The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Learfield Sports have announced the final totals for the 2010-11 Directors’ Cup and Gustavus Adolphus College finished 21st out of 435 competing NCAA Division III schools. Gustavus earned a total of 573.75 points on the year, cracking the top-25 for the 15th time in the 16-year history of the NACDA Directors’ Cup.
The Directors’ Cup, which is the only all-sports competition in intercollegiate athletics, is awarded to four-year institutions in the NCAA and NAIA with the best overall athletic programs. In Division III, standings are based on national tournament finishes in 18 sports with points awarded based on the number of teams participating in each specific national championship.
Williams College (Mass.) won the Division III title for the 13th straight year with a total of 1147 points. Behind Williams sat Middlebury (Vt.) with 1063.17 points, Washington University (Mo.) with 964, Amherst (Mass.) with 889.50, and Calvin (Mich.) with 762.25.
Gustavus was the highest finishing member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in the NACDA Directors’ Cup competition. St. Thomas was the only other MIAC institution to finish in the top-30, placing 26th with 454 points.
Gustavus recorded national finishes in nine sports including women’s golf (2nd, 90), women’s hockey (4th, 55), women’s tennis (9th, 64), women’s outdoor track and field (13th, 60.75), men’s golf (17th, 57), men’s tennis (17th, 50), women’s swimming and diving (19th, 55), nordic skiing (21st, 32), and men’s swimming and diving (24th, 50).
The Gusties moved up 11 spots from the winter season to spring. During the winter, Gustavus earned a total of 252 points, ranking 33rd. In the spring, Gustavus tallied 321.75 points to make the jump into 21st, narrowly edging out Bowdoin (Maine) by .25 of a point. Only five other schools scored more points than Gustavus in the spring season, including Williams (427.50), Middlebury (399.17), UW-Whitewater (348), Cortland State (342), and Salisbury (345.50).