The NACDA Directors' Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup or simply as the Directors' Cup, is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to the colleges and universities in the United States with the most success in collegiate athletics. Points for the NACDA Directors' Cup are based on order of finish in various championships sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or, in the case of Division I Football, media-based polls. A first-place finish in a sport earns 100 points, second place 90 points, third place 85 points, fourth place 80 points, and lesser values for lower finishes (exact numbers beyond fourth place depend on the sport and division).
The award originated in 1993 and was presented to NCAA Division I schools only. In 1995, it was extended to Division II, Division III, and NAIA schools as well, then extended further to junior colleges in 2011 based on standings from the NATYCAA Cup. Each division receives its own award.
The physical award is a Waterford Crystal trophy. Prior to 2003, the sponsor of the NACDA Directors' Cup was retail merchandiser Sears, and the award was known as the Sears Cup. Beginning in the 2003–04 season, the sponsor was the United States Sports Academy. In 2007–08, Learfield Sports assumed the sponsorship of the Directors' Cup. Learfield Sports rebranded to Learfield IMG College in 2016 and to simply Learfield in 2021.
History
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won the award in its inaugural year, but then Stanford University won the Division I award for 25 straight years until the streak was broken in 2020–21 by the University of Texas. Texas repeated in 2022, Stanford regained the cup in 2023, and Texas won again in 2024 and 2025.
In Division II, UC Davis won six of the first eight awards, but its athletic program moved to Division I in 2003 and Grand Valley State has won 17 of the 20 awards since as of 2025 (the title went unawarded for two years due to COVID-19). The only other current Division II member with an award is 1999 winner Adams State. All other Division II winners (Bakersfield, California Baptist, and Grand Canyon) are now members of Division I.
Williams College has had by far the most success in Division III, having won the Cup 22 of the 28 times it has been awarded for that division. The only other D-III member with more than one Cup is 2023 and 2024 winner Johns Hopkins.
The NAIA division was dominated by Simon Fraser University of British Columbia in its early years, but in 2002, SFU transferred most of its sports programs to Canada's college athletics federation, then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport and now as U Sports. SFU left U Sports in 2011 and has since become a full member of NCAA Division II. From 2004–05 to 2011–12, Azusa Pacific University assumed the mantle at the NAIA level, winning eight consecutive championships before moving to NCAA Division II in the 2012–13 season. Oklahoma City University has been the most successful school since that year, with three Directors' Cups in the 2010s and four overall.
For two-year colleges, Iowa Central Community College has been the most successful school, winning five of the 10 titles.
Scoring system
- NCAA Division I: Counts top 19 sports at each school with the following breakdowns:
- Five of which must be baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's soccer and women's volleyball
- The next highest 14 sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, will be used in the standings (except men's water polo)
- For FBS Football: the top 25 teams are awarded points based on their final rank in the Coaches Poll. 26th place is considered a tie between every non-ranked bowl winner, and the next available rank is considered a tie between every non-ranked bowl loser.
- NCAA Division II: Counts top 15 sports at each school with the following breakdowns:
Multiple suggestions have been made to change the scoring system. Some of the most popular of these include making each sport worth a proportional number of points to the number of schools that compete in it, to get rid of the limit on the number of sports counted, then divide a school's total points by the number of sports it sponsors, and to count the median number of teams per division instead of the average (the median number of teams at a Division I school, for example, is 16, which is substantially lower than the 19 sports that are currently counted). However, NACDA has never seriously considered any of these suggestions.
Past scoring system
From the creation of the award until the 2017–18 season the scoring was as follows:
- NCAA Division I: Counted up to 20 total sports at each school, with a maximum of 10 sports counted for each gender
- NCAA Division II: Counted up to 14 total sports at each school, with a maximum of 7 sports counted for each gender
- NCAA Division III: Counted up to 18 total sports at each school, with a maximum of 9 sports counted for each gender
- NAIA: Counted up to 12 total sports at each school, with a maximum of 6 sports counted for each gender
- Junior/Community Colleges: Same as current
Past winners
- Results for years and schools shown in italics represent current standings and are not yet final.
