
University of La Verne placed #23 among the best colleges for Men's Cross Country. Based in La Verne, CA, University of La Verne is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $3,569 per participant, against $3,680 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Whitworth University did well this year, earning the #24 position. Whitworth University is a private not-for-profit school based in Spokane, WA. The program generates about $2,583 in revenue per athlete, against $2,474 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
California State University-Chico landed the #25 spot this year. Located in Chico, CA, California State University-Chico is a public institution. Team revenue averages $7,577 per participant, against $6,114 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $2,367 per athlete.
These schools rounded out the top of the list:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Rankings consider a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
