Stanford Track and Cross Country

Track and field is one of Stanford's oldest sports. The program dates to 1893, the university's second spring. The 2026 season was its 132nd. Stanford Athletics says the track and cross country programs have produced 74 Olympians, 22 of them medalists. For visitors, the best news is simpler: most home track meets are free and cross country is one of the most accessible sports to follow online.

This page covers the history, the ACC years and the 2026 to 2027 calendar. For the stadium itself, see our page on Cobb Track and Angell Field.

A long history

Stanford's men won NCAA outdoor team titles in 1925, 1928 and 1934, when the school was a national power in the sport. The fourth came in 2000. The men also finished second at the NCAA outdoor meet eight times and at the indoor meet three times, from 1998 to 2000. The women have two NCAA indoor runner-up finishes, in 1992 and 2006.

The track teams long raced inside the old Stanford Stadium, which hosted the 1932 and 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials and the famous 1962 U.S. vs. Soviet Union dual meet. Angell Field was dedicated in 1935. The modern nine-lane track dates to 1996. Our Stanford Stadium page covers the stadium years.

Stanford Athletics notes another first from 2022 to 2023: NCAA individual titles in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in the same academic year, six in all. Through the 2024 to 2025 year, Stanford counts 13 national team championships across men's and women's indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. It also lists 95 NCAA individual titles and 63 conference team titles.

Cross country: nine NCAA titles

Cross country is where Stanford has won most often. Both teams won NCAA titles in 1996. The men added titles in 1997, 2002 and 2003, while the women won in 2003 and then three straight years from 2005 to 2007.

The two teams have also won 38 regional titles between them. The women's latest came in 2025.

The ACC era

Stanford moved its track and cross country teams to the ACC in 2024, along with nearly every other sport. J.J. Clark, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, oversees both track and cross country.

Track in 2026

Stanford's 2026 results, from the schedule on gostanford.com:

Cross country in fall 2026

The 2026 cross country teams raced in San Francisco, Indiana, Wisconsin and Sunnyvale before the ACC Championships in Blacksburg, Virginia, on October 30. There the men finished 5th and the women 14th. Two races remain. The NCAA West Regional is in Sacramento on Friday, November 13. The NCAA Championships follow in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Saturday, November 21. None of the 2026 meets were on campus, so fans follow results online.

How cross country works

A college cross country race is a team event run by individuals. Each school starts up to seven runners. The top five finishers on each team score their places and the lowest total wins, so a pack of runners close together often beats a team with one star. At the NCAA level, men usually race 10 kilometers and women 6 kilometers, on grass and dirt courses with hills. Regional races decide most of the spots at the national meet, which is why the November 13 race in Sacramento matters so much. Stanford links full results on its cross country schedule page after each meet.

Home meets at Cobb Track

Stanford hosts its biggest track meets in spring. The 2027 dates had not been posted in late October 2026, so the pattern below comes from 2026:

• Stanford Invitational: April 3 and 4, 2026. A large early season meet with sprints, hurdles, relays and field events running at once.
• The Big Meet: April 11, 2026, against Cal. The rivalry usually alternates between the two campuses, so check where the 2027 edition falls.
• Payton Jordan Invitational: May 1, 2026. Stanford calls it the nation's premier distance meet. Fast 5,000 and 10,000 meter races run into the evening. The meet is named for Payton Jordan, Stanford's longtime coach, who also coached the 1968 U.S. Olympic track team.

The indoor season runs from December to March. All of Stanford's 2026 indoor meets were away from campus, in places such as Boston, Seattle, Albuquerque and Fayetteville.

Watching a meet

1. It is free. Regular season meets need no ticket. Postseason and some special events do, sold at the north side windows.
2. Find your seat. The two grandstands on the north side hold 2,158. Accessible seating is between them and at each end.
3. Follow the schedule. Big invitationals run for hours. Check the meet's time schedule so you arrive for the events you care about.
4. Dress for two seasons. Afternoons can be sunny and warm, while distance races after dark get cold.
5. Pack light. Small cameras under 6 inches are fine. Tripods are not.

Parking and transit

Cobb Track sits at the corner of Galvez Street and Campus Drive, across from the Stanford Visitor Center. Stanford Athletics sends spectators to the Visitor Center lot and the Varsity Lot, both reached from Nelson Road off Galvez Street. Overflow parking is in the El Camino Grove lot. Weekday visitor parking rules apply from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. unless posted. See our Stanford parking and transit guide for payment.

From Palo Alto Caltrain station, the walk is about 20 minutes. The free Marguerite shuttle runs main lines on weekdays only.

Where to eat nearby

Town & Country Village, across El Camino Real at Embarcadero Road, is the closest cluster of restaurants. Gott's Roadside, Manresa Bread, Boichik Bagels, Asian Box and Howie's Artisan Pizza are all there. See our Town & Country food guide. For a sit-down dinner after an evening distance session, downtown Palo Alto is about a mile away. Our guide to eating near Stanford lists options by distance.

Frequently asked questions