UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With the 2018-19 intercollegiate athletics calendar winding down, Penn State remains among the nation’s top 10 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings.
In the latest spring standings, the Nittany Lions are ranked No. 6. Penn State received Directors’ Cup points from NCAA championship participation by the men’s lacrosse and men’s tennis teams in the latest compilation.
The Nittany Lions are in position to earn their 19th top-15 finish in the 26 years of the Learfield Directors’ Cup. The final 2018-19 standings will be announced in early July. Penn State is among only nine institutions nationwide to have finished in the top 25 in all 25 Learfield Directors' Cup final standings.
Stanford leads the Directors’ Cup and is followed by Michigan, Virginia, Texas, USC, Penn State, Duke, Ohio State, Florida and North Carolina.
Men's lacrosse earns first Big Ten championship and NCAA semifinals berth
It was a historic season for the Penn State men’s lacrosse team, which advanced to its first NCAA Championship Weekend and earned 83 Directors’ Cup points. Led by Jeff Tambroni, the Big Ten Coach of the Year, the Nittany Lions (16-2) won their first Big Ten championship and Big Ten Tournament, were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and broke the school record for victories in a season. Grant Ament and Chris Sabia were selected USILA first-team All-Americans. Ament also was among five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, presented to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player.
Men's tennis advances to second round of NCAA championships
The Nittany Lion men’s tennis team posted a 20-9 record and delivered the program’s third all-time NCAA Tournament victory to earn 50 Directors’ Cup points. Directed by Coach Jeff Zinn, the ITA Regional Coach of the Year, the Nittany Lions were 8-3 in Big Ten matches and tied the program’s all-time high with the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Senior Constant De La Bassetiere was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection and participated in the NCAA Men’s Singles Championship, being ousted by the eventual national champion.
Penn State won one NCAA championship (wrestling’s fourth consecutive) and six Big Ten championships or tournament titles in 2018-19. Eight of Penn State’s 10 highest yearly totals for Big Ten championships won have occurred since the 2008-09 academic year. A total of 19 Penn State teams participated in their respective NCAA championships or a bowl game in 2018-19.
Penn State among the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour, Penn State has one of the nation’s most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men’s, 15 women’s).
Nittany Lion students have posted an NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90 percent the past two years, which ties Penn State’ all-time high. Eight teams earned a 100 percent graduation rate in the 2018 NCAA Graduation Rates Report. The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 204 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time and broke the school record with 368 Academic All-Big Ten honorees in 2018-19 (3.0 GPA or higher).
Penn State’s 51 NCAA championships all-time (79 national championships overall) rank No. 5 among all NCAA Division I programs and are the highest total of any college or university east of the Mississippi River. Penn State’s 21 NCAA titles since 2007 are tied for No. 3 in the nation and lead all Big Ten Conference institutions. The Nittany Lions have won 113 Big Ten championships or tournament titles since capturing their first crown in 1992-93, including six during the 2018-19 academic year.