D2 programs/coaches?

You should consider Southern Indiana. 1-2-6 in mens 10k and 2-6 in womens 10k at NCAAs last month. More NCAA qualifiers 1500 and up than any other program in D2 this spring.

There are plenty of smaller DII Schools with great coaches in the Middle US. Always make sure that the school in mind has your intended major available (Pretty simple, I know) and it's even better if they have a graduate school or affiliated grad school for your program if you intend to go beyond undergraduate schooling. There are a few schools that I could recommend, but it's always better for you to discover the school on your own so that you can really know whether or not it's a great fit. Div. II is definitely the way to go, though.

Try looking at some DII regional or national championship results and see how you fit some teams. If they look like a good fit, try reaching out to a few of the athletes on social media and see if they like their program or not. If everything sounds good, schedule a visit and see the coach in person and "discus" (lol) your goals with him/her and see if his/her training plan fits well.

Always make sure that the atmosphere fits your personality, too. You need to make sure that you'll like your school for the next 4 or 5 years.

Signed,

D II Student Athlete

GVSU if you are really good

Hillsdale if you are extremely conservative

Wayne State if you enjoy big city life

What do you want to study in college?

You should look at the NAIA. They have a tremendous presence in the middle of the country and many great long term coaches. The NAIA prides itself on personal interaction with coaches, and even on good teams, good athletes contribute. Coaches in the NAIA don't have luxury to stock pile athletes that won't score.

Possibles

Okl. City University

Doane (Neb)

Dordt (Neb)

Shawnee St (Ohio)

Milligan (Tn)

Aquinas (Mi)

Check out the Great Plains Conference

Which D2 school got Jason Hartmann? Saginaw Valley? I'd gladly take a visit there. Younger dude, has had success recently with running and coaching. Coached Elise Cranny.

Other than that, the midwest region boasts GVSU, Ashland, and USI. I think Grand Valley's dynamic is interesting, they keep producing but they also seem to get plenty of walk ons. Baltes has a really, really good thing going on. Don't know much about Ashland. They seem to be up in the results though. USI seems to put together good squads with unheard of high school runners.

Western area, Adams, Western, Mines, Augustana. Based on your description of yourself, the first three are out. Don't know much about Augustana, but the name is pretty cool.

Then what have you? Chico, WWU, Alaska Anchorage....a bit drastic there though.

I know I'm forgetting some good schools. But, you can get where you want to be in any division.

Anyone remember a few years ago when Eastern New Mexico was supposed to take the D2 world by storm?

I think Trent Mack (Ashland) is returning to his native South Dakota for personal (family) reasons. Ashland will still be good, but I think they'll take a small hit this coming year because of this.

As you might be able to tell by my username, I support the NAIA. If you're looking for good teams and competition, check out Cascade Conference (Pacific NW) and Wolverine-Hoosier Conference (MI, IN, and OH).

As an NAIA athlete, I can tell you that there are some great academic opportunities in these schools. They are mostly private though, so cost could be a possible concern if you're strapped for cash. This, of course, means that since many more D2 schools are state-funded, they might be cheaper.

If you're a good student, you'll probably get more academic scholarship as a smaller school, because larger ones usually give out less. My sister goes to GVSU (25,094 students as of last count) and was salutatorian of her HS class, but only gets around $5,000 per year academically because that's the top academic other than a few full tuition scholarships.

If you're of scholarship running quality, then D2 or NAIA are where it's at if you're not a serious standout at the state or national level. The coaching quality as GVSU is excellent, especially since Ritz has joined the staff. Unfortunately, a lot of runners don't stay on the team for their full eligibility because, as I've heard, a lot more attention is given to the top runners than the ones who are lower in the pack. I wish I could tell you more about coaches, but I only looked at a couple D2 schools.

If you think you'll be able to be varsity on a decent D2 team, you can also look at some mid-level D1 programs that are kind of emerging like Oakland University in Rochester, MI (home of Hansons-Brooks ODP) and U of Detroit Mercy. Horizon League and Summit League aren't really considered top conferences, but they're nice to look at if you want to expand your options.

