Cortland 23rd in Final Directors' Cup Standings

06/10/2014

The SUNY Cortland men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic program finished in 23rd place in the 2013-14 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition among the approximately 440 eligible NCAA Division III programs competing nationally for the prestigious honor. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Learfield Sports and USA Today present the award annually to recognize overall excellence among collegiate athletic programs.

Cortland is one of only six schools nationwide, and the only New York institution, to place in the top 25 each of the 19 years the standings have been compiled on the Division III level. The other schools that hold that distinction are Williams College (Mass.), Amherst College (Mass.), Middlebury College (Vt.), Calvin College (Mich.) and Emory University (Ga.).

The Red Dragons finished with a score of 496.25 points. Williams won its 17th Directors’ Cup in the last 19 years with 1,225.25 points, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater (1,134.75), Johns Hopkins (Md.) (977.50), Washington (Mo.) (924.25) and Amherst (914.50) in the top five.

Cortland had seven teams finish in the top 40 in 2013-14 NCAA postseason competitions, including four top-10 finishes. The women’s lacrosse team tied for third place, the baseball and men’s lacrosse squads each tied for fifth place, and the wrestling team tied for sixth. Men’s cross country finished 13th, men’s indoor track and field tied for 34th, and women’s indoor track and field tied for 40th. The women's gymnastics team finished second nationally at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Division III Championships. That result, however, is not counted in the Directors' Cup standings since it’s not an NCAA-sponsored championship.

The standings are compiled based on schools’ national finishes in different sports. Teams earn points by qualifying for the NCAA postseason and additional points for advancing in the playoffs. The national champion in each sport receives 100 points.

There are four Directors’ Cup Awards, one to honor overall champions in each of the NCAA’s Divisions (I, II and III) and the NAIA. It is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recognition award for both men and women. NACDA, which is now in its 49th year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference commissioners at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.

2013-14 LEARFIELD SPORTS DIRECTORS’ CUP

Final Division III Standings

Rank/School, Points

1. Williams (Mass.), 1,225.25

2. Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1,134.75

3. Johns Hopkins (Md.), 977.5

4. Washington (Mo.), 924.25

5. Amherst (Mass.), 914.5

6. Emory (Ga.), 898

7. Tufts (Mass.), 799.38

8. Mass. Institute of Tech., 778.75

9. St. Thomas (Minn.), 765.5