With a growing number of talented Scottish athletes heading to the United States college system, here we note performances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships.

Among the early arrivals to the colleges, USA-born "Scot" Alex Breckenridge went to Villanova and shot/discus star Mike Lindsay to Oklahoma in the 1950s, and Jim McLatchie went from Ayr Seaforth in the 1960s.

In the 1970s, Paul Bannon  and Paul Buxton were successful at Memphis State and Washington State respectively.

The 1980s were notable for Scottish women's athletes heading to America, with Meg Ritchie the most successful, becoming the first ever Scot to win NCAA Championship titles, both indoors and out. There was quite a significant movement - Liz Lynch and Elspeth Turner at Alabama, Margaret Coomber at Florida, Judith Shepherd and Kerry Robinson at Clemson, Andrea Everett to Wyoming, among others. 

The flow turned to a drizzle in the 1990s but picked up again in the mid-2000s and Scottish athletes, especially in middle distance, have featured prominently.

Undoubtedly the most successful has been Kathy Butler - unfortunately she was running for Canada at the time! Butler was born in Edinburgh of English parents and brought up in London until her parents emigrated to Ontario, Canada when she was 10. She attended the University of Guelph, Canada before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, USA. Although she did not elect to compete for Scotland until 2000, her record is certainly worthy of note:

1994 - 5th NCAA Cross Country

1995 - 7th NCAA 1 Mile indoor; 1st NCAA 3000m; 1st NCAA Cross Country

1996 - 1st NCAA 3000m, 2nd NCAA indoor 5000m

1997 - 1st NCAA 3000m, 2nd NCAA indoor 5000m, 3rd NCAA indoor mile

The following table sets out Scottish athletes with top 8 placings at the NCAA Division 1 Championships.

The following table sets out Scottish athletes with top 8 placings at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships.

Top of the lists in the NCAA Cross Country Championships are the Kennedy brothers from Glasgow, who had outstanding success over the country in their time at Michigan State in the 1950s. Kathy Butler (Wisconsin) won gold in 1995 before declaring for Scotland. The following Scottish athletes have finished in the top 50 places.