Track and field recruiting has one feature that most other sports don't: the marks are on paper. A 400m time is a 400m time. A shot put distance doesn't lie. This makes track recruiting unusually transparent — coaches can compare your athlete directly to every other recruit they're considering — and unusually demanding. "Recruiting standards" in track and field are something real: many programs publish them explicitly, and coaches use them as a first filter before anything else gets evaluated.
But the ranges coaches recruit within are wider than most families expect, and where any specific program sits within those ranges depends on factors a table alone can't fully capture.
How recruiting standards work in track and field
Track and field scholarships at the NCAA level are equivalency-based at every division. D1 programs can offer up to 18 equivalencies each for men and women, but those equivalencies are split across large rosters of 60–80+ athletes competing across sprints, distance, hurdles, jumps, and throws. In practice, most recruited T&F athletes receive partial scholarships. A handful of top recruits — the ones at or near national qualifying marks — receive full or near-full awards. Everyone else falls somewhere in between.
What this means practically: coaches are filling roster spots by event group, not just collecting fast times. A program that's set at sprint depth but thin in the throws will value a hammer thrower far more than their aggregate team ranking suggests. Your athlete's value to a specific program depends on what they need in that event group and how the marks compare to both their current roster and competing recruits.
"Recruiting standards" means one of two things in practice. Some programs publish formal standards on their athletic website — specific times and marks they're actively recruiting from, often broken out by event. These are the most reliable numbers available and worth searching for at every program on your target list. Many D1 and D2 T&F programs, particularly those with strong recruiting pipelines, maintain these pages. Other programs recruit more holistically without publishing thresholds. The ranges below provide a realistic guide for either situation.
Men's recruiting standards by event
The ranges below reflect approximate marks where athletes draw serious recruiting interest. Within D1, standards span a significant range: the lower end represents competitive mid-major programs (Sun Belt, MAC, Big South, etc.), while the upper end reflects programs in power conferences that regularly place athletes at NCAA championships. D2 and D3 ranges reflect competitive programs within each division.
Note that D3 programs offer no athletic scholarships — coaches recruit based on holistic fit rather than meeting a specific performance threshold. The D3 column reflects marks where coaches are actively targeting athletes; athletes below these marks can still compete at D3 programs they get into academically.
| Event | D1 | D2 | D3 |
|---|
| 100m | 10.3–10.8 | 10.8–11.2 | 11.2+ |
| 200m | 20.9–22.0 | 22.0–23.0 | 23.0+ |
| 400m | 46.0–48.5 | 48.5–50.5 | 50.5+ |
| 800m | 1:49–1:55 | 1:55–2:01 | 2:01+ |
| 1500m | 3:52–4:06 | 4:06–4:20 | 4:20+ |
| 5000m | 13:45–14:25 | 14:25–15:05 | 15:05+ |
| 110m hurdles | 13.7–14.6 | 14.6–15.2 | 15.2+ |
| 400m hurdles | 50.0–53.0 | 53.0–56.0 | 56.0+ |
| High jump | 6'8"–7'0" | 6'3"–6'8" | 6'0"+ |
| Long jump | 23'6"–25'0" | 22'0"–23'6" | 20'6"+ |
| Pole vault | 15'6"–17'0" | 14'0"–15'6" | 13'0"+ |
| Shot put | 55'–63' | 48'–55' | 45'+ |
| Discus | 158'–185' | 145'–158' | 130'+ |
Women's recruiting standards by event
The same division-level logic applies. Within D1, the range is wide — the lower bound reflects mid-major programs, the upper bound reflects programs competing at the national level. Cross country times and indoor marks often factor in for middle and long distance athletes; the times below are based on outdoor track performance.
| Event | D1 | D2 | D3 |
|---|
| 100m | 11.3–11.8 | 11.8–12.3 | 12.3+ |
| 200m | 23.0–24.3 | 24.3–25.3 | 25.3+ |
| 400m | 52.5–55.5 | 55.5–58.0 | 58.0+ |
| 800m | 2:06–2:13 | 2:13–2:20 | 2:20+ |
| 1500m | 4:24–4:42 | 4:42–4:58 | 4:58+ |
| 5000m | 15:40–16:40 | 16:40–17:30 | 17:30+ |
| 100m hurdles | 13.3–14.1 | 14.1–14.8 | 14.8+ |
| 400m hurdles | 57.0–61.5 | 61.5–65.0 | 65.0+ |
| High jump | 5'7"–5'10" | 5'4"–5'7" | 5'1"+ |
| Long jump | 19'0"–20'9" | 17'9"–19'0" | 16'9"+ |
| Pole vault | 12'3"–13'6" | 11'0"–12'3" | 10'0"+ |
| Shot put | 44'–51' | 40'–44' | 37'+ |
| Discus | 140'–163' | 127'–140' | 113'+ |
What the ranges don't capture
The most important thing these tables don't tell you: coaches recruit trajectories, not snapshots.
