The Iowa State University Women's Cross Country program began in 1973. The early years of the program proved to be very successful. Iowa State won eight Big 8 Conference Championships (1975-1979, 1981, 1983, 1990), two U.S. Federation Championships (1973-1974), and five National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Championships (1975-1978, 1981).

Iowa State dedicated its cross country course, located north of Mortensen Road and west of the Towers Dormitories, in 1995. The course was the first in the United States that was designed exclusively for competitive cross country racing.

In 1985, after winning second place in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, seven student athletes and ISU staff members were killed in a tragic airplane crash on November 25, three days before Thanksgiving.  Investigations eventually determined that wing icing was to blame for bringing the plane down in a residential Des Moines neighborhood after poor weather had diverted the flight to Des Moines instead of Ames.  

Those lost in the crash included runners Susan Baxter, Sheryl Maahs, and Julie Rose, as well as student trainer Stephanie Streit, ISU women's cross country coach Ron Renko, and director of ISU Flight Services (and pilot that day) Burton Watkins. 

Head coaches:

• Chris Murray (1972-1979)
• Ron Renko (1979-1985)
• Bill Bergan (1986)
• Dick Lee (1987-2007)
• Corey Ihmels (2007-2013)
• Martin Smith (2013-present)

The collection includes extensive news clippings regarding the crash, subsequent investigation, and numerous remembrances and memorials. Also included is material from the memorial services and documents from the planning phases of a memorial plaque, team rosters and itineraries from the decade surrounding the crash, and two student papers written in 1993 about the 1985 crash.

The collection is arranged alphabetically.