The Cortland men's and women's intercollegiate athletic program finished in 23rd place in the 2024-25 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup competition among the approximately 425 eligible NCAA Division III programs competing nationally for the prestigious honor. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), LEARFIELD and USA Today present the award to recognize overall excellence among collegiate athletic programs.
The Red Dragons finished with a score of 632 points. Emory (Ga.) won its first Directors' Cup with 1,198.75 points, followed by Johns Hopkins (Md.) with 1,147, Tufts (Mass.) with 1,069, Washington-St. Louis with 1,044.75 and Middlebury (Vt.) with 971.75.
Cortland was the top scorer among State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) schools and the third-highest scoring school from New York State, behind eighth-place NYU and 18th-place Geneseo. Cortland's finish is its best since 2016-17, and the Red Dragons have now earned 25 top-30 finishes since the competition began in the 1995-96 school year.
Cortland had 13 teams earn points, led by the men's indoor track and field team, which finished fifth nationally, and men's lacrosse team, which tied for fifth nationally. Points are awarded based on NCAA postseason finishes and the size of each postseason field. The national champion in each sport earns 100 points. The Red Dragon scorers were:
Men's Indoor Track and Field - 5th place (75 pts.)
Men's Lacrosse - tied for 5th place (73 pts.)
Football - tied for 9th place (64 pts.)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field - tied for 13th place (61.5 pts.)
Field Hockey - tied for 9th place (53 pts.)
Women's Basketball - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Baseball - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Softball - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Wrestling - tied for 31st place (42.5 pts.)
Women's Golf - 34th place (38 pts.)
Men's Soccer - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
Women's Volleyball - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
Men's Basketball - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
(NOTE: Women's gymnastics finished fourth nationally at the NCGA Division III Championships, but that finish is not counted in the Directors' Cup standings since it is not an NCAA championship.)
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 is the professional and educational association for more than 22,000 individuals and more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Members include athletic directors, associate and assistant athletic directors, conference commissioners and affiliate individuals or corporations.
2024-25 LEARFIELD DIRECTORS' CUP
Final Division III Standings
Rank - School, Points
1. Emory (Ga.), 1,198.75
2. Johns Hopkins (Md.), 1,147
3. Tufts (Mass.), 1,069
4. Washington-St. Louis, 1,044.75
5. Middlebury (Vt.), 971.75
6. Mass. Institute of Technology, 943.5
7. Amherst (Mass.), 933.25
8. New York University, 880.5
9. Chicago (Ill.), 856.5
10. Wisconsin-La Crosse, 856
11. Williams (Mass.), 853.5
12. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), 820.5
13. Washington & Lee (Va.), 791.5
14. Wisconsin-Whitewater, 737.25
15. Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.), 736.75
16. Carnegie Mellon (Pa.), 720.5
17. Rowan (N.J.), 708
18. Geneseo, 674.5
19. Wesleyan (Conn.), 667
20. Denison (Ohio), 666
21. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 654.75
22. Trinity (Texas), 636
23. CORTLAND, 632
24. Lynchburg (Va.), 621.5
25. North Central (Ill.), 605.85
New York schools in Top 100:
8. NYU, 880.5
18. Geneseo, 674.5
23. CORTLAND, 632
30. RPI, 562
31. Ithaca, 550
46. Vassar, 380.5
52. Hamilton, 346.5
56. Hobart/William Smith, 340
64. Rochester, 316.75
72. Rochester Inst. of Technology, 283
t87. St. John Fisher, 225.5
90. St. Lawrence, 221.6
98. Farmingdale State, 202
Official Directors' Cup Scoring Page
CORTLAND'S DIRECTORS' CUP FINISHES
2024-25: 23rd
2023-24: 28th
2022-23: 38th
2021-22: 30th
2018-19: 57th
2017-18: 54th
2016-17: 21st
2015-16: 22nd
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
(not conducted in 2019-20 or 2020-21)
