DAHLONEGA - For the first time in history, a NCAA postseason event will be held on the University of North Georgia's Gainesville campus as the UNG cross country team will host the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional on November 17 at the UNG Cross Country Course.

Since gaining full NCAA Division II membership in 2007, North Georgia has hosted over 20 NCAA championship events on the Dahlonega campus – all of which are awarded through a bid process on regional seeding.

The 2018 NCAA Cross Country Regional is the first time UNG has been awarded championship hosting rights through the NCAA's open bid process (non-seeded event) and will mark the first time ever that a NCAA championship event has taken place in Hall county.

Prior to hosting the regional, North Georgia will have the Southeast Regional course race ready for preview at the sixth annual UNG Invitational on September 29 on the Gainesville campus. 

The regional is expecting over 300 competitors from nearly 50 teams (25 men and 25 women) comprised of schools from the Peach Belt Conference, Conference Carolinas and the South Atlantic Conference.
 
North Georgia's Southeast Regional will serve as one of eight regional sites with the top finishers advancing to the 2018 Championship at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. as part of the 2018 NCAA Division II Fall Festival.

Clarion and Slippery Rock will co-host the 2018 Division II Fall Festival. The two universities will work in conjunction with SportsPITTSBURGH, the sports branch of Visit Pittsburgh, to stage most of the championship events in the city. 

2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Championship Sites
Atlantic: Slippery Rock – Coopers Lake Campground – Slippery Rock, Pa.
Central: Missouri Southern – Missouri Southern Cross Country Course – Joplin, Mo.
East: Adelphi – Bethpage State Park – Bethpage, N.Y.
Midwest: Hillsdale – Hayden Park – Hillsdale, Mich.
South Central: Metro State (Denver) – Washington Park – Denver, Colo.
South: Florida Southern – Holloway Park – Lakeland, Fla.
Southeast: North Georgia – UNG Cross Country Course – Oakwood, Ga.
West: Montana State Billings – Amend Park – Billings, Mont.

A total of 34 teams will advance out of regionals or be selected for the 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The top three teams from each of the eight regional meets will automatically advance to the championship finals (24 teams). An additional ten (10) at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee using an outlined selection criteria with no limit to the number of at-large teams that may be selected from any given region.

The UNG Cross Country course is is all grass and dirt and is considered "flat and fast." Per NCAA championship guidelines, the NCAA Regional will be run as a 6K for the women and a 10K for the men. The UNG Cross Country Course is generally set up as a 2K loop. Fans can come to either event as admission is free and open to the public.