UW-Oshkosh Finishes 37th In Directors' Cup Standings
Top-three national finishes in men’s basketball and football and a ninth-place listing in baseball, helped UW-Oshkosh rank 37th in the 2018 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings.
The competition, which began in 1996, is designed to recognize the best overall NCAA Division III athletics program in the country.
UW-Oshkosh totaled 443.25 points during the 2017-18 academic year to record its 22nd top-38 finish in the 23-year history of the Learfield Directors’ Cup competition.
The Titans scored 90 points with their second-place finish in men’s basketball, 83 with their third-place finish in football and 64 with their ninth-place finish in baseball.
UW-Oshkosh also earned 48 points with its 26th-place finish in men’s outdoor track & field, 45.5 with its 28th-place finish in men’s indoor track & field, 45 with its 29th-place finish in wrestling, 37.5 with its 33rd-place finish in softball, 21.5 with its 50th-place finish in the women’s indoor track & field and 8.75 with its 59th-place finish in women’s outdoor track & field.
In addition to UW-Oshkosh, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had UW-La Crosse finish 19th with 594.25 points, UW-Whitewater 20th with 591.25, UW-Eau Claire 23rd with 522.5, UW-Stevens Point 47th with 363.75, UW-Stout 73rd with 277.5 and UW-Platteville 84th with 240.75.
UW-Oshkosh finished 34th in last year’s chase for the Learfield Directors’ Cup with 432.5 points and 17th in 2016 with 606.5.
Williams College (Mass.) tallied 1,126.5 points over 16 sports to capture its sixth straight Learfield Directors’ Cup title and 21st overall. The Ephs won the national championship in women’s soccer and were the national runners-up in women’s golf and women’s indoor track & field. On the men’s side, the Ephs’ highest finish was fifth in men’s tennis.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology finished second to Williams College in this year’s competition with 1,001.5 points. The Engineers scored points in 17 sports and recorded nine top 10 finishes.
Rounding out this year's top five programs were third-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Calif.) with 939.5 points, fourth-place Emory University (Ga.) with 936.5 and fifth-place Middlebury College (Vt.) with 905.
For the 2017-18 academic year, the Learfield Directors’ Cup scoring was updated for the first time in recent history. While there is still a maximum 18 sports counted, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s soccer, are the four sports that must be counted for each institution. Additionally, up to 14 other scores may be counted, regardless of gender, in the final score. Each national champion received 100 points.
UW-Oshkosh obtained top-10 finishes in 1996 (third), 1997 (fifth), 2001 (seventh), 2002 (eighth), 2003 (eighth) and 1999 (10th). The Titans other placements were 11th in 1998; 12th in 2007 & 2011; 15th in 2004; 17th in 2009, 2012, 2014 & 2016; 21st in 2008 & 2013; 23rd in 2010; 29th in 2000; 33rd in 2006; 34th in 2017; 38th in 2005; and 44th in 2015.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.
2018 Learfield Directors' Cup Standings