SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco men's and women's cross country teams get set for the 2015 season as the teams announce a competitive fall schedule.

As has been the standard over the past 23 years, USF opens the season on its home course, hosting the San Francisco Invitational on Sept. 5. Then, the Dons unveil a rarely-seen spectacle around Golden Gate Park – a dual meet with Boise State on Sept. 11. The new format added to the schedule will give fans in the area their second opportunity to see one of the school's most decorated programs race.

"With new personnel and a new year, we are very much looking forward to a competitive schedule for the 2015 season," said head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "As always, we look forward to hosting a quality invitational on the opening weekend for collegiate cross country and will then return the following weekend with a dual meet with Boise State.

"Head-to-head competition is not something you see very often in cross country, and certainly nothing we have done here in the past 20 years.  We will run a spectator-friendly course in Golden Gate Park that is a different course from the invitational."

USF travels to its first premier counting meet to close the first month of competition, as the Dons toe the line at the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn. One of the largest and most prestigious meets in the country, the Invitational includes six collegiate races and four high school races. The men will make their first appearance in the field, and the women will break an eight-year hiatus on Sept. 26.

After another loop around Golden Gate Park in the San Francisco State Invitational on Oct. 9, the Dons will again look for points in the standings at Pre-Nationals, hosted by Louisville at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park on Oct. 17. The entry into the Pre-Nationals field will be the first time the women have competed in the event since 2010.

Also on Oct. 17, a contingent of Dons will race in the Bay Area in the Bronco Invitational, and the squad will close the regular season at Santa Cruz on Oct. 24.

The West Coast Conference Championships find a first-time host in Gonzaga, as the league treks to Spokane to race at Plantes Ferry Park on Oct. 31. USF's men are looking to expand on a fourth place finish one year ago, while the women hope to start another streak of conference championships after their string of five straight was halted in 2014.

Two weeks later the Dons will again head to Washington, as the Huskies host the NCAA West Regionals in Seattle. Jefferson Golf Course is home to the Dons highest regional finish in program history for the women. In 2011, USF's women took sixth in the region to earn their first berth into the championship field.

USF hopes its early-season appearance at Pre-Nationals helps translate to late-season success by capping the year in the NCAA Championships. The best in the nation meet again in Louisville, Ky., to vie for the titles on the cross country course on Nov. 21, as the men seek their first team appearance and the women look for their third trip to nationals as a team.

Fans can keep up on the latest news in USF Athletics in a variety of ways:

• Follow USF Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @DonsAthletics
• Follow USF's track and cross country programs on Facebook and Twitter
• Check out video of the Dons in action at www.youtube.com/usfdonsathletics
• Tune into Comcast SportsNet California to see the latest episodes of "USF Athletics: Behind the Mask", with new episodes debuting monthly throughout the season