A junior with a 4:17 mile who has dropped 20 seconds over the past year is a more compelling recruit than a senior with a 4:10 mile who hasn't improved in 18 months. Track coaches evaluate where an athlete is going, not just where they are. A mark that falls short of a program's published standard in junior year may be enough to draw genuine interest if the trajectory is clear and a coach believes the athlete will be there — or past it — by the time they arrive on campus.
This cuts both ways. Senior marks that represent a plateau don't generate the same interest as junior marks representing a ceiling still being raised. An athlete peaking late who shows up with a clear upward curve in July of their senior year is still worth contacting.
Beyond marks, coaches weigh several factors that don't appear in recruiting standards:
Event versatility.
An athlete who competes in multiple events — a sprinter who also long jumps, a distance runner who also cross-countries — is more valuable to a roster than a one-event specialist at the same mark. If your athlete competes in more than one event, list all of them when contacting coaches.
Indoor marks and cross country.
For distance athletes especially, cross country performance is a primary recruiting signal. A 5K runner whose cross country times suggest they'll develop into a 1500/5000 athlete by sophomore year is a more interesting recruit than their outdoor marks alone would indicate. Include cross country PRs in every outreach to distance coaches.
Academic profile.
Eligibility isn't optional. A recruit below the NCAA academic thresholds isn't recruitable regardless of marks. Beyond eligibility, academic fit affects both admissions and scholarship stacking — a strong academic profile can unlock merit aid that makes D2 or D3 financially competitive with a partial D1 athletic scholarship.
The email itself.
Coaches can tell a lot from initial contact. A personalized, well-organized recruiting email with accurate marks, a working film link (especially for field events and hurdles), and a specific reason for interest in the program stands out in a flooded inbox.
How to find program-specific standards
Before contacting any program, search their athletics website for recruiting information. Search "[school name] track and field recruiting standards" or check the team's recruiting page directly. Many programs post event-specific marks — these are the most accurate benchmarks available and worth using instead of general ranges.
When no published standards exist, email the coach for your event group directly. Include your best marks, the meet and date they were set, your graduation year, and a brief note asking whether those marks are in the range they're recruiting from. This is a legitimate and direct question. A coach who answers will tell you whether it's worth investing time in that program. A coach who doesn't answer, or who replies that you're not in their range, has saved you both time.
One practical sequence: use the ranges in this article to identify the right division level, then build a list of 20–30 target programs across that range. For each program, check for published standards, then contact coaches with your marks and a genuine ask.
The bottom line
Track and field is the sport where self-assessment in recruiting is most honest: the times and marks exist, the standards exist, and the match between the two is measurable. That's an advantage. Use it.
The ranges here are a starting point for identifying the right division level and filtering your target list realistically. Program-specific published standards are more accurate whenever they exist. And when you're in contact with coaches, your trajectory and versatility matter as much as your current marks — make sure both are visible.
For the full recruiting process that surrounds this step, our overview of how college recruiting works maps the eight steps from eligibility to commitment. Once you know your times meet the standard, our track and field scholarships guide covers how the scholarship money splits across events and divisions — the financial picture is more complex than most families expect. For another time-and-marks sport, our swimming recruiting guide uses a parallel approach to benchmark performance against recruiting thresholds by division. When you're ready to build your target list across programs, our target list guide covers how to evaluate fit beyond just athletic standards — academics, finances, and program culture. And if NAIA programs are on your list, NAIA eligibility requirements covers the separate registration system and how it differs from NCAA — NAIA has competitive track and field programs and a scholarship structure worth understanding before you rule it out. When you're ready to research specific programs by event group strength and conference tier, our guide to top colleges for track and field maps the program landscape across all divisions. For the sport-specific recruiting timeline — when coaches evaluate, when to reach out, and how event groups differ — our track and field recruiting timeline covers the calendar. And when you're ready to contact coaches, the track and field email guide has the sport-specific template built around TFRRS data and meet results.