Athletics

Penn State in top 10 in latest Learfield Directors' Cup standings

Men’s golf, men's and women's track and field earn Directors’ Cup points for NCAA participation

Led by men’s 800-meter national champion Isaiah Harris, the Nittany Lions had six first-team All-Americans, one national champion, one third-place and one fourth-place finisher at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.  Credit: Penn State Athletics. All Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With the 2017-18 intercollegiate athletics calendar nearing completion, 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. 10. Penn State received Directors’ Cup points from NCAA participation by men’s golf and the men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams in the latest compilation.

Penn State is in position to earn its 18th top-15 finish in the 25 years of the Learfield Directors’ Cup. The final 2017-18 standings will be announced in early July.

Twenty of Penn State’s 31 teams participated in their respective NCAA championships in 2017-18 and the Nittany Lion football team won the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl to bring the total to 21 squads in NCAA competition.

Led by Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour, the Nittany Lions placed No. 2 in the 2017-18 final fall and winter Directors’ Cup standings. Penn State is among only nine institutions nationwide to have finished in the top 25 in all 24 Learfield Directors' Cup final standings.

Stanford leads the Directors’ Cup and is followed by UCLA (1,276), USC (1,147), Florida (1,133), Michigan (1,131), Ohio State (1,093), Texas (1,070.25), Florida State (1,013.75), Georgia (996.35) and Penn State (978.25). The Big Ten is tied for first (with the Pac-12) among all conferences with three schools in the top 10.

Penn State was the only Big Ten track and field program to deliver top-25 finishes in both the men’s and women’s standings at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Led by men’s 800-meter national champion Isaiah Harris, the Nittany Lions had six first-team All-Americans, one national champion, one third-place and one fourth-place finisher at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for Coach John Gondak. Harris became the Nittany Lions’ first men’s outdoor national champion since Brian Milne won the discus in 1993.

Junior Maddie Holmberg placed third in the heptathlon for the Nittany Lions at the NCAA championships, Megan McCloskey was fourth in the high jump, and Danae Rivers finished eighth in the 1,500 meters.

The men’s golf team participated in the NCAA regionals for the 21st time in Coach Greg Nye’s 26 seasons, finishing sixth, one spot out a berth in the NCAA championships. The Nittany Lions were led by senior Cole Miller, who carded a 2-under-par 69 during the final round to finish at +3 for the three-round NCAA regional. Miller qualified for this past weekend’s U.S. Open.

Last Updated August 31, 2018