Held on November 23, 1970, the meet was hosted by the College of William & Mary on the grounds of the Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia.

All NCAA University Division members were eligible to qualify for the meet.

[1] The team national championship was again won by the Villanova Wildcats, their fourth title.

The individual championship was won by Steve Prefontaine, from Oregon, with a time of 28:00.2.

[2] Prefontaine's time broke the event distance record, set the previous year by Gerry Lindgren.