The NCAA Division I Rowing Championship is a rowing championship held by the NCAA for Division I women's heavyweight (or openweight) collegiate crews. All of the sponsored races are 2,000 meters (6,562ft) long (the NCAA does not sponsor men's rowing (both heavyweight and lightweight) and women's lightweight rowing championships.
The inaugural National Championship was held in 1997 for the top 16 crews in the country, located at Lake Natoma, Sacramento, California. In 2002, the NCAA added championships for Division II and Division III.
Brown have been the most successful team, with seven national titles.
Texas are the reigning national champions, winning their fourth national title in 2026.
Automatic qualifier spots
Ten rowing conferences each get one Automatic Qualifier spot by winning their conference points championship, except for the Ivy League whose Automatic Qualifier goes to the Varsity Eight winner. There are another 12 At-Large spots.
The NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships have three events (I Eights, II Eights, Fours), and twenty-two teams compete. Eleven teams are selected through automatic qualification based on conference results. An additional eleven at-large teams are selected by the NCAA Rowing Committee. In previous years an additional, four at-large I Eights are selected. As of 2009 all bids must be full teams.
Teams are awarded points by their final placing in each event. The NCAA Champion is determined by the team which accumulates the most points. Since 2013, the winner of the I-Eights event gets 66 points, and the team that places second gets 63 points, third gets 60, etc. For the II-Eights there are 44 points for the winner, and the points obtained go down in steps of two for each next spot in the final ranking. For the event with Fours, the winner gets 22 points, and the subsequent finishers get 21, 20, 19, etc.
When teams are tied for points after the three events, the NCAA champion is determined by the team with the higher placing in the I Eight event.
At-large participants in the championships are selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Committee. The following criteria are used in selecting teams and individual boats:
The first women’s collegiate championship was held in 1980 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. National champions were declared from the varsity eight race. California won the first collegiate championship. Below is a list of Women’s National Collegiate varsity eight champions:
Prior to 1980, college boats entered the National Women’s Rowing Association National Championships (what is now the USRowing National Championships). Below is a list of NWRA open eights champions from 1971–79 (no eights prior to 1971). The top college finisher is in parentheses:
1997 — Sabina Telenska, Denni Nessler, Kelly Horton, Katy Dunnet, Annie Christie, Jan Williamson, Tristine Glick, Kari Green, Alida Purves (cox), Head Coach: Jan Harville
1998 — Sabina Telenska, Denni Nessler, Kelly Horton, Katy Dunnet, Annie Christie, Rachel Dunnet, Vanessa Tavalero, Kari Green, Missy Collins (cox), Head Coach: Jan Harville
1999 — Caroline Grogan, Erin Kelley, Amy Meyers, Nina Carter, Kellie Walker, Anda Adams, Rachel Anderson, Portia Johnson (Portia McGee), Kate Saul (cox), Head Coach: John Murphy
2000 — Portia Johnson (Portia McGee), Rachel Anderson, Anda Adams, Kellie Walker, Jessica Lanning, Liane Malcos, Erin Kelley, Caroline Grogan, Kate Saul (cox), Head Coach: John Murphy
