UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Anchored by three NCAA Championships and a school record-tying eight Big Ten titles, Penn State has earned its first top five finish in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings in 11 years, earning a school record point total for the second consecutive year.
Penn State compiled 1,113 points to finish No. 5 in the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, surpassing last year’s previous record total of 1,100 points. The Nittany Lions were the only Big Ten Conference institution to place in the top 10.
Penn State was tied for the national lead by winning three NCAA Championships (fencing, women’s volleyball and wrestling). Connecticut and Oregon also won three NCAA titles this past year.
The Nittany Lions earned their first top five finish in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings since placing No. 5 in 2002-03. Penn State earned its fifth top five finish and secured its 10th top 10 finish in the 21 years the Directors’ Cup has existed.
Penn State earned consecutive top 10 finishes in the Directors’ Cup standings for the first time since 1998-99 and 1999-2000 after placing No. 6 last year. The Nittany Lions were No. 2 in the 2013-14 final winter Directors’ Cup standings and No. 6 after the fall standings.
For the second consecutive year, 21 of 31 Penn State teams participated in their respective NCAA Championship this year.
Stanford won the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup with 1,482 points. Florida (1216.50), Notre Dame (1128.25), Virginia (1118.50) and Penn State (1113) round out the top five, followed by Texas (1093), UCLA (1078.50), USC (1063.75), Duke (1051) and Texas A&M (1022).
The Nittany Lions are one of only eight programs nationwide to finish in the top 25 in all 21 years of the comprehensive Directors’ Cup competition.
Three Penn State squads led the way in the 2013-14 campaign, as women’s volleyball, wrestling and fencing each captured NCAA Championships, combining to score 300 Directors’ Cup points. Penn State’s three NCAA Championships this year were its most since winning three in 1999-2000.
Penn State student-athletes, who have an 88 percent graduation rate, won a school record-tying and conference-best eight Big Ten titles in 2013-14 and 16 titles over the past two years, easily topping second place Michigan (nine) in combined titles the last two years among all Big Ten institutions.
In addition to women’s volleyball and wrestling (dual season and championship), Penn State also won Big Ten Championships this year in: women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s soccer, women’s indoor track and field and women’s outdoor track and field.
The Nittany Lions have a combined 20 conference championships during the past two years, the most in a two-year stretch in school history.
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings were developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports -- 10 women's and 10 men's.