- These results are for the "final" standings, calculated after spring sports end.
NCAA Division I
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:10%" | Year
! style="width:9%" | First
! style="width:9%" | Second
! style="width:9%" | Third
! style="width:9%" | Fourth
! style="width:9%" | Fifth
! style="width:9%" | Sixth
! style="width:9%" | Seventh
! style="width:9%" | Eighth
! style="width:9%" | Ninth
! style="width:9%" | Tenth
|-
! 1993–94
| North Carolina
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Florida
| Penn State
| Arizona
| Texas
| USC
| Michigan
| Arizona State
|-
! 1994–95
| Stanford
| North Carolina
| UCLA
| Arizona
| Florida
| USC
| Michigan
| Penn State
| Nebraska
| Texas
|-
! 1995–96
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Florida
| Texas
| Michigan
| North Carolina
| Arizona
| Nebraska
| Penn State
| USC
|-
! 1996–97
| Stanford
| North Carolina
| UCLA
| Nebraska
| Florida
| Arizona
| Texas
| Ohio State
| USC
| LSU
|-
! 1997–98
| Stanford
| colspan="2" | (tie) Florida, North Carolina
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Arizona
| Georgia
| Washington
| Nebraska
| LSU
|-
! 1998–99
| Stanford
| Georgia
| Penn State
| Florida
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Duke
| Virginia
| colspan="2" | (tie) Arizona, USC
|-
! 1999–2000
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Penn State
| North Carolina
| Nebraska
| Florida
| Arizona
| Texas
| LSU
|-
! 2000–01
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Georgia
| Michigan
| Arizona
| Ohio State
| Florida
| USC
| Arizona State
| Penn State
|-
! 2001–02
| Stanford
| Texas
| Florida
| North Carolina
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Minnesota
| Georgia
| Arizona
| LSU
|-
! 2002–03
| Stanford
| Texas
| Ohio State
| Michigan
| Penn State
| UCLA
| Florida
| North Carolina
| California
| Arizona State
|-
! 2003–04
| Stanford
| Michigan
| UCLA
| Ohio State
| Georgia
| Florida
| North Carolina
| Washington
| California
| Texas
|-
! 2004–05
| Stanford
| Texas
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Duke
| Florida
| Georgia
| Tennessee
| North Carolina
| USC
|-
! 2005–06
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Texas
| North Carolina
| Florida
| Notre Dame
| California
| Duke
| Georgia
| USC
|-
! 2006–07
| Stanford
| UCLA
| North Carolina
| Michigan
| USC
| Florida
| Tennessee
| Texas
| California
| Arizona State
|-
! 2007–08
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Arizona State
| Texas
| Florida
| California
| LSU
| Penn State
| Georgia
|-
! 2008–09
| Stanford
| North Carolina
| Florida
| USC
| Michigan
| Texas
| California
| Virginia
| LSU
| Ohio State
|-
! 2009–10
| Stanford
| Florida
| Virginia
| UCLA
| Florida State
| Texas A&M
| North Carolina
| Ohio State
| California
| Duke
|-
! 2010–11
| Stanford
| Ohio State
| California
| Florida
| Duke
| North Carolina
| Virginia
| Texas A&M
| Florida State
| Oklahoma
|-
! 2011–12
| Stanford
| Florida
| UCLA
| Ohio State
| Florida State
| Texas
| USC
| North Carolina
| Texas A&M
| Michigan
|-
! 2012–13
| Stanford
| Florida
| UCLA
| Michigan
| Texas A&M
| Penn State
| Oklahoma
| North Carolina
| Notre Dame
| Georgia
|-
! 2013–14
| Stanford
| Florida
| Notre Dame
| Virginia
| Penn State
| Texas
| UCLA
| USC
| Duke
| Texas A&M
|-
! 2014–15
| Stanford
| UCLA
| USC
| Florida
| North Carolina
| Virginia
| Ohio State
| Penn State
