UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Powered by the wrestling team’s sixth NCAA championship in the past seven years, Penn State Athletics has moved up to No. 4 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The Nittany Lions are just eight points out of third place.
In the first winter sports compilation, Penn State climbed from No. 7 to No. 4, having earned its 10th consecutive top 10 fall finish. Penn State and Stanford are the nation’s only institutions to place in the top 10 in the final fall Directors’ Cup standings in each of the past 10 years. The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 6 in the first winter compilation of 2015-16.
Penn State Athletics is seeking its 12th consecutive top 5 finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup final winter standings.
Led by an NCAA championship record-tying five individual national champions, the Penn State wrestling team was dominant in winning its second consecutive and sixth NCAA title in the past seven years. Directed by Coach Cael Sanderson, the Nittany Lions scored a school-record 146.5 points to easily surpass runner-up Ohio State’s total of 110, and earn 100 Directors’ Cup points.
Zain Retherford captured his second consecutive 149-pound crown, finishing the season 28-0 and earning the NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler. Jason Nolf (27-0) won the 157-pound title, and was joined by Vincenzo Joseph (165), Mark Hall (174) and Bo Nickal (184) as the Nittany Lions’ national champions.
Guided by Coach John Gondak, the Penn State women’s track and field team captured its fourth Big Ten Indoor Championship, and the men’s squad earned a program-best second place finish. The women’s team finished in a tie with Stanford for 10th at the NCAA championships to earn 66.75 Directors’ Cup points and combined with the men’s squad to earn 102.25 points.
Led by Coach Tim Murphy, sophomore Ally McHugh earned two top 16 finishes at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships to provide an additional 37.5 points to Penn State’s Directors’ Cup total.
Stanford leads the Directors’ Cup and is followed by Wisconsin (572 points), Michigan (540.25), Penn State (532.75), USC (492), Colorado (486.5), North Carolina (465), Ohio State (455), Kentucky (446) and Virginia (424.5).
The Big Ten leads all conferences with four institutions in the top 10 spots in Learfield Directors’ Cup standings.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup standings will be updated in April and will include points that Penn State earns in the NCAA Fencing, Men’s Hockey and Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Directors’ Cup points earned in the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics Championships will be included in the final Directors’ Cup winter standings in late April.
The Nittany Lions are among only nine programs nationwide to have finished in the top 25 in all 23 Learfield Directors' Cup final standings.
Led by Director of 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). Penn State student-athletes have an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 89 percent. The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 195 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time, including two this past fall in first-team honoree Tyler Yazujian (football) and third-team honoree Haleigh Washington (women’s volleyball).
The Nittany Lions’ 49 NCAA championships all-time (77 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 30 NCAA titles since 1992-93 leads all Big Ten Conference institutions. The Nittany Lions have won 103 Big Ten championships since capturing their first crown in 1992-93, including a conference-leading six thus far in 2016-17.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup was 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 NCAA championships.