Colorado University Athletics
CU Among Nation’s Elite in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings
March 22, 2018 | General
After the completion of CU's winter sports, Colorado ranks inside the top 15 nationally
CLEVELAND — The first set of winter Division I standings in the Learfield Directors' Cup was released Thursday and has Colorado positioned at No. 11 with 412.5 points, one of five Pac-12 schools ranked in the top 20 on its leaderboard.
The 11th-place standing is close to the highest CU has ever been positioned after the completion of winter sports. CU was ranked ninth three times and then 16th would be the next highest standing behind this current season.
The Buffaloes were unofficially as high as No. 3 following the 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships that CU hosted March 7-10 in Steamboat Springs. Finishing as runner-up in the skiing national championships, Colorado picked up 90 points in the Learfield Directors' Cup Standings, jumping from ninth place after the fall into third with 359.5 total points; skiing was the first NCAA winter championship completed.
After the completion of the indoor track championship, where CU's women scored 53 points, and the hockey/rifle/swimming/wrestling championships (none of which CU fields a team in), the Buffs jumped back to its current 11th-place standing.
Other Pac-12 schools inside the current top 20 standings include No. 1 Stanford (784.5), No. 4 USC (507.0), No. 8 UCLA (425.0) and No. 19 Oregon (360.75) trailing the Buffaloes.
Colorado finished ninth in the fall standings with 269.5 points, which was the best fall finish since being sixth in 2006-07. In the fall CU earned 85 points off its third-place NCAA finish in women's cross country, 70.5 from the men's cross country eighth-place showing, 50 points from women's soccer team who made its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five seasons and 64 from volleyball after its Sweet 16 run (first time in 20 years the Buffaloes had made the Sweet 16).
The next Division I winter standings will be released Thursday, April 5 following the completion of the basketball seasons.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. To review the updated scoring changes for the 2017-18 year, please click here.
Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org.
The 11th-place standing is close to the highest CU has ever been positioned after the completion of winter sports. CU was ranked ninth three times and then 16th would be the next highest standing behind this current season.
The Buffaloes were unofficially as high as No. 3 following the 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships that CU hosted March 7-10 in Steamboat Springs. Finishing as runner-up in the skiing national championships, Colorado picked up 90 points in the Learfield Directors' Cup Standings, jumping from ninth place after the fall into third with 359.5 total points; skiing was the first NCAA winter championship completed.
After the completion of the indoor track championship, where CU's women scored 53 points, and the hockey/rifle/swimming/wrestling championships (none of which CU fields a team in), the Buffs jumped back to its current 11th-place standing.
Other Pac-12 schools inside the current top 20 standings include No. 1 Stanford (784.5), No. 4 USC (507.0), No. 8 UCLA (425.0) and No. 19 Oregon (360.75) trailing the Buffaloes.
Colorado finished ninth in the fall standings with 269.5 points, which was the best fall finish since being sixth in 2006-07. In the fall CU earned 85 points off its third-place NCAA finish in women's cross country, 70.5 from the men's cross country eighth-place showing, 50 points from women's soccer team who made its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five seasons and 64 from volleyball after its Sweet 16 run (first time in 20 years the Buffaloes had made the Sweet 16).
The next Division I winter standings will be released Thursday, April 5 following the completion of the basketball seasons.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. To review the updated scoring changes for the 2017-18 year, please click here.
Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's website at www.directorscup.org.
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