For the seventh consecutive season, the NCAA Cross Country Championships will include the Butler men. The Bulldogs received an at-large berth in the 32-field as announced by the NCAA Saturday afternoon.
 
The 2026 NCAA Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 on the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

"We have been a team in transition this year with a lot of guys stepping into larger roles," said head coach Matt Roe. "Taking on the hardest schedule in the country, we knew it was going to be trial by fire. I love the way our group has managed themselves along the way. They have responded at every turn with toughness, resolve, and teamwork. They have earned another NCAA bid every step of the way, and we are excited to see what they can accomplish next Saturday."

Butler is one of 11 schools with active streaks of making at least seven consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, joining Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, Georgetown, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin.
 
Butler is led by William Zegarski, who won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional title Friday morning, navigating the 10k Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan, in a time of 29:55.0. Zegarski also won the Great Lakes Regional in 2024 and finished fourth in the Regional race in 2025. He is the first Butler male to win two Great Lakes Regional titles, and he's the first Butler male to be All-Region four times, joining Katie Clark on the women's side.

Zegarski led the Bulldogs to a fifth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional. Butler had four runners finish between 25^th and 37^th in Simon Jeukenne, Graham Tomori, Sean Byrnes, and Kyle Grove.
 
Butler is one of six teams from the Great Lakes Region to earn spots in the NCAA Championships field. Toledo and Notre Dame earned the two automatic berths from the Regional, while Butler, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Michigan got in as at-large teams. Eighteen spots are solidified at the nine NCAA regionals with the final 14 bids coming in an at-large capacity.
 
The Butler men competed on the LaVern Gibson course earlier this season, placing 10^th at the John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State Sept. 19.
 
Butler finished 16^th at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Zegarski led the Bulldogs by placing 66^th individually. Matteo Rosio, who ran in Friday's Great Lakes regional race, also competed at the 2025 Championships.

Saturday's NCAA Championships will air on ESPNU and stream on the ESPN App. The women's 6k race is scheduled for 10:20 a.m.; the men's 10k follows at 11:10 a.m.