UA Athletics rank 14th in Learfield Sports Directors Cup
by March 21, 2013 3:58 pm 91 views
The University of Arkansas is ranked 14th in the nation in the latest standings of the 2012-13 Learfield Sports Directors Cup standings released Thursday (Mar. 21) by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA).
The Directors Cup is a competition that tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletic programs for their athletic performances throughout the year, according to a statement from the University of Arkansas Athletic Department.
The Razorbacks earned 328.5 points this year and currently rank fourth among Southeastern Conference schools. Arkansas jumped from 35th in the final fall standings to 14th in the initial winter standings based on a strong showing in men’s and women’s track and field.
The Razorback men’s track and field team earned 100 points after capturing the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville. The national title was the 41st in program history, including the 20th NCAA indoor crown. It marked the first national title for men’s head coach Chris Bucknam and the first for the Razorbacks since 2006.
Arkansas also picked up 80 points from a fourth-place national finish by its women’s team at the NCAA Indoor meet after capturing the SEC title earlier in the month. It marked the second time in the past three years the Razorback women’s team has earned a fourth-place national finish indoors.
The Razorbacks earned 148.5 points in the fall. The men’s cross country team won its fifth-consecutive SEC cross country and track title before earning a top-10 finish at the NCAA meet. Arkansas earned 67.5 points for its 10th place finish at the NCAA Championship. The Razorback women’s cross country team advanced to the national meet by winning the South Central Regional before finishing 18th at the NCAA Championship. Arkansas earned 56 points for its national finish.
In 2011-12, Arkansas finished 20th in the Directors Cup, earning its first top 20-finish in more than a decade and for the first time since the current scoring format was adopted in 2000. Arkansas finished second in the nation among programs with 19 or fewer sports and sixth among programs with 20 or fewer sports. The Directors Cup awards points for up to 20 varsity sports.
Arkansas has finished in the top 25 four times in the past five years, the best stretch in school history. In addition to last year’s 20th-place finish, the Razorbacks finished 24th in 2010-11, 25th in 2008-09 and 24th in 2007-08.
The Directors’ Cup program has been tracking the success of the nation’s top intercollegiate athletics programs since 1993-94.