About the Program

A Tradition of Excellence

Few schools, at any level, in the United States can boast the traditions, both academically and athletically, that Occidental College enjoys.  Long regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States, Occidental has also amassed a string of conference championships and national championship performances in track and field and cross country that few schools can match.

Occidental Tigers have participated in intercollegiate track competition since 1893 and the College has produced conference champions too numerous to list, All-Americans numbering literally in the hundreds and several Olympians and world record holders.  Occidental’s Track and Field Hall of Fame reads like a veritable “Who’s Who” of American track and field.  For over one hundred years, members of the Oxy Tigers have expected nothing less athletically than they have expected from the College’s academic program – excellence.

In addition, Occidental facilities for track and field have been called among the best in the United States.  The Bill Henry Track was initially built in preparation for the 1984 Olympic Games and the turn radius and track surface are considered, by expert and athlete alike, to be lightening fast.

The Occidental men's cross-country team finished second at the NCAA Division III Western Regional meet Nov. 11, qualifying for Nationals for the first time since 1995. Former head coach Troy Engle earned Regional Coach of the Year honors in his eighth season with the program.

The men's team also won the program's 39th SCIAC title Oct. 28, completing a worst-to-first turnaround that began in 1999 when Occidental fielded a squad of just two runners.  The Occidental women logged a fourth-place SCIAC finish in 2006 and last won the league title in 2002.