UW-Oshkosh Finishes 44th In Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings
Escorted by a second-place national finish in women’s indoor track & field, UW-Oshkosh ranked 44th in the final 2015 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings. The competition, which began in 1996, is designed to recognize the best overall National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III athletics program in the country.
Williams College (Mass.) scored 1,053 points to win its third straight Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup title and 18th overall. The Ephs scored points in 16 sports during the 2014-15 school year and captured national titles in both women’s golf and women’s tennis.
Johns Hopkins University (Md.) finished second with 1,016.75 points, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed third with 961, Washington University (Mo.) fourth with 944 and Amherst College (Mass.) fifth with 918.5.
UW-Oshkosh totaled 366 points to rank in the top 45 for the 20th time. The Titans scored 90 points with their second-place finish in women’s indoor track & field, 72 with their seventh-place finish in women’s outdoor track & field and 70.5 with their eighth-place finish in men’s indoor track & field.
UW-Oshkosh also tallied 50 points on a 17th-place finish in women’s basketball, 33.5 on a 39th-place finish in men’s outdoor track & field and 25 points on 33rd-place finishes in both women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.
In addition to UW-Oshkosh, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had UW-Whitewater finish fourth with 877.75 points, UW-La Crosse 10th with 731, UW-Eau Claire 18th with 572, UW-Stevens Point 26th with 506, UW-Stout 66th with 265.5, UW-Platteville 79th with 224.5 and UW-River Falls 116th with 168.75. A total of 322 schools earned points in this year’s competition.
UW-Oshkosh finished 17th in last year's chase for the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup with 576 points. The Titans obtained top-10 finishes in 1996 (third), 1997 (fifth), 2001 (seventh), 2002 (eighth), 2003 (eighth) and 1999 (10th). UW-Oshkosh's other placements were 11th in 1998, 12th in 2007 & 2011, 15th in 2004, 17th in 2009 & 2012, 21st in 2008 & 2013, 23rd in 2010, 29th in 2000, 33rd in 2006 and 38th in 2005.
The Learfield Sports Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each school's national postseason finish in up to nine sports for men and nine for women. Each national champion received 100 points.