A D3 Track Doping Scandal Shows Cracks In NCAA’s Anti-Doping Policy
In the past few months, a developing story has evolved from a doping scandal at the DIII level to a bigger conversation around the way that the NCAA conducts itself when it comes to athletes using prohibited performance-enhancers. Seth Clevenger’s case is raising some big questions that the NCAA will have to answer at some point, that’s for sure.
Possible Doping For Iowa State Cross Country
Clevenger’s case does not begin in DIII, as he spent 3.5 years running for Iowa State University. There, he wasn’t a major contributor to their program until the fall of 2025, when he overcame several injuries (including a double hip replacement) to break out on the cross-country scene.
Before the fall of 2025, Clevenger had only competed in two seasons of track, and hadn’t touched the varsity top-7 that make up championship cross country teams. On Sep. 26, 2025, he ran 23:42 over 8,000 meters, a 28-second personal best. He placed 3rd in the Black Invite of the elite Gans Creek Invitational.
Clevenger would better that time by 5 seconds and place 19th at the high-level Nuttycombe Invitational on Oct. 17. Clevenger would not race again that season, however, because he and a few of his teammates were suspended from the then-No. 1 Cyclones’ roster just a day later due to a “violation of team rules” that was not explained in more detail.
Rumors immediately began to circulate about the reasoning, with many saying that the violation had been related to doping. Iowa State Head Coach Jeremy Sudbury has not confirmed or denied anything about the situation.
Clevenger’s Rowan Debut Sparks New Rumors
Clevenger, whether or not he admitted to doping at Iowa State, was allowed to still compete in the NCAA. He chose Rowan University, a low-level DIII distance school in New Jersey. His younger brother attends Rowan, and the school is a short drive from his home in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
It didn’t take long for Clevenger to make a splash on the DIII scene, as he opened his indoor track season with a time of 7:54.87 in the 3,000 meters, not far off the national record held by John Carroll’s Alex Phillip.
Clevenger’s competitors were immediately suspicious, especially since concerns had been raised that several of Iowa State’s runners had been doping to help with a historic fall season. Clevenger ran 3:59.41 in the mile at his next meet, one of the few DIII men to break 4 minutes, but it was his run at the highly competitive BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational that raised real questions.
Clevenger ran in the fastest section of the men’s 5,000-meter race, taking 13th place with a massive national record of 13:32.09. The first and second place runners in that race went on to finish 10th and 12th at the 2026 NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Championships in the event.
A Video Emerges That Causes Uproar
On Feb. 10, four days before Clevenger’s 5k national record, several former teammates from Iowa State posted a viral online video that made several claims that would be disastrous if true. The athletes said that Clevenger had admitted to several ex-teammates and the coaching staff that he had been doping or planning on doping by purchasing peptides, a type of performance-enhancing substance that boosts recovery, with this particular substance promoting healing in muscles.
The ex-teammates used proof of Clevenger’s doping, including email and text notifications supposedly from Clevenger’s accounts. They said that he had purchased the peptide and EPO (erythropoietin), another banned substance, from a group on the athletic app Strava. The address that the drugs were allegedly sent to belongs to a family member in New Jersey.
In response to the doping allegations, Clevenger hired a lawyer, who put out a cease-and-desist letter stating that Clevenger had never participated in any activity like doping, and had transferred to Rowan for personal reasons with the opportunity to continue on at Iowa State. The letter did little to lessen any conversation around Clevenger’s possible doping, however.
DIII Athletes Speak Out
2025 DIII cross country national champion Emmanuel Leblond from Johns Hopkins University put together an investigation into Clevenger for the doping allegations just days after the 5k national record, mainly relying on the viral video as evidence. The petition has 757 signatures from current and past DIII runners, as well as some DI runners, at the time of writing this article.
It was addressed to the Commissioner of the NJAC, Rowan’s athletic conference, along with the Director of Athletics at Rowan University.
Nothing in terms of an investigation or ban has seemed to come of it, but the petition certainly made it clear that DIII runners believe that Clevenger is doping. This bled over to the 2026 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships, where Clevenger won the 5k in a time that would have won the same race at the DI level, split 4:03 in the distance medley relay around an hour later, then won the 3k in a near-national record time the next day.
Clevenger stood alone on the podium after the 5k after receiving his trophy; the other 7 runners who claimed All-American status walked off as one without participating in the common group picture and taking one without Clevenger. The same thing happened in the 3k the next day, with several of the top 8 walking off the podium once again.
To add to the doping drama, some of Clevenger’s own teammates believe that he’s taking performance-enhancing substances. They, or just a single individual, began an Instagram called RowanCleanSport to highlight the alleged corruption within the Rowan program. The Rowan administration responded with a cease-and-desist letter for the account, which was ignored.
The Implications
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if Clevenger is doping or not. The fact that he cannot be put under investigation by the NCAA over the allegations is the issue. That is under the authority of Rowan’s athletic administration, which stands behind Clevenger.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) told LetsRun that they did not have authority, as Clevenger was once a member of the United States of America Track and Field (USATF) Association, but let the membership expire back in 2023. Only runners who compete internationally and in the NCAA are subject to scrutiny by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
This is not an isolated incident, with several athletes at the DI level being banned for doping while competing collegiately or during their professional careers. In a world where Clevenger admitted to doping in the fall of 2025 and was suspended by Iowa State’s team, the suspension would not carry over to his career at Rowan, another flaw in the NCAA’s anti-doping system.
Clevenger’s case shows that there are some serious issues with the way that the NCAA handles doping allegations, regardless of whether or not he is clean.
