by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. Our ranking highlights 7 colleges for Women’s Cross Country by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluates each program using 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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Learn more about these schools below:
Leading the list is University of North Alabama, our #1 college for Women's Cross Country. University of North Alabama is a public school based in Florence, AL. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 995. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $15,490, against $15,490 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $13,402 per athlete.
University of South Alabama landed the #2 spot for Women's Cross Country. Based in Mobile, AL, University of South Alabama is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 985. Team revenue averages $9,857 per participant, against $9,857 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $15,705 per athlete.
Auburn University at Montgomery earned the #3 place for student athletes. Based in Montgomery, AL, Auburn University at Montgomery is a public institution. The program generates about $21,446 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $21,446 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $13,718.
Tuskegee University came in at #4 on this year's ranking for Women's Cross Country. Tuskegee University is a private not-for-profit school based in Tuskegee, AL. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $5,418, against $5,418 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $3,470 per athlete.
Huntingdon College ranked #5 among the best colleges for Women's Cross Country. Huntingdon College is a private not-for-profit school based in Montgomery, AL. The program generates about $7,640 in revenue per athlete, compared with $6,913 spent per athlete. The school awards about $1,932 in athletic aid per athlete.
Jacksonville State University landed the #6 spot this year. Located in Jacksonville, AL, Jacksonville State University is a public institution. Jacksonville State University records an NCAA APR of 980. The program generates about $6,312 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $6,312 per participant. Athletic aid averages $14,761 per athlete.
Miles College came in at #7 in this year's ranking. Miles College is a private not-for-profit school based in Fairfield, AL. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $6,646, against $6,646 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $4,563.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. Programs are scored on 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.