Several men’s cross country athletes were suspended from the team for the rest of the 2025 cross country season for violating team rules, Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Jeremy Sudbury announced Sunday.

A statement was later released Monday from an Iowa State athletic department spokesperson: “A few of our men’s cross country runners have been suspended for violating team rules. The Iowa State men’s cross country team is looking forward to competing at the Big 12 Championship this week. We will have no further comment at this time.”

Neither Sudbury nor the Iowa State athletics department has released any more information regarding the suspensions, as the names and the conduct of the athletes have remained behind closed doors as of publication.

These suspensions come days after the Cyclones were unanimously No. 1 in the Week 4 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll. 

Despite these suspensions, Sudbury believes that the team still has what it takes to win its first national championship since 1994. 

“The team you saw at Missouri is a team that is obviously going to do really, really well,” Sudbury said in an interview with The Stride Report. “No, I don’t foresee this impacting team performance this postseason.”

The Cyclones will compete Friday in Lawrence, Kansas, at the Big 12 Championships.