I am enrolled in an NCAA DI school but not on the track team. Can I enter in DI meets and compete unattached?

factoid wrote:

Then tell us the team so we can verify because the top 20 teams did not run 5 invitational last year. They ran 3 or 4 and Nuttycomb or Prenats were one of them.

Didn't make the team until midway through sophomore year. Cross country, indoor, and outdoor.

shootpost wrote:

factoid wrote:

The real D1 meets do not allow unattached runners.

The majority do.

By real you mean probably the stanfords wiscos or prenats. And in that case he isn't ready for those so it doesn't matter.

Stanford allows unattached runners, but they have time standards because so many want to run their meets. They can't have 100 heats of the 10k, so the time standards are very serious and fast at Stanford. In California, you'll find 10k standards for meets ranging from sub 29 at Stanford all the way to 35 minutes and some meets with no entry standard at all. Not sure about unattached for xc in terms of entering though as I use that time to race some longer stuff for a fall marathon.

We were talking XC.

It may have changed since I was in school (early 2000s) but many meets accept unattached athletes, at the discretion of the coach. There are examples where unattached athletes are not allowed, like in big invitationals, relay meets, and dual-tri-meets. Agree with whoever suggested you connect with the coach--it'll make it easier to get added to the meet, and if you are serious about trying to walk on, it's a good way to lay down a path to get there. Good luck.

factoid wrote:

The real D1 meets do not allow unattached runners.

You mean the big ones that have pros competing unattached in them that happen all the time?

OP -- if you're fast enough, you can compete in almost any meet out there. How do you think most people compete on the track race post-graduation?

No clue your PRs or if you run at a d1 level but didn't run for your school. Idk why you wouldn't just join the team if you're good enough. But maybe you're good enough to not be finishing at meets but the team is still a little faster. Wherever you're at, you can find races for your level. There are a lot of high quality D3/Community College meets as well.

Look at schedules for schools in your area -- D1/2/3/CC/etc. Look at race results. Find meets that fit what you're looking for. See if you can sign up directly or email the coach/meet director. It's a fairly easy process.

Im going to be a HS senior who has a 1600 pr of 4:19. with what is going on (or not) going on with hs sports - i'm doubting that I will run or train with my hs team next year.

i'm going to hire a coach with experience to train me. past two years we've had an asst fball coach .

so can I enter D1 meets if I'm giving up my HS eligibility

Yes. Most states allow competition against college runners even maintaining HS eligibility.

You probably have a couple years to figure it out since many competitions won't exist normally or at all due to COVID-19 and then COVID-20

The posts have been somewhat interesting and informative since I have no NCAA experience. I'm just reading out of curiosity. However, there seems to be some confusion about the OP's intention. Advice is being given about walking on, developing a relationship with the coach, making the team, etc. This guy has, and it seems, wants, nothing to do with his school's team. Or maybe you all are on the right track and becoming part of it IS, in fact, the end goal. It just seems to me from a literal reading of the first post that he's looking for competitive opportunities. Period. Not trying to figure out where and when his school's team is practicing and 'coincidentally' running by, trying to get their attention. You all are just suggesting slightly more subtle and slightly more complicated versions of that.

My advice is, contact the coach and see if the school allows it, but what I mean by 'the school' is the host of the meet and by 'the coach' I mean the meet director. I think that's exactly what several of you suggested, although the advice could be taken to mean: HIS school's coach, with whom he has and needs no relationship. Whether or not HIS school is tolerant of unattached running is irrelevant. All they affect is their home meet. The only people or organizations he needs to care about is whoever is holding an event he's interested in.

If what he's hoping to run is 5k or longer, road races are, in my mind, the best option. That's what I did in high school and it avoided a lot of problems associated with school teams. I certainly admire someone doing the same during traditional college ages, too. There's no tryout, no cuts, no roster, no politics, no rules (GPA, practice attendance), Coach doesn't like you, who cares. You don't ever even see him.

He specifically asked about D1 meets which would insinuate that he wants to compete in the same meets as the team. Otherwise, D3 meets are normally open to the public while many D1 meets exclude any unattached runners. And many coaches are not very friendly, especially with an unattached runner. Most of the time, they will just delete the message and get annoyed. You are better off to read the meet flyer and if allowed, go directly to the registration. Contacting the coach may get you blackballed.

12 year Power 5 conf. meet director here:

Look for meet information, meet entry site like the mentioned directathletics for open meets, or meet director contact.

Make sure there are not entry standards for open entries.

Follow the UNA instructions. Read before adking questions.

Sometimes coaches may ignore you. Some may be too nice to say no. Again, go to the meet director or director of operations before a coach.

A lot of D1 schools have a NIRCA club program if you are interested and they regularily compete at D3 meets. Maybe some mid-major D1 meets. Entry fees for these hosts can be very important.

noone wrote:

I am enrolled in an NCAA DI school but not on the track team. Can I enter in DI meets and compete unattached?

For xc I would assume so for most non championships meets. I know of some Canadian teams racing in D1 meets (Roy trial, Stanford invite) so I can't see why an unattached athlete wouldn't be let in

Do you not have a coach???

No you can't run or compete in a DI meet. Join the team if you want to compete.

This is what is completely wrong with the sport. Ask the football coach if you can play in a DI football game and you are not on the team. Or the basketball coach, or baseball coach.

If the coach wants to host an all-comers meet so be it. Most meet are invitationals, which means you are not invited.

I went to a D1 school and competed in a number of their XC and track meets (and at other schools unattached). Was a high-14 to mid-15 guy in college so was usually in the slower heats but it was fun taking down “actual” college athletes.