The SUNY Cortland men's and women's intercollegiate athletic program finished in 12th place in the 2014-15 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup competition among the approximately 450 eligible NCAA Division III programs competing nationally for the prestigious honor. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Learfield Sports and USA Today present the award annually to recognize overall excellence among collegiate athletic programs.

Cortland is one of only five schools nationwide, and the only New York institution, to place in the top 25 each of the 20 years the standings have been compiled on the Division III level. The other schools that hold that distinction are Williams College (Mass.), Amherst College (Mass.), Middlebury College (Vt.), and Emory University (Ga.).

The Red Dragons finished with a score of 716 points. Williams won its 18th Directors' Cup with 1,053 points, followed by Johns Hopkins (Md.) (1,016.75), MIT (961), Washington (Mo.) (944) and Amherst (918.50) in the top five.

Cortland had 12 teams finish in the top 40 in 2014-15 NCAA postseason competitions, including four top-10 finishes. The women's lacrosse and baseball teams each claimed their first national titles. Men's lacrosse tied for fifth after advancing to the national quarterfinals and the men's soccer team tied for ninth after advancing to the "Sweet 16" round.

Wrestling placed 13th, women's indoor track and field tied for 18th, men's cross country finished 19th and men's indoor track and field tied for 21st. In addition, men's outdoor track and field tied for 24th, women's cross country placed 26th, softball tied for 33rd and women's outdoor track and field finished 39th. The women's gymnastics team finished fifth nationally at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Division III Championships. That result, however, is not counted in the Directors' Cup standings since it's not an NCAA-sponsored championship.

The standings are compiled based on schools' national finishes in different sports. Teams earn points by qualifying for the NCAA postseason and additional points for advancing in the playoffs. The national champion in each sport earns 100 points.

There are four Directors' Cup Awards, one to honor overall champions in each of the NCAA's Divisions (I, II and III) and the NAIA. It is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recognition award for both men and women. NACDA, which is now in its 50th year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics directors, associates, assistants and conference commissioners at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.

2014-15 LEARFIELD SPORTS DIRECTORS' CUP
Final Division III Standings

Rank  School, Points
1. Williams (Mass.), 1,053
2. Johns Hopkins (Md.), 1,016.75
3. Mass. Institute of Tech., 961
4. Washington (Mo.), 944
5. Amherst (Mass.), 918.5
6. Wisconsin-Whitewater, 877.75
7. Middlebury (Vt.), 821.5
8. Emory (Ga.), 807.5
9. Tufts (Mass.), 766.25
10. Wisconsin-La Crosse, 731
11. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), 727.5
12. CORTLAND, 716
13. Salisbury (Md.), 668
14. St. Thomas (Minn.), 628.5
15. Wartburg (Iowa), 603.25
16. Texas-Tyler, 597.75
17. Mount Union (Ohio), 589.25
18. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 572
19. Bowdoin (Maine), 570
20. Chicago (Ill.), 564
21. Stevens Institute (N.J.), 531.5
22. Hope (Mich.), 523
23. The College of New Jersey, 522.5
24. North Central (Ill.), 517
25. Trinity (Texas), 513

Other New York schools in Top 100:
30. Ithaca, 453.5
32. Geneseo, 440.5
40. Oneonta, 379
42. New York University, 373.5
46. St. Lawrence, 363.25
55. Skidmore, 316
70. Rochester Inst. of Tech., 261.5
74. St. John Fisher, 246
93. Plattsburgh, 198.5
95. Hamilton, 196
97. Nazareth, 194

Complete standings are online at: www.nacda.com

2014-15 CORTLAND TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN NCAA DIVISION III POSTSEASON PLAY
(national finish in parentheses)

Women's Lacrosse (1st)
Baseball (1st)
Men's Lacrosse (tied for 5th)
Men's Soccer (tied for 9th)
Wrestling (13th)
Women's Indoor Track and Field (tied for 18th)
Men's Cross Country (19th)
Men's Indoor Track and Field (tied for 21st)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field (tied for 24th)
Women's Cross Country (26th)
Softball (tied for 33rd)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field (39th)

(NOTE: Women's gymnastics finished fifth nationally at the NCGA Div. III Championships, but that finish is not counted in the Directors' Cup standings since it is not an NCAA championship.)

CORTLAND'S DIRECTORS' CUP FINISHES

2014-15: 12th
2013-14: 23rd
2012-13: 11th
2011-12: 10th
2010-11: 16th
2009-10: 17th
2008-09: 5th
2007-08: 9th
2006-07: 3rd
2005-06: 5th
2004-05: 13th
2003-04: 8th
2002-03: 15th
2001-02: 12th
2000-01: 13th
1999-00: 17th
1998-99: 8th
1997-98: 2nd (tied)
1996-97: 8th
1995-96: 19th