INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Indiana State has been host to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships for the past three seasons and is sheduled to host the 2007 event for the fourth-consecutive season. On Wednesday, the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet announced that the streak will extend to five as the LeVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center has been named the site of the 2008 championships set for November 24.

ISU head men's track and cross country coach John McNichols was pleased to hear that the event would be staying put at Indiana State.

"We've created an event that is really second to none, not only because of our tremendous facility but also because we've been able to address and solve problems from previous meets," said McNichols. "We've set the bar for what's expected at a site for a national championship pretty high and that's one reason why we have received the nod for 2008."

The 2008 championships will also mark the sixth time in which the university has held the event since 2002, as fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Northern Iowa hosted the event in 2003. McNichols knows how much work has been put into hosting the event in the past and hopes that it will only continue to get better.

"We started the whole thing in 1995 when the land was given to us and the intent of the gift was to develop a championship cross country course," said McNichols. "We knew what we wanted to create at the time, but we never knew if it was really going to happen. What has transpired since that time and how the course has evolved has really been remarkable.

"Earning this bid is a credit to our athletic department and the leadership team in place that puts on the event each year and also to the community as well," continued McNichols. "The city has really embraced this event and we continue to improve the event each year and I think that's why it's been given to us once again."

In addition to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, ISU has also hosted several Pre-Nationals meets, the 2003 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the 2000 and 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Championships and the 2006 Indiana Intercollegiates.