The University of Minnesota Crookston announced the addition of men’s and women’s track and field as NCAA Division II sports competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Golden Eagles will officially commence the program during the 2026-27 season with Steve Krouse as the head coach. They are currently in the process of hiring an assistant coach to work with track and field and cross country.
“We are very excited to add men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field to our sport offerings at the University of Minnesota Crookston,” said Director of Athletics Stephanie Helgeson. “We have seen tremendous growth and success in our cross country program in the last seven years, and we believe we can see the same type of trajectory in men’s and women’s track and field. It also allows us to offer the most competitive environment we can for our cross country and track and field student-athletes.”
The programs build off the men’s and women’s cross country teams which were started in the fall of 2019 at the University of Minnesota Crookston and have grown in success each season since the program commenced. The Golden Eagle men’s and women’s teams are each coming off their best season in program history in 2025, as the Minnesota Crookston men’s squad placed top five at the NSIC meet for the first time ever. The women’s team also had their best-ever finish at the NSIC Championship, placing seventh of 16 teams.
The Golden Eagle men’s and women’s cross country runners have been competing at indoor and outdoor track and field meets as unattached runners in recent years. This will allow those runners to officially represent their school at meets, and run as a part of NSIC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Minnesota Crookston will become the 13th school in the NSIC in men’s track and field, and the 16th in women’s track and field.
The University of Minnesota Crookston has never offered men’s and women’s track and field during the four-year era, either at the NAIA or NCAA Division II level. They did, however, have men’s track and field during the junior college era, with the first team in 1968-69 and the last team in 1984-85. A women’s track and field team competed for the Trojans during the junior college era for the 1981-82 season.
Minnesota Crookston has a proven history of athletic success in the classroom within their intercollegiate athletics, as it has received the President’s Award for Academic Excellence in three consecutive years. In 2025, the award went to 43 Division II schools that have achieved an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher. Minnesota Crookston joined Augustana, and Concordia-St. Paul has three schools from the NSIC to earn the President’s Award for Academic Excellence.
The NSIC indoor championship for track and field is slated for February 26-27, 2027 at Myers Field House in Mankato, Minnesota. The NSIC outdoor championship for track and field is scheduled for May 13-15, 2027 in Mankato.
