Valparaiso University will host the 2005 Mid-Continent Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on October 29 while also competing in seven other races during the upcoming season as head coach Mike Straubel has announced his fall schedule.

The Crusaders will open the season at home on September 9 with the Crusader Invitational at Sunset Hills Farm, which will also be the site of the league championships.

After a week off, the Brown and Gold will split the squad with some runners heading to the George Dales Invitational in Three Rivers, Mich. on September 23 while the others head to the Stanford Invitational on September 24.

The following week, the Valpo will again race at two locations, with the Notre Dame Invitational being held September 30 and the Loyola Lakefront Invitational being contested the following day. After a week off, the Crusaders will head to the Evansville Invitational on October 15 in the final tune-up for the Mid-Con Championships.

Valpo hosts the Mid-Con Cross Country Championships on October 29 for the first time since 1996. The men's race begins at 10 a.m. with the women following at 11 a.m.

The season concludes November 12 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in Bloomington, Ind.

Last year, Valpo's men finished sixth in the Mid-Con while the women placed third at the league championships. Straubel returns 14 men and ten women from his 2004 squads.