06/27/2016
SUNY Cortland’s impressive streak of sustained athletic excellence in Division III lives on.
Propelled by a strong spring season that included an individual national title and two national third-place finishes, the College’s men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic program finished in 22nd place in the 2015-16 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition.
SUNY Cortland is one of only five schools nationwide — and the only New York institution — to place in the top 25 each of the 21 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.), and Emory University (Ga.).
Approximately 450 eligible NCAA Division III programs compete 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.
The Red Dragons finished with a score of 573.25 points. Williams won its 19th Directors’ Cup with 1,098.25 points, followed by Washington-St. Louis (1,013), Emory (969), Tufts (882.25) and Middlebury (860.50) in the top five.
Cortland had nine teams finish in the top 30 in 2015-16 NCAA postseason competitions, including six top-10 finishes. The baseball and women’s lacrosse teams each tied for third nationally, the wrestling team placed seventh, the football and men’s lacrosse teams each tied for ninth after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals, and the men's outdoor track and field team tied for 10th.
In addition, the softball and men’s basketball teams each tied for 17th place, the men’s indoor track and field team tied for 28th place, and the women’s swimming and diving team tied for 54th place. The women’s gymnastics team finished fifth 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 earns 100 points.
SUNY Cortland added two more individual national champions this year — junior Bobby Dierna in the 157-pound weight class in wrestling and junior Nick Vachon in the high jump event in men’s outdoor track and field — to bring the College’s total to 102 individual national champions and 25 team titles in its history.
For the Top 25 standings and a list of the College's annual Directors' Cup finishes, visit cortlandreddragons.com