Horizon League:

-Oakland

-U of D M

-Cleveland State

-U of Illinois- Chicago

-Wisconsin- Green Bay

-Wisconsin- Milwaukee

-Wright State

-Youngstown State

All solid schools academically, and decently competitive while still being within reach

XC Conference Results:

-WHAC (NAIA)-

http://whac-cross-country-championships.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=10031&year=2014&do=info

-Cascade (NAIA)-

http://cascade-cross-country-championships.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=10014&year=2014&do=info

-GLIAC (D2)-

http://gliac-cross-country-championships.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=6650&year=2014&do=info

-Horizon (D1)-

http://horizon-league-cross-country-championships.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=1519&year=2014&do=info

Hopefully this helps! Good luck!

check out King University in Bristol TN. It's right on the TN/VA border. New, young coach is going to do great things. From what I'm hearing, he's low key & reasonable, good communicator, doesn't play games. Ran at a high level in college & has had some success coaching HS & college since, but this is his 1st gig calling the shots.

Lots of beautiful trails in the area that I miss running.. Really small school, nice college town, laid back place. I think about half the student body are athletes..

Thanks for all the responses and advice. I'm definitely open to all of the different ideas you've given.

Shippensburg University.

Olympian and World Champs medalist as a coach, has a reputation of turning nobodies into national contenders, and Central PA is beautiful.

I run in the horizon league at Detroit Mercy. Smaller D1 school yes. Not like the big 10 or anything like that. However, if you are good you still get the D1 experience (big meets, best possible competition). Also, if you are not the elite of the elite lets say you can't run a 4 flat mile for guys maybe you run a 4:13 well you will have close competition and still have fun in the Horizon League. I went from a 4:29 1600 in high school to a 4:17 mile. I went from a 9:55 3200 to an 8:32 3k. I run at Detroit Mercy. You should check it out. Great engineering, and science school. Also, has a pretty nice business program.

If I had it to do over again I'd take a hard look at Colorado School of Mines. Their program has been phenomenal the last few years. I work in oil & gas, and the engineers I've met who are Mines grads are top notch.

Hillsdale has rigorous academics, a great indoor track, and miles of dirt roads. It is in a small town and the college is conservative/libertarian.

All the above options are good ones...I'd add Wisconsin-Parkside, Lewis, and Malone...I've never met Malone's coach but the Parkside and Lewis coaches are both young guys with great social skills and are easy to talk to.

goin' down down down down wrote:

If I had it to do over again I'd take a hard look at Colorado School of Mines. Their program has been phenomenal the last few years. I work in oil & gas, and the engineers I've met who are Mines grads are top notch.

^this.

Also, lots of good choices in the Central? region.

Augustana

MoSo

Harding

UNK

ECU

Sioux Falls

Pitt State

Southwest Baptist

Sad for me to say but the MIAA used to be really good in the 80's w/SEMO, NEMO, CMSU, NWMO, UMO @ Rolla etc... Not the same schools or good coaches in the conference now and they are pretty quiet on the national scene overall but still a lot of opportunities if you do your research. As mentioned, look at last 5 years conferrnce, regional and nats results and check if same coach is there. Don't base your total decision on whether you are top seven right away. A couple good years of solid training behind a good program will make your total experience worth the effort and wait. You will be much more prepared when its your turn to lead and compete for top honors. The biggest key will be finding that coach that is willing to work with you and bring you along the right way. Interview current team members to get that answer.

I've been working at the Division 2 level for a long time and it's funny how many students will choose D1 over D2 that really would have great opportunities to run for Conference Championships or the NCAA National Championships that would not have those opportunities in D1.

Most of the schools mentioned have great tradition and programs. It's all about finding the right fit academically and athletically.

Good luck with your journey!

you may not be familiar with st. Augustines, lincoln, or Johnson c smith universities.

You would contribute immediately as a distance guy in cross and track at these schools. Have a good look at them. They are on the up and coming of d2 cross country.

UWParkside

Amazing cross country course, great running culture and atmosphere. Missed NCAAs by 1 point in a tough Regional. Awesome coach, he's young, loves what he's doing and communicates well! Worth at least making contact with him.