Bluejay Cross Country and Track
The benefits of racing on a home course cannot be overstated. When you make a Giving Day gift to the cross country and track program this year, you're helping Creighton create and establish a championship caliber home course at Mahoney State Park.
It was recently announced that the Bluejays earned the honor of hosting the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships in 2025. It's a first for the program and a perfect opportunity to showcase the Jays' rising profile as a premier destination for collegiate distance runners.
Giving Day funds will contribute to several enhancements to Creighton's home course, including expanding route width and improving drainage systems. With your support, there are also plans to add permanent power at the start and finish lines; a course-wide timing system with digital displays placed at key checkpoints; and new elements to provide a memorable student-athlete and fan experience, such as food trucks and a competition-day D.J.
Elevating and upgrading Olsson XC Course at Mahoney State Park will help attract outstanding recruits, increase opportunities to host major events and reinforce the Bluejays' standing as a program on the rise.
Past Giving Day donors have combined to generously provide student-athletes with the latest innovations in running technology, including Super Shoes that boost performance with special cushioning materials AND Firefly recovery devices that emit small electrical pulses to increase blood flow.
Eyes up. Future is bright.
Cross country and track is continuing a rapid rate of growth and development under the leadership of six-year coach Chris Gannon.
During this year's Giving Day week, the track team will, for the first time, send its top student-athletes to California to compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational, one of the most prestigious outdoor track competitions in the country.
And in a few months, the Bluejays will make their first-ever appearance at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
These invaluable experiences at high-caliber meets are made possible by the support from donors. A portion of Giving Day funds this year will be used to send student-athletes to additional marquee events, where they'll be running shoulder-to-shoulder with the nation's best and rising to meet new challenges to produce even more records and team success stories.
Last year, the men's cross country team won its first Division I invitational since 2007 and its fifth-place finish at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships tied for the program's best-ever showing at that competition. Tommy Ward, as a redshirt sophomore, became the first member of Creighton's track team to compete in the NCAA West Regionals (he earned a spot in the 800 meters).
“We are excited to provide new and incredible opportunities for our student-athletes as we continue to build the validity of our program. But our growth and our achievements would not be possible without our donors. Your support truly makes it possible for us to raise the bar and reimagine what's possible."
— Chris Gannon, cross country and track head coach
The BIG EAST Conference
Our move to the BIG EAST Conference in 2013 brought an unprecedented level of national attention to Creighton.
It also created countless opportunities for our nearly 300 student-athletes, who have access to some of the best coaches, faculty and facilities in the nation.
Your Giving Day support will ensure that Creighton Athletics continues to meet the financial obligations of the BIG EAST Conference while recruiting, retaining and graduating some of the very best student-athletes in the nation.
The University has flourished this past decade in the BIG EAST. And it's due not only to the bigger platform the conference has given us but what the Creighton community has done with that platform. With every new race, our coaches, student-athletes, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and fans have taken every opportunity to show the larger world who we are.
What is Giving Day?
It’s the day you make a difference for Creighton University.
The day you can support our most immediate areas of need.
The day thousands of donors like you come together to make a huge collective impact, one gift at a time.
P.S. — Your gift will also support Creighton's historic Forward Blue fundraising campaign!