NCAA Division II rowing championship
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The NCAA Division II rowing championship is the annual regatta hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the champions of women's collegiate heavyweight (or openweight) rowing among its Division II member programs in the United States.
The most successful program has been Western Washington, with nine titles.
The most successful conference has been the GNAC, producing 15 of the 23 champions. Similarly, the only two years a GNAC team was not in the top two at the least was 2013 and 2015.
The reigning champion is Embry-Riddle, which won its first ever team national title in 2025.
By the early 2020s, sponsorship levels for women's rowing in Division II had dropped to the point that the future of D-II women's rowing itself was in danger. In 2024–25, only 11 Division II members sponsored the sport, with three others adding the sport for 2025–26. Both numbers are well below the 35 programs needed for continued sponsorship of a D-II championship. The 2024–25 season was the first of a three-year grace period before the championship would have been discontinued. With that as a backdrop, legislation was proposed in 2025 that would exempt women's rowing (as well as women's field hockey, another sport that was in danger of dropping below the 35-program threshold) from the 35-program limit. If the proposal had not been approved, the D-II rowing championship would have been discontinued after the 2026–27 school year, and because Divisions I and III have their own championships, D-II rowing schools would have had no NCAA championship access. This legislation was approved by D-II members at the 2026 NCAA convention.
Format
The NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships comprise 68 total competitors (86 including spares) and two events, varsity eights and fours. Four teams are selected, each of which is required to field an eight and a four. Two additional at-large schools are selected to field only an eight. The following criteria are used in selecting teams and individual boats:
- Regional ranking; regional championship results.
- Results against regionally ranked teams; results against teams already selected; results against common opponents.
- Head-to-head competition; late-season performance.
- Eligibility and availability of student-athletes.
Scoring
- Eights: 1st-12pts, 2nd-9pts, 3rd-6pts, 4th-5pts.
- Fours: 1st-8pts, 2nd-6pts, 3rd-4pts.
Results
| NCAA Division II Rowing Championships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Site (Host Team) | Team Results | Individual Results | |||||||
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Score | Fours | II Eights | I Eights | ||||
| 2002 Details | Indianapolis, IN | UC Davis | 50 | Western Washington | 45 | Not held | UC Davis | UC Davis | ||
| 2003 Details | UC Davis (2) | 20 | Western Washington | 15 | UC Davis | Not held | UC Davis (2) | |||
| 2004 Details | Gold River, CA | Mercyhurst | 18 | Humboldt State | 17 | Humboldt State | Mercyhurst | |||
| 2005 Details | Western Washington | 20 | Mercyhurst | 12 | Western Washington | Western Washington | ||||
| 2006 Details | West Windsor, NJ | Western Washington (2) | 20 | Barry | 15 | Western Washington (3) | Western Washington (2) | |||
| 2007 Details | Oak Ridge, TN | Western Washington (3) | 20 | UC San Diego | 15 | Western Washington (4) | Western Washington (3) | |||
| 2008 Details | Gold River, CA | Western Washington (4) | 20 | UC San Diego | 15 | Western Washington (5) | Western Washington (4) | |||
| 2009 Details | Cherry Hill, NJ | Western Washington (5) | 18 | Mercyhurst | 13 | Nova Southeastern | Western Washington (5) | |||
| 2010 Details | Gold River, CA | Western Washington (6) | 20 | Seattle Pacific | 11 | Western Washington (6) | Mercyhurst (2) | |||
| 2011 Details | Western Washington (7) | 20 | Mercyhurst | 13 | Western Washington (7) | Western Washington (6) | ||||
| 2012 Details | West Windsor, NJ | Humboldt State | 20 | Western Washington | 13 | Humboldt State (2) | Humboldt State | |||
| 2013 Details | Indianapolis, IN | Nova Southeastern | 20 | Barry | 15 | Nova Southeastern (2) | Nova Southeastern | |||
| 2014 Details | Humboldt State (2) | 16 | Nova Southeastern | 15 | Western Washington (8) | Humboldt State (2) | ||||
| 2015 Details | Gold River, CA | Barry | 20 | Mercyhurst | 15 | Barry | Barry | |||
| 2016 Details | Barry (2) | 20 | Central Oklahoma | 15 | Barry (2) | Barry (2) | ||||
| 2017 Details | West Windsor, NJ | Western Washington (8) | 17 | Central Oklahoma | 16 | Western Washington (9) | Central Oklahoma | |||
| 2018 Details | Sarasota, FL | Central Oklahoma | 18 | Western Washington | 14 | Western Washington (10) | Central Oklahoma (2) | |||
| 2019 Details | Indianapolis, IN | Central Oklahoma (2) | 30 | Florida Tech | 23 | Central Oklahoma | Central Oklahoma (3) | |||
| 2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||||||
| 2021 Details | Sarasota, FL | Central Oklahoma (3) | 20 | Mercyhurst | 15 | Central Oklahoma (2) | Not held | Central Oklahoma (4) | ||
| 2022 Details | Mercyhurst (2) | 30 | Western Washington | 19 | Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst (3) | ||||
| 2023 Details | Pennsauken, NJ (Temple) | Cal Poly Humboldt (3) | 30 | Central Oklahoma | 25 | Cal Poly Humboldt (3) | Cal Poly Humboldt (3) | |||
| 2024 Details | Bethel, OH (Marietta) | Western Washington (9) | 22 | Mercyhurst | 21 | Seattle Pacific | Western Washington (7) | |||
| 2025 Details | West Windsor, NJ (Ivy & MAAC) | Embry-Riddle | 26 | Cal Poly Humboldt | 24 | Cal Poly Humboldt (4) | Embry-Riddle | |||
| 2026 Details | Gainesville, GA (North Georgia) |
Team champions
Active programs
| Team | # | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Western Washington | 9 | 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2024 |
| Cal Poly Humboldt (Humboldt State) | 3 | 2012, 2014, 2023 |
| Central Oklahoma | 3 | 2018, 2019, 2021 |
| Barry | 2 | 2015, 2016 |
| Embry-Riddle | 1 | 2025 |
| Nova Southeastern | 1 | 2013 |
Former programs
| Team | # | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Mercyhurst | 2 | 2004, 2022 |
| UC Davis | 2 | 2002, 2003 |
See also
- Intercollegiate Women's Varsity Eights
- Intercollegiate Rowing Association Women's Varsity Lightweight Eights Champions
- NCAA Division I Rowing Championship
- NCAA Division III Rowing Championship