| Texas
| Notre Dame
|-
! 2015–16
| Stanford
| Ohio State
| Michigan
| USC
| Florida
| UCLA
| North Carolina
| Virginia
| Texas
| Oregon
|-
! 2016–17
| Stanford
| Ohio State
| Florida
| USC
| North Carolina
| Michigan
| Texas
| Penn State
| Oregon
| Kentucky
|-
! 2017–18
| Stanford
| UCLA
| Florida
| USC
| Texas
| Michigan
| Ohio State
| Georgia
| Florida State
| Texas A&M
|-
! 2018–19
| Stanford
| Michigan
| Florida
| Texas
| USC
| UCLA
| Florida State
| Virginia
| Duke
| North Carolina
|-
! 2019–20
| colspan="10" |Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic
|-
! 2020–21
| Texas
| Stanford
| Michigan
| North Carolina
| Florida
| USC
| Alabama
| Arkansas
| Ohio State
| Georgia
|-
! 2021–22
| Texas
| Stanford
| Michigan
| Ohio State
| Florida
| North Carolina
| Arkansas
| Notre Dame
| Kentucky
| Oklahoma
|-
! 2022–23
| Stanford
| Texas
| Ohio State
| Virginia
| Florida
| Tennessee
| Georgia
| North Carolina
| LSU
| USC
|-
! 2023–24
| Texas
| Stanford
| Tennessee
| Florida
| Virginia
| Texas A&M
| North Carolina
| Michigan
| Alabama
| UCLA
|-
! 2024–25
| Texas
| USC
| Stanford
| North Carolina
| UCLA
| Tennessee
| Florida
| Ohio State
| Oklahoma
| Duke
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! University
!Cup wins!! Top Ten Rankings
|-
| Stanford
|26|| 31
|-
| Texas
|4|| 26
|-
| North Carolina
|1|| 25
|-
| Florida
| || 31
|-
| UCLA
| || 24
|-
| Michigan
| || 23
|-
| USC
| || 20
|-
| Ohio State
| || 15
|-
| Penn State
| || 12
|-
| Georgia
| || 12
|-
| Virginia
| || 10
|-
| Duke
| || 8
|-
|California
| || 8
|-
|Arizona
| || 8
|}
Stanford and Florida are the only schools to finish within the top 10 every season. Stanford has never finished below third.
NCAA Division II
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:15%" | Year
! style="width:17%" | First
! style="width:17%" | Second
! style="width:17%" | Third
! style="width:17%" | Fourth
! style="width:17%" | Fifth
|-
! 1995–96
| UC Davis
| Abilene Christian
| North Dakota State
| South Dakota State
| Cal State Bakersfield
|-
! 1996–97
| UC Davis
| Abilene Christian
| Cal State Bakersfield
| Central Oklahoma
| Indianapolis
|-
! 1997–98
| Cal State Bakersfield
| UC Davis
| Abilene Christian
| Barry
| Florida Southern
|-
! 1998–99
| Adams State
| colspan="2" | (tie) UC Davis; Abilene Christian
| colspan="2" | (tie) Florida Southern; North Dakota State
|-
! 1999–2000
| UC Davis
| North Dakota State
| North Dakota
| Florida Southern
| Western Colorado
|-
! 2000–01
| UC Davis
| North Dakota
| Cal State Bakersfield
| UC San Diego
| Western Colorado
|-
! 2001–02
| UC Davis
| Grand Valley State
| UC San Diego
| Truman State
| Western Colorado
|-
! 2002–03
| UC Davis
| Grand Valley State
| North Florida
| Cal State Bakersfield
| South Dakota State
|-
! 2003–04
| Grand Valley State
| UC San Diego
| Truman State
| North Dakota
| Chico State
|-
! 2004–05
| Grand Valley State
| Nebraska–Omaha
| Chico State
| North Dakota
| Cal State Bakersfield
|-
! 2005–06
| Grand Valley State
| Abilene Christian
| Nebraska–Omaha
| Southern Illinois Edwardsville
| Cal State Bakersfield
|-
! 2006–07
| Grand Valley State
| UC San Diego
| Abilene Christian
| Minnesota State Mankato
| North Dakota
|-
! 2007–08
| Grand Valley State
| Abilene Christian
| Minnesota State Mankato
| UC San Diego
| Tampa
|-
! 2008–09
| Grand Valley State
| Minnesota State Mankato
| Central Missouri
| Abilene Christian
