Cleveland – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Learfield Sports have announced the final totals for the 2013-14 Division III Directors’ Cup. Gustavus Adolphus College placed 93rd out of 444 competing NCAA Division III schools after earning 215.50 points over the course of the school year.
The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. 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. The all-sports competition began in 1995-96, and was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today.
Williams College claims its 17th Division III Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. The Ephs have now won back-to-back titles and 17 out of 19 awarded since 1995-96. UW-Whitewater finishes as the runner-up for the title with 1134.75 points. Johns Hopkins University takes home third place with 977.50 points. Washington-St. Louis,with 924.25 points, finishes in fourth place. Rounding out the top five is Amherst College with 914.50 points.
Over the course of the 2013-14 season, the Gusties recorded national finishes in four sports including men’s soccer (17th, 50 pts.), women’s swimming & diving (7th, 72 pts.), men’s indoor track & field (42nd, 29.5 pts.), and men’s tennis (9th, 64 pts.).
Gustavus earned 50 points in the fall, 101.50 points in the winter, and 64 points in the spring. It is the first time in 17 years that Gustavus has not finished inside the top 40. The Gusties have not placed inside the top 25 just four times in the history of the NACDA Director’s Cup.
The MIAC was one of just two conference to place 11 institutions in the final Director’s Cup standings, along with the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Among the NESCAC’s 11 schools featured was first-place Williams and four other top-10 programs, and the 11 institutions had an average place of 61. The Middle Atlantic Conferences placed 17 teams in the standings, but it is a combination of two sub-conferences – the Commonwealth and Freedom – that each have an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.1
Only two other conference – the Centennial Conference and the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) had 10 teams appear in the final Director’s Cup standings, and three others – the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC), the North Coast Athletic Conference, and USA South – had nine schools qualify for the standings.1
1. Courtesy of the Matt Higgins – MIAC Assistant Executive Director