Awarded for | The most successful overall athletic program in each division of collegiate sports. |
---|---|
Presented by | National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics |
History | |
Most wins | NCAA Division I: Stanford Cardinal (26) NCAA Division II: Grand Valley State Lakers (15) NCAA Division III: Williams Ephs (22) NAIA: Azusa Pacific Cougars (8) NJCAA: Iowa Central Tritons (5) |
Most recent | NCAA Division I: Texas Longhorns NCAA Division II: Grand Valley State Lakers NCAA Division III: Johns Hopkins Blue Jays NAIA: Cumberlands Patriots NJCAA: Iowa Western Reivers |
Website | https://thedirectorscup.com/ |
The NACDA Directors' Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup or simply as the Directors' Cup, is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities in the United States [lower-alpha 1] with the most success in collegiate athletics. Points for the NACDA Directors' Cup are based on order of finish in various championships sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or, in the case of Division I Football, media-based polls. A first-place finish in a sport earns 100 points, second place 90 points, third place 85 points, fourth place 80 points, and lesser values for lower finishes (exact numbers beyond fourth place depend on the sport and division. [1] [2]
The award originated in 1993 and was presented to NCAA Division I schools only. In 1995, it was extended to Division II, Division III, and NAIA schools as well, then extended further to junior colleges in 2011 based on standings from the NATYCAA Cup. [3] [4] Each division receives its own award.
The physical award is a Waterford Crystal trophy. Prior to 2003, the sponsor of the NACDA Directors' Cup was retail merchandiser Sears, and the award was known as the Sears Cup. Beginning in the 2003–04 season, the sponsor was the United States Sports Academy. In 2007–08, Learfield Sports assumed the sponsorship of the Directors' Cup. Learfield Sports rebranded to Learfield IMG College in 2016 and to simply Learfield in 2021.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won the award in its inaugural year, but then Stanford University won the Division I award for 25 straight years until the streak was broken in 2020–21 by the University of Texas. Texas repeated in 2022, Stanford regained the cup in 2023, and Texas won again in 2024.
In Division II, UC Davis won six of the first eight awards, but its athletic program moved to Division I in 2003 and Grand Valley State has won 16 of the 19 awards since as of 2024 (the title went unawarded for two years due to COVID-19). The only other current Division II member with an award is 1999 winner Adams State. All other Division II winners (Bakersfield, California Baptist, and Grand Canyon) are now members of Division I.
Williams College has had by far the most success in Division III, having won the Cup 22 of the 27 times it has been awarded for that division. The only other D-III member with more than one Cup is 2023 and 2024 winner Johns Hopkins.
The NAIA division was dominated by Simon Fraser University of British Columbia in its early years, but in 2002, SFU transferred most of its sports programs to Canada's college athletics federation, then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport and now as U Sports. SFU left U Sports in 2011 and has since become a full member of NCAA Division II. From 2004–05 to 2011–12, Azusa Pacific University assumed the mantle at the NAIA level, winning eight consecutive championships before moving to NCAA Division II in the 2012–13 season. Oklahoma City University has been the most successful school since that year, with three Directors' Cups in the 2010s and four overall.
For two-year colleges, Iowa Central Community College has been the most successful school, winning five of the 10 titles.
If two teams have the same number of points at the end of the season, the tiebreaker is the number of national championships won. If still tied the next tiebreaker is the number of second-place finishes, then third-place finishes and so on until one team wins. [5] The tiebreaker is only used for first place.
The scoring structure has been criticized for several reasons, especially due to the number of sports counted per division. Although the number of sports counted in the scoring is based on the average number of sports sponsored by a team in that division, certain schools offer many more or many fewer sports than that. For example, Stanford's dominance at the Division I level is partially attributable to them sponsoring 36 sports teams (of which 31 are NCAA sports), the most in Division I outside of the Ivy League, which does not grant athletic scholarships, and Ohio State, which sponsors 37 sports teams (of which 32 are NCAA sports). This gives Stanford more opportunities to win titles than most other schools, especially considering that some of the sports Stanford sponsors are not played by very many other schools (5 out of 31 have championship fields under 20 teams, and one [namely men's gymnastics] has fewer than 20 sponsoring schools), all but guaranteeing a substantial number of points for the few schools that do (NACDA awards significantly fewer points for teams that finish lower than fourth in sports with less competition, but the top four teams (except in 8-team and 4-team bracket sports) always receive 100, 90, 85, and 80 points respectively). Ohio State, which sponsors teams in more NCAA sports than Stanford (5 of which, like Stanford, have championship fields under 20 teams) has never won the Cup (Ohio State has finished second 3 times, third twice, fourth 3 times, and in the top ten 7 more times).
Another common criticism is the fact that four sports are required to be counted despite some schools not sponsoring those sports. While every Division I school sponsors men's basketball, and all but two (The Citadel and VMI) sponsor women's basketball, a significant number of D-I schools do not sponsor the other two "mandatory counters" of baseball and women's volleyball. In the 2023–24 school year, 21 schools did not sponsor women's volleyball and 53 did not sponsor baseball, giving those schools an inherent disadvantage as they must count a sport for which they are guaranteed to receive no points.
Other reasons for criticism are over the way NACDA awards points in "National Collegiate" sports, which are sports where Division I, II, and III schools all compete directly against each other instead of being separated. The NCAA considers National Collegiate championships equivalent to Division I, therefore Division III schools are allowed to grant athletic scholarships in those sports, but NACDA counts points earned in National Collegiate competitions toward whatever division a team primarily competes in. Similarly, several otherwise Division III schools compete in Division I for men's ice hockey (despite Division III having its own ice hockey tournament), so there have been instances where two different Division III teams earn 100 points in the sport. [6]
Multiple suggestions have been made to change the scoring system. Some of the most popular of these include making each sport worth a proportional number of points to the number of schools that compete in it, to get rid of the limit on the number of sports counted, then divide a school's total points by the number of sports it sponsors, and to count the median number of teams per division instead of the average (the median number of teams at a Division I school, for example, is 16, which is substantially lower than the 19 sports that are currently counted). However, NACDA has never seriously considered any of these suggestions.
From the creation of the award until the 2017–18 season the scoring was as follows: [7]
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993–94 [8] | North Carolina | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | Penn State | Arizona | Texas | USC | Michigan | Arizona State |
1994–95 [9] | Stanford | North Carolina | UCLA | Arizona | Florida | USC | Michigan | Penn State | Nebraska | Texas |
1995–96 [10] | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | Texas | Michigan | North Carolina | Arizona | Nebraska | Penn State | USC |
1996–97 [11] | Stanford | North Carolina | UCLA | Nebraska | Florida | Arizona | Texas | Ohio State | USC | LSU |
1997–98 [12] | Stanford | (tie) Florida, North Carolina | UCLA | Michigan | Arizona | Georgia | Washington | Nebraska | LSU | |
1998–99 [13] | Stanford | Georgia | Penn State | Florida | UCLA | Michigan | Duke | Virginia | (tie) Arizona, USC | |
1999–2000 [14] | Stanford | UCLA | Michigan | Penn State | North Carolina | Nebraska | Florida | Arizona | Texas | LSU |
2000–01 [15] | Stanford | UCLA | Georgia | Michigan | Arizona | Ohio State | Florida | USC | Arizona State | Penn State |
2001–02 [16] | Stanford | Texas | Florida | North Carolina | UCLA | Michigan | Minnesota | Georgia | Arizona | LSU |
2002–03 [17] | Stanford | Texas | Ohio State | Michigan | Penn State | UCLA | Florida | North Carolina | California | Arizona State |
2003–04 [18] | Stanford | Michigan | UCLA | Ohio State | Georgia | Florida | North Carolina | Washington | California | Texas |
2004–05 [19] | Stanford | Texas | UCLA | Michigan | Duke | Florida | Georgia | Tennessee | North Carolina | USC |
2005–06 [20] | Stanford | UCLA | Texas | North Carolina | Florida | Notre Dame | California | Duke | Georgia | USC |
2006–07 [21] | Stanford | UCLA | North Carolina | Michigan | USC | Florida | Tennessee | Texas | California | Arizona State |
2007–08 [22] | Stanford | UCLA | Michigan | Arizona State | Texas | Florida | California | LSU | Penn State | Georgia |
2008–09 [23] | Stanford | North Carolina | Florida | USC | Michigan | Texas | California | Virginia | LSU | Ohio State |
2009–10 [24] | Stanford | Florida | Virginia | UCLA | Florida State | Texas A&M | North Carolina | Ohio State | California | Duke |
2010–11 [25] | Stanford | Ohio State | California | Florida | Duke | North Carolina | Virginia | Texas A&M | Florida State | Oklahoma |
2011–12 [26] | Stanford | Florida | UCLA | Ohio State | Florida State | Texas | USC | North Carolina | Texas A&M | Michigan |
2012–13 [27] | Stanford | Florida | UCLA | Michigan | Texas A&M | Penn State | Oklahoma | North Carolina | Notre Dame | Georgia |
2013–14 [28] | Stanford | Florida | Notre Dame | Virginia | Penn State | Texas | UCLA | USC | Duke | Texas A&M |
2014–15 [29] | Stanford | UCLA | USC | Florida | North Carolina | Virginia | Ohio State | Penn State | Texas | Notre Dame |
2015–16 [30] | Stanford | Ohio State | Michigan | USC | Florida | UCLA | North Carolina | Virginia | Texas | Oregon |
2016–17 [31] | Stanford | Ohio State | Florida | USC | North Carolina | Michigan | Texas | Penn State | Oregon | Kentucky |
2017–18 [32] | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | USC | Texas | Michigan | Ohio State | Georgia | Florida State | Texas A&M |
2018–19 [33] | Stanford | Michigan | Florida | Texas | USC | UCLA | Florida State | Virginia | Duke | North Carolina |
2019–20 | Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic [34] [lower-alpha 1] | |||||||||
2020–21 [36] | Texas | Stanford | Michigan | North Carolina | Florida | USC | Alabama | Arkansas | Ohio State | Georgia |
2021–22 [37] | Texas | Stanford | Michigan | Ohio State | Florida | North Carolina | Arkansas | Notre Dame | Kentucky | Oklahoma |
2022–23 [38] | Stanford | Texas | Ohio State | Virginia | Florida | Tennessee | Georgia | North Carolina | LSU | USC |
2023–24 [39] | Texas | Stanford | Tennessee | Florida | Virginia | Texas A&M | North Carolina | Michigan | Alabama | UCLA |
University | Cup wins | Top Ten Rankings |
---|---|---|
Stanford | 26 | 30 |
Texas | 3 | 25 |
North Carolina | 1 | 25 |
Florida | 30 | |
UCLA | 24 | |
Michigan | 23 | |
USC | 19 | |
Ohio State | 15 | |
Penn State | 12 | |
Georgia | 12 | |
Virginia | 10 | |
California | 8 | |
Arizona | 8 |
Stanford and Florida are the only schools to finish within the top 10 every season. Stanford has never finished below second.
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995–96 | UC Davis | Abilene Christian | North Dakota State | South Dakota State | Cal State Bakersfield |
1996–97 | UC Davis | Abilene Christian | Cal State Bakersfield | Central Oklahoma | Indianapolis |
1997–98 | Cal State Bakersfield | UC Davis | Abilene Christian | Barry | Florida Southern |
1998–99 | Adams State | (tie) UC Davis; Abilene Christian | (tie) Florida Southern; North Dakota State | ||
1999–2000 | UC Davis | North Dakota State | North Dakota | Florida Southern | Western Colorado |
2000–01 | UC Davis | North Dakota | Cal State Bakersfield | UC San Diego | Western Colorado |
2001–02 | UC Davis | Grand Valley State | UC San Diego | Truman State | Western Colorado |
2002–03 | UC Davis | Grand Valley State | North Florida | Cal State Bakersfield | South Dakota State |
2003–04 | Grand Valley State | UC San Diego | Truman State | North Dakota | Chico State |
2004–05 | Grand Valley State | Nebraska–Omaha | Chico State | North Dakota | Cal State Bakersfield |
2005–06 | Grand Valley State | Abilene Christian | Nebraska–Omaha | Southern Illinois Edwardsville | Cal State Bakersfield |
2006–07 | Grand Valley State | UC San Diego | Abilene Christian | Minnesota State Mankato | North Dakota |
2007–08 | Grand Valley State | Abilene Christian | Minnesota State Mankato | UC San Diego | Tampa |
2008–09 | Grand Valley State | Minnesota State Mankato | Central Missouri | Abilene Christian | Indianapolis |
2009–10 | Grand Valley State | California (PA) | Central Missouri | Minnesota State Mankato | St. Cloud State |
2010–11 | Grand Valley State | Central Missouri | Augustana (SD) | Abilene Christian | UC San Diego |
2011–12 | Grand Canyon | Grand Valley State | Ashland | Augustana (SD) | Indianapolis |
2012–13 | Grand Canyon | Grand Valley State | Ashland | Minnesota State Mankato | Adams State |
2013–14 | Grand Valley State | West Texas A&M | Central Missouri | Indianapolis | Ashland |
2014–15 | Grand Valley State | Ashland | Central Missouri | Lewis (IL) | Minnesota State |
2015–16 | Grand Valley State | Saint Leo (FL) | UC San Diego | California Baptist | Minnesota State |
2016–17 | Grand Valley State | California Baptist | West Florida | UC San Diego | Queens (NC) |
2017–18 | California Baptist | Grand Valley State | West Texas A&M | Saint Leo (FL) | Florida Southern |
2018–19 | Grand Valley State | UC San Diego | West Texas A&M | Queens (NC) | Indianapolis |
2019–20 | Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic [34] [40] [lower-alpha 1] | ||||
2020–21 | |||||
2021–22 | Grand Valley State | West Texas A&M | Indianapolis | Queens (NC) | Azusa Pacific |
2022–23 [42] | Grand Valley State | West Texas A&M | Colorado Mines | Indianapolis | Wingate |
2023–24 [43] | Grand Valley State | Indianapolis | West Texas A&M | Wingate | Tampa |
University | Cup wins |
---|---|
Grand Valley State | 16 |
UC Davis | 6 |
Grand Canyon | 2 |
Adams State | 1 |
Cal State Bakersfield | 1 |
California Baptist | 1 |
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995–96 | Williams | UC San Diego | Wisconsin–Oshkosh | College of New Jersey | Rowan |
1996–97 | Williams | College of New Jersey | UC San Diego | Emory | Wisconsin–Oshkosh |
1997–98 | UC San Diego | (tie) College of New Jersey; Cortland State | (tie) Williams; Middlebury | ||
1998–99 | Williams | Middlebury | College of New Jersey | Amherst | Rowan |
1999–2000 | Williams | UC San Diego | College of New Jersey | St. Thomas (MN) | Middlebury |
2000–01 | Williams | Middlebury | College of New Jersey | Emory | Ithaca |
2001–02 | Williams | Ithaca | College of New Jersey | Middlebury | Emory |
2002–03 | Williams | Emory | College of New Jersey | Trinity (TX) | Washington (MO) |
2003–04 | Williams | Emory | Middlebury | College of New Jersey | Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
2004–05 | Williams | Middlebury | Washington (MO) | Trinity (TX) | Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
2005–06 | Williams | College of New Jersey | Middlebury | Emory | Cortland State |
2006–07 | Williams | Middlebury | Cortland State | Amherst | Washington (MO) |
2007–08 | Williams | Washington (MO) | College of New Jersey | Amherst | Middlebury |
2008–09 | Williams | Middlebury | Amherst | Washington (MO) | Cortland State |
2009–10 | Williams | Amherst | Washington (MO) | Middlebury | Illinois Wesleyan |
2010–11 | Williams | Middlebury | Washington (MO) | Amherst | Calvin |
2011–12 | Middlebury | Washington (MO) | Williams | Amherst | Wisconsin–Whitewater |
2012–13 | Williams | Emory | Middlebury | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Washington (MO) |
2013–14 | Williams | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Johns Hopkins | Washington (MO) | Amherst |
2014–15 | Williams | Johns Hopkins | MIT | Washington (MO) | Amherst |
2015–16 | Williams | Washington (MO) | Emory | Tufts | Middlebury |
2016–17 | Williams | Washington (MO) | Tufts | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Johns Hopkins |
2017–18 | Williams | MIT | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Emory | Middlebury |
2018–19 | Williams | Johns Hopkins | Washington (MO) | Middlebury | Emory |
2019–20 | Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic [34] [40] [lower-alpha 1] | ||||
2020–21 | |||||
2021–22 | Tufts | Johns Hopkins | Middlebury | MIT | Washington (MO) |
2022–23 [42] | Johns Hopkins | Tufts | Williams | MIT | Emory |
2023–24 [43] | Johns Hopkins | Williams | Emory | Tufts | NYU |
University | Cup wins |
---|---|
Williams | 22 |
Johns Hopkins | 2 |
UC San Diego | 1 |
Middlebury | 1 |
Tufts | 1 |
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995–96 | Pacific Lutheran | Simon Fraser | Mobile | Berry | Azusa Pacific |
1996–97 | Simon Fraser | Pacific Lutheran | Azusa Pacific | Mobile | Willamette |
1997–98 | Simon Fraser | Mobile | Findlay | Oklahoma City | Puget Sound |
1998–99 | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Life | (tie) Oklahoma City; Lindenwood | |
1999–2000 | Simon Fraser | Lindenwood | Azusa Pacific | Mary | Oklahoma City |