| Indianapolis
|-
! 2009–10
| Grand Valley State
| California (PA)
| Central Missouri
| Minnesota State Mankato
| St. Cloud State
|-
! 2010–11
| Grand Valley State
| Central Missouri
| Augustana (SD)
| Abilene Christian
| UC San Diego
|-
! 2011–12
| Grand Canyon
| Grand Valley State
| Ashland
| Augustana (SD)
| Indianapolis
|-
! 2012–13
| Grand Canyon
| Grand Valley State
| Ashland
| Minnesota State Mankato
| Adams State
|-
! 2013–14
| Grand Valley State
| West Texas A&M
| Central Missouri
| Indianapolis
| Ashland
|-
! 2014–15
| Grand Valley State
| Ashland
| Central Missouri
| Lewis (IL)
| Minnesota State
|-
! 2015–16
| Grand Valley State
| Saint Leo (FL)
| UC San Diego
| California Baptist
| Minnesota State
|-
! 2016–17
| Grand Valley State
| California Baptist
| West Florida
| UC San Diego
| Queens (NC)
|-
! 2017–18
| California Baptist
| Grand Valley State
| West Texas A&M
| Saint Leo (FL)
| Florida Southern
|-
! 2018–19
| Grand Valley State
| UC San Diego
| West Texas A&M
| Queens (NC)
| Indianapolis
|-
!2019–20
| colspan="5" rowspan="2" |Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic
|-
!2020–21
|-
!2021–22
|Grand Valley State
|West Texas A&M
|Indianapolis
|Queens (NC)
|Azusa Pacific
|-
!2022–23
|Grand Valley State
|West Texas A&M
|Colorado Mines
|Indianapolis
|Wingate
|-
! 2023–24
| Grand Valley State
| Indianapolis
| West Texas A&M
| Wingate
| Tampa
|-
! 2024–25
| Grand Valley State
| Wingate
| West Texas A&M
| Indianapolis
| Tampa
|}
Schools in italics no longer compete in Division II.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!University
!Cup wins
|-
| Grand Valley State
| 17
|-
| UC Davis
| 6
|-
| Grand Canyon
| 2
|-
| Adams State
| 1
|-
| Cal State Bakersfield
| 1
|-
| California Baptist
| 1
|}
NCAA Division III
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
|-
! style="width:15%" | Year
! style="width:17%" | First
! style="width:17%" | Second
! style="width:17%" | Third
! style="width:17%" | Fourth
! style="width:17%" | Fifth
|-
! 1995–96
| Williams
| UC San Diego
| Wisconsin–Oshkosh
| College of New Jersey
| Rowan
|-
! 1996–97
| Williams
| College of New Jersey
| UC San Diego
| Emory
| Wisconsin–Oshkosh
|-
! 1997–98
| UC San Diego
| colspan="2" | (tie) College of New Jersey; Cortland State
| colspan="2" | (tie) Williams; Middlebury
|-
! 1998–99
| Williams
| Middlebury
| College of New Jersey
| Amherst
| Rowan
|-
! 1999–2000
| Williams
| UC San Diego
| College of New Jersey
| St. Thomas (MN)
| Middlebury
|-
! 2000–01
| Williams
| Middlebury
| College of New Jersey
| Emory
| Ithaca
|-
! 2001–02
| Williams
| Ithaca
| College of New Jersey
| Middlebury
| Emory
|-
! 2002–03
| Williams
| Emory
| College of New Jersey
| Trinity (TX)
| Washington (MO)
|-
! 2003–04
| Williams
| Emory
| Middlebury
| College of New Jersey
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point
|-
! 2004–05
| Williams
| Middlebury
| Washington (MO)
| Trinity (TX)
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point
|-
! 2005–06
| Williams
| College of New Jersey
| Middlebury
| Emory
| Cortland State
|-
! 2006–07
| Williams
| Middlebury
| Cortland State
| Amherst
| Washington (MO)
|-
! 2007–08
| Williams
| Washington (MO)
| College of New Jersey
| Amherst
| Middlebury
|-
! 2008–09
| Williams
| Middlebury
| Amherst
| Washington (MO)
| Cortland State
|-
! 2009–10
| Williams
| Amherst
| Washington (MO)
| Middlebury
