Dear Prospective Student/Athlete:

I am pleased to hear of your interest in MIT and our Cross Country and Track Programs. As you probably know, you could not choose a better school to continue your studies and your competitive career.

We have an excellent year-round program, which is arguably the most successful of all MIT sports. MIT competes at the NCAA Division III level, which precludes the offering of athletic scholarships. However, the Institute does have an excellent Financial Aid Program to help offset the high cost of an MIT education. ROTC is also housed at MIT for a number of local colleges, boasting full scholarships in all four of the armed forces as well as the National Guard.

Our program is team oriented. The schedule is a mix of triangular and quadrangular meets mixed in with a few invitationals. We compete primarily against the best colleges and universities in the New England area, but meet several Division I, II and III colleges from around the Northeast as well. We have amassed an impressive record in the last 23 years: 82-30 in Cross Country, 208-19-1 in Indoor Track, and 107-15 in Outdoor Track.

Each season culminates with conference and regional championships, where MIT has enjoyed much success. We have won 17 New England Division III Championships, and have finished 2nd or 3rd 29 other times since the meets inception in 1980. The Cross Country team has made numerous appearances at the Nationals, placing as high as 8th. The Indoor and Outdoor teams regularly qualify individuals for the NCAAs, and have produced 125 All-Americans and 14 National Champions, with teams placing as high as 2nd. MIT's Academic All-Americas in Track and XC are too numerous to count, gaining team honors every season.

The facilities at MIT are among the best in the country, with both indoor and outdoor tracks getting resurfaced in 2000. In Cross Country we race at Franklin Park, which has been the site for World and National Championships. Indoors, the Johnson Athletic Center has a newly renovated six lane, 200 meter, Mondo rubber track. Outdoors, Steinbrenner Track is a new 8 lane, 400 meter Mondo track with multiple jumping and throwing venues. Many collegiate championships have been hosted on our facilities, including the 1997 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship.

I hope you have continued interest in MIT and our programs. If you wish to track our progress, or if you want to look into our history or statistics, you can view our web site at: http://web.mit.edu/hwtaylor/mtfxc/index.html.

Please take a minute to fill out the information form at: http://web.mit.edu/hwtaylor/mtfxc/recruits/form.html. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me at the office <hwtaylor@mit.edu>, or (617) 253-4918.

Good luck with your final season(s), and the admissions process.

Sincerely yours,

Halston W. Taylor

Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field

Head Coach of Men's and Women's Cross Country