2002 — Lauren Estevenin, Annabel Ritchie, Anna Mickelson, Heidi Hurn, Adrienne Hunter, Carrie Stasiak, Kara Nykreim, Yvonneke Stenken, Mary Whipple (cox), Head Coach: Jan Harville
2003 — Sarah Marvel, Courtney Brown, Caryn Davies, Anna Brock, Lis Lambert, Heather Schofield, Caroline Fisher, Tasha Pasternack, Julie Gluck (cox), Head Coach: Liz O'Leary
2004 — Deborah Dryer, Meg Anderson, Catherine Starr, Karen Prazar, Rachel Dearborn, Natalia Obolensky, Marie Walcott, Gillian Almy, Mira Mehta (cox), Head Coach: John Murphy
2005 — Jelena Djukic, Kaylan Vander Schilden, Laura Terheyden, Kim Atkinson, Iva Obradović, Erin Reinhardt, Mara Allen, Erin Cafaro, Remy Hitomi (cox), Head Coach: Dave O'Neill
2008 — Taylor Ritzel, Christina Person, Tess Gerrand, Jamie Redman, Alice Henly, Maren McCrea, Caroline Nash, Christine Glandorf, Mia Kanak (cox), Head Coach: Will Porter
2010 — Taylor Ritzel, Tess Gerrand, Alice Henly, Maren McCrea, Caroline Nash, Catherine Hart, Stephanie Madner, Dara Dickson, Mia Kanak (cox), Head Coach: Will Porter
2011 — Lauren Wilkinson, Kelsey Reelick, Emily Reynolds, Michaela Strand, Heidi Robbins, Kelly Pierce, Molly Hamrick, Ashton Brown, Lila Flavin (cox), Head Coach: Lori Dauphiny
2012 — Keziah Beall, Martha Kuzzy, Kristine O'Brien, Sarah Cowburn, Fiona Schlesinger, Susanne Grainger, Hemingway Benton, Carli Goldberg, Sidney Thorsten (cox), Head Coach: Kevin Sauer
2013 — Agatha Nowinski, Erica Rippe, Paparangi Hipango, Kara Kohler, Jenn Helssen, Kendall Chase, Maggie Simpson, Clair Premzic, Rachel Ersted (cox), Head Coach: Dave O'Neill
2014 — Claire-Louise Bode, Holly Norton, Catherine Shields, Stephanie Williams, Ashley Bauer, Eelkje Miedema, Elodie Ravera, Aina Cid Centelles, Victoria Lazur (cox), Head Coach: Andy Teitelbaum
2015 — Rachel Engel, Aina Cid Centelles, Anna Ralph, Stephanie Williams, Ashley Bauer, Sarah Davis, Catherine Shields, Holly Norton, Sami Jurofsky (cox), Head Coach: Andy Teitelbaum
2016 — Sarah Davis, Catherine Shields, Stephanie Williams, Anne Dietrich, Cassandra Johnson, Anna Ralph, Alice Riley, Rachel Engel, Sarah Asad (cox), Head Coach: Andy Teitelbaum
2018 — Charlotte Wesselman, Mia Croonquist, Juliane Faralisch, Dana Moffat, Chloe Betts, Maddison Brown, Sydney Payne, Bea Bliemel, Hannah Christopher (cox), Head Coach: Al Acosta
2019 — Carmela Pappalardo, Jennifer Wren, Valentina Iseppi, Teal Cohen, Marlee Blue, Sofia Asoumanaki, Calina Schanze, Tabea Schendekehl, Marley Avritt (cox), Head Coach: Yasmin Farooq
2021 — Kate Knifton (Stroke), Fran Raggi, Alex Watson, Aspa Christodoulidis, Daisy Mazzio-Manson, Anna Jensen, Susan Temming, Lisa Gutfleisch (Bow), Rachel Rane (Cox), Head Coach: Dave O'Neill
2022 — Kate Knifton (Stroke), Fran Raggi, Aspa Christodoulidis, Etta Carpenter, Anna Jensen, Susan Temming, Sophie Calabrese, Lisa Gutfleisch (Bow), Rachel Rane (Cox), Head Coach: Dave O'Neill
2024 — Mette Nielsen (Stroke), Carly Legenzowski (Cox), Kathia Nitsch, Anna Jensen, Etta Carpender, Marg van der Wal, Abigail Dawson, Cassandre Korvink-Kucinski Amber Harwood (1) Head Coach: Dave O'Neill
2025 — Violet Barletta (Stroke), Sofia Garcia (Cox), Nicole Martinez, Mia Levy, Harriet Drake-Lee, Imogen Cabot, Maya Meschkuleit, Christina Bourmpou, Alexa von der Schulenberg, Head Coach: Will Porter
2026 — Imogen Grey (Stroke), Amy Werner (Cox), Lucy Searle, Ilva Boone, Maya Meschkuleit, Marg van der Wal, Phoebe Wise, Abigail Dawson, Rhiannon Luke, Head Coach: Dave O'Neill
United States