| Illinois Wesleyan
|-
! 2010–11
| Williams
| Middlebury
| Washington (MO)
| Amherst
| Calvin
|-
! 2011–12
| Middlebury
| Washington (MO)
| Williams
| Amherst
| Wisconsin–Whitewater
|-
! 2012–13
| Williams
| Emory
| Middlebury
| Wisconsin–Whitewater
| Washington (MO)
|-
! 2013–14
| Williams
| Wisconsin–Whitewater
| Johns Hopkins
| Washington (MO)
| Amherst
|-
! 2014–15
| Williams
| Johns Hopkins
| MIT
| Washington (MO)
| Amherst
|-
! 2015–16
| Williams
| Washington (MO)
| Emory
| Tufts
| Middlebury
|-
! 2016–17
| Williams
| Washington (MO)
| Tufts
| Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
| Johns Hopkins
|-
! 2017–18
| Williams
| MIT
| Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
| Emory
| Middlebury
|-
! 2018–19
| Williams
| Johns Hopkins
| Washington (MO)
| Middlebury
| Emory
|-
!2019–20
| colspan="5" rowspan="2" |Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic|group=2020 d3
|-
!2020–21
|-
!2021–22
|Tufts
|Johns Hopkins
|Middlebury
|MIT
|Washington (MO)
|-
!2022–23|group=2020 naia
|-
!2020–21
|Keiser
|Indiana Tech
| Indiana Wesleyan
|Oklahoma City
|Marian (IN)
|-
!2021–22
|Indiana Wesleyan
|Keiser
|Grand View
|Indiana Tech
|Southeastern (FL)
|-
!2022–23
|Fresno (CA)
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Orange Coast (CA)
|Iowa Central
|Santa Rosa (CA)
|-
!2012–13
|Gloucester (NJ)
|Iowa Central
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Monroe (NY)
|Suffolk (NY)
|-
!2013–14
|Iowa Western
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Herkimer (NY)
|Iowa Central
|Orange Coast (CA)
|-
!2014–15
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Iowa Central
|Herkimer (NY)
|Nassau (NY)
|Iowa Western
|-
!2015–16
|Iowa Central
|Suffolk (NY)
|Rowan (NJ)
|Spokane (WA)
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|-
!2016–17
|Iowa Central
|Spokane (WA)
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Tyler (TX)
|Riverside (CA)
|-
!2017–18
|Iowa Central
|Rowan (NJ)
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Tyler (TX)
|Herkimer (NY)
|-
!2018–19
|Iowa Central
|Suffolk (NY)
|Barton (KS)
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Spokane (WA)
|-
!2019–20
| colspan="5" |Not awarded because of the COVID-19 pandemic
|Iowa Central
|Iowa Western
|Barton (KS)
|Tyler (TX)
|Cowley (KS)
|-
!2021–22
|Iowa Western
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Iowa Central
|Barton (KS)
|Rowan (NJ)
|-
!2022–23
|DuPage (IL)
|Rowan (NJ)
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Iowa Western
|Iowa Central
|-
!2023–24
|Rowan (NJ)
|Iowa Western
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Barton (KS)
|New Mexico JC
|-
!2024–25
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|Rowan (NJ)
|Iowa Western
|DuPage (IL)
|Joliet
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!College
!Cup wins
|-
|Iowa Central
|5
|-
|Iowa Western
|2
|-
|Gloucester/Rowan (NJ)
|2
|-
|Mt. San Antonio (CA)
|2
|-
|Fresno (CA)
|1
|-
|DuPage (IL)
|1
|}
See also
- List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships
- List of sport awards
- Capital One Cup
- NATYCAA Cup
References
External links
- Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup Current Standings
- National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
- "LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Previous Scoring" at National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics