Syracuse in the NCAA Championship - Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse's NCAA Championship Results
Year	Team	Varsity 8	2nd Varsity 8	Varsity 4	Head Coach
1997 *	--	--	--	--	Kris Sanford
2000 *	--	9th	--	--	Kris Sanford
2001 *	--	6th	--	--	Kris Sanford
2002	12th	11th	12th	11th	Kris Sanford
2005 *	--	16th	--	--	Kris Sanford
2016	13th	12th	15th	14th	Justin Moore
2017	13th	15th	11th	11th	Justin Moore
2018	16th	16th	11th	16th	Justin Moore
2020 No NCAA Championship due to COVID-19
2021	10th	12th	11th	11th	Luke McGee
2022	17th	17th	16th	14th	Luke McGee
2023	13th	8th	17th	13th	Luke McGee
2024	11th	8th	13th	12th	Luke McGee
2025	12th	13th	12th	8th	Luke McGee
* Varsity eight earned an at-large bid

The NCAA Championship brings together the best teams from across the country. The field consists of 22 full teams with no at-large bids for varsity eight boats. Prior to 2009, the NCAA designated rowing as an 'individual team sport' and the invited field included 12 teams with three boats (varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four) that competed for the team title and four at-large varsity eights. In 2009, the NCAA changed the championship to a 'team sport' which meant
that 16 teams earned invitations for three boats with no at-large selections. The 2010-11 season marked the first year of the NCAA automatic qualification system, granting seven automatic bids and nine at-large selections based on results. The winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship earns the league’s automatic bid. In 2013, the NCAA Championship field expanded to 22 teams, including 11 automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large selections.

Syracuse in the NCAA Championship
Syracuse’s varsity eight earned an at-large bid to the inaugural NCAA championship in 1997, hosted by California State University - Sacramento. Three years later, the Orange returned to the NCAA Championship, making its second appearance at Cooper River Park in Camden, N.J. The SU varsity eight finished ninth overall in New Jersey.

In 2001, Syracuse’s varsity eight earned the school’s third at-large, and second consecutive NCAA Championship bid. Syracuse placed second in its heat to make the semifinal then finished four tenths of a second behind Princeton to earn a spot in the grand final. It was the first time in SU history that a boat made the national championship grand final. The championship was hosted by Central Florida and held on Lake Lanier in Georgia. SU’s varsity eight placed sixth in the grand final, the best NCAA finish in school history. After the semifinal race and before the grand final, Syracuse sophomores Shannon Mercurio and Seana Miller won their spares heat by more than nine seconds.

Syracuse earned its first NCAA team bid in 2002 after defending its BIG EAST Rowing Challenge title and placing fifth at Eastern Sprints. The Championship was held on the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Ind., marking the first time that the NCAA Championship was held in the Midwest. The Orange posted a 12th-place overall finish in the Division I trophy results with 13 points. The varsity eight and varsity four posted 11th-place finishes and the second varsity eight placed 12th.

In 2005, the SU varsity eight earned its fourth at-large bid to the NCAA Championship in Sacramento, Calif. The Orange finished 16th at the event, hosted by the California State University - Sacramento Aquatic Center at Lake Natoma.

In 2016, Syracuse earned an at-large invitation to the NCAA Championship, marking the first invitation as a team, to the annual national championship regatta since 2002. The Orange turned in a 13th-place showing, outperforming its seeding in two of the three races.

For the first time in program history, the Orange earned a trip to the annual national championship regatta in consecutive seasons when they competed in the 2017 NCAA Championship on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Behind 11th-place showings from the second varsity eight and first varsity four crews, Syracuse finished in 13th place. The Orange made it three in a row in 2018 and finished 16th at the 2018 national championship regatta.

In 2021 the Orange started their streak of four-year consecutive NCAA Championship invitations and finished a program-best 10th in the team standings. Syracuse's varsity eight was 12th, while the second varsity eight and the varsity four each posted 11th-place finishes. The following year Syracuse placed 17th at the 2022 championship regatta.

In 2023 the Orange placed 13th, led by the varsity eight's eighth-place result, which was the highest finish for a Syracuse crew in the team invitation era.

Syracuse posted the second-best team finish in program history with an 11th-place showing at the 2024 NCAA Championship. The varsity eight matched its result from the previous year with an eighth-place showing, while the second varsity eight placed 13th and the varsity four was 12th.

In 2025, the Orange made their fifth-straight NCAA Championship appearance finishing 12th as a team with the Varsity 8 earning 13th overall, the 2V8 placing 12th and the Varsity Four earning its best finish in program history, 8th.