MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Following a lengthy discussion Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 31), the Directors of Athletics of the 14 member institutions of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) voted to vacate the team results of the 6-kilometer women's championship race at the 2023 NACC Cross Country Championships held Oct. 28 at Greenfield Park in West Allis, Wisconsin. Furthermore, the group voted to declare three institutions - Aurora University, Concordia University Wisconsin, and St. Norbert College - as NACC champions in the sport of women's cross country for the 2023 season.

The vacation of team results and declaration of tri-champions comes following an on-course incident during the championship race that led members of the lead group - a faction representing roughly 20 percent of the field - to be directed off course. Once the error was discovered, the impacted runners were quickly directed back on course. For many - if not all - in the group, however, their races were severely compromised.

It was determined that, had the incident not occurred, Aurora University, Concordia University Wisconsin, and St. Norbert College all had a reasonable chance of capturing the title. As the lead group was not composed exclusively of runners from those three institutions, the incident also had a real and material impact on the team standing of institutions further down the table.

Additionally, women's cross country will be removed from the calculations for the 2023-2024 NACC Women's All-Sports Trophy.