2000–01 | Simon Fraser | Oklahoma City | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Cumberlands (KY) |
2001–02 | Oklahoma City | Lindenwood | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Malone |
2002–03 | Lindenwood | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Mary | Oklahoma City |
2003–04 | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Oklahoma City | (tie) Mary; Dickinson State |
2004–05 | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Simon Fraser | Point Loma Nazarene | Mary |
2005–06 | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Lindsey Wilson | Oklahoma Baptist | Simon Fraser |
2006–07 | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Concordia (CA) | Cedarville | Oklahoma Baptist |
2007–08 | Azusa Pacific | Simon Fraser | Embry–Riddle | Fresno Pacific | Concordia (CA) |
2008–09 | Azusa Pacific | Concordia (CA) | Lindenwood | Fresno Pacific | California Baptist |
2009–10 | Azusa Pacific | Simon Fraser | Fresno Pacific | Concordia (CA) | Lindenwood |
2010–11 | Azusa Pacific | Embry–Riddle | Shorter | Fresno Pacific | Lindenwood |
2011–12 | Azusa Pacific | Shorter | Embry–Riddle | Oklahoma Baptist | Lindsey Wilson |
2012–13 | Oklahoma Baptist | Lindsey Wilson | Concordia (CA) | Embry–Riddle (FL) | Olivet Nazarene |
2013–14 | Grand View | Oklahoma City | Lindsey Wilson | Embry–Riddle | Olivet Nazarene |
2014–15 | Oklahoma Baptist | Lindsey Wilson | Oklahoma City | Wayland Baptist | Embry–Riddle |
2015–16 | Lindsey Wilson | Oklahoma Baptist | Wayland Baptist | Olivet Nazarene | Indiana Wesleyan |
2016–17 | Oklahoma City | Lindsey Wilson | Keiser | Wayland Baptist | William Carey |
2017–18 | Oklahoma City | Lindsey Wilson | Wayland Baptist | Keiser | Indiana Wesleyan |
2018–19 | Oklahoma City | William Carey | Lindsey Wilson | Keiser | Indiana Wesleyan |
2019–20 | Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic [34] [lower-alpha 1] | ||||
2020–21 | Keiser | Indiana Tech | Indiana Wesleyan | Oklahoma City | Marian (IN) |
2021–22 | Indiana Wesleyan | Keiser | Grand View | Indiana Tech | Southeastern (FL) |
2022–23 [42] | Indiana Tech | Marian (IN) | Keiser | Indiana Wesleyan | Southeastern (FL) |
2023–24 [43] | Cumberlands | Indiana Wesleyan | Keiser | Marian | William Carey |
Schools in italics no longer compete in the NAIA.
University | Cup wins |
---|---|
Azusa Pacific | 8 |
Simon Fraser | 6 |
Oklahoma City | 4 |
Oklahoma Baptist | 2 |
Cumberlands | 1 |
Grand View | 1 |
Indiana Tech | 1 |
Indiana Wesleyan | 1 |
Keiser | 1 |
Lindenwood | 1 |
Lindsey Wilson | 1 |
Pacific Lutheran | 1 |
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011–12 [46] | Fresno (CA) | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Orange Coast (CA) | Iowa Central | Santa Rosa (CA) |
2012–13 [47] | Gloucester (NJ) [lower-alpha 1] | Iowa Central | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Monroe (NY) | Suffolk (NY) |
2013–14 [48] | Iowa Western | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Herkimer (NY) | Iowa Central | Orange Coast (CA) |
2014–15 [49] | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Iowa Central | Herkimer (NY) | Nassau (NY) | Iowa Western |
2015–16 [50] | Iowa Central | Suffolk (NY) | Rowan (NJ) [lower-alpha 2] | Spokane (WA) | Mt. San Antonio (CA) |
2016–17 [51] | Iowa Central | Spokane (WA) | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Tyler (TX) | Riverside (CA) |
2017–18 [52] | Iowa Central | Rowan (NJ) [lower-alpha 2] | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Tyler (TX) | Herkimer (NY) |
2018–19 [53] | Iowa Central | Suffolk (NY) | Barton (KS) | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Spokane (WA) |
2019–20 | Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic [34] | ||||
2020–21 [54] | Iowa Central | Iowa Western | Barton (KS) | Tyler (TX) | Cowley (KS) |
2021–22 [55] | Iowa Western | Mt. San Antonio (CA) | Iowa Central | Barton (KS) | Rowan (NJ) [lower-alpha 2] |
College | Cup wins |
---|---|
Iowa Central | 5 |
Iowa Western | 2 |
Fresno (CA) | 1 |
Gloucester/Rowan (NJ) | 1 |
Mt. San Antonio (CA) | 1 |
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