With top-ten finishes from women’s volleyball in the fall, men’s indoor track & field in the winter and both softball and men’s outdoor track & field in the spring, UW Oshkosh finished 31st in the 2023-24 NCAA Division III Learfield Directors’ Cup standings.
The competition, which began in 1996, is designed to recognize the best overall athletics program in the country.
The Titans totaled 512 points during the academic year to record their seventh straight year in the top-40 and scored points in eight sports; three men’s and five women’s. The award was not presented in 2020 or 2021 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The UWO women’s gymnastics team’s first-place finish at the 2024 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championship does not count toward the Learfield Directors’ Cup scoring.
UWO scored 90 points on its national runner up finish from the men’s outdoor track & field team and 85 from the team finishing third at the indoor national meet.
The Titans also tallied 78 points on a fifth-place finish in softball, 73 on a fifth-place finish in women’s volleyball, 64 on a ninth-place finish in women’s basketball, 51.5 on a 20th-place finish in women’s outdoor track & field, 47 on a 24th-place finish in women’s indoor track & field and 23.5 on a 49th-place finish in men’s wrestling.
Johns Hopkins University (Maryland) claimed the Directors’ Cup with 1,117.50 total points. Williams College (Massachusetts) scored 1,026.08 points for second and Emory University (Georgia) finished third with 1,009.
The WIAC was led by UW-Whitewater with a 10th place finish (843.75 points) and UW-La Crosse with an 11th place finish (804 points).
Overall, up to 18 total sports may count towards the final Directors’ Cup standings, four of which must be men’s basketball and soccer, and women’s basketball and soccer, leaving the next 14 highest points scored to also be counted. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships.
The Learfield 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.
UW-Oshkosh achieved Learfield Directors’ Cup top-10 finishes in 1996 (third), 1997 (fifth), 2001 (seventh), 2002 (eighth), 2003 (eighth) and 1999 (10th).
