The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) on Thursday released the second set of national standings for the 2021-22 LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup.
With the Fall and first Winter scoring seasons now complete, Tennessee stands at No. 11 in the Directors’ Cup standings. Click HERE (PDF) to view the current standings.
Thursday’s update represents a 25-place jump for Tennessee, which stood tied for 36th after the publication of the Fall standings. UT’s 381 points during the Winter scoring season were seventh-most in the country and second-most among SEC schools.
“It’s great to see our teams listed near the top of the standings—credit to our talented student-athletes and coaching staffs,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “We believe the Directors’ Cup is a valuable metric in measuring the overall health and success of an athletics program. When we’re scoring points across several sports, that means we’re performing well in the postseason and our student-athletes are achieving competitive success. We’ve got our entire athletic department working hard every day to build a championship culture that will bring Tennessee back to national prominence. This is a good step, but we obviously have a lot more work to do.”
Tennessee’s average finish in the last five completed Directors’ Cups was 33.2 (the cup was cancelled in 2019-20). Last year, Tennessee finished 26th in the Directors’ Cup year-end standings with 748 points for the entire academic year. This year, UT carries 547 points into the Spring scoring season.
As the Vols and Lady Vols compete to build on Tennessee’s point total this Spring, several sports appear well-positioned. Tennessee baseball owns a 28-1 (9-0 SEC) record and is the nation’s unanimous No. 1 team. Men’s tennis—the defending SEC Tournament champion—stands at No. 5 in the national polls and is returning to full strength after some key injury absences earlier this season.
Tennessee softball (No. 11) rowing (No. 17) and men’s golf (No. 18) also are each ranked in those respective top-25 polls. Men’s track & field finished third at last month’s NCAA Indoor Championships and hopes to ride that momentum into a strong outdoor season this Spring as well.
The SEC currently leads all Division I conferences with seven institutions in the top 25 – Kentucky (9th), Arkansas (10th), Tennessee (11th), Alabama (12th), Ole Miss (14th), Florida (21st) and LSU (24th).
The LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships. The all-sport competition dates to the 1993-94 academic year.
Tennessee’s best-ever Directors’ Cup finish was seventh in 2006-07. UT owns 14-all-time top-20 finishes, with the most recent coming in 2009-10 (16th).
The second set of Winter standings will be released later this month, and final standings for the 2021-22 academic year will be released in early July.
As Tennessee seeks to build on its championship tradition across all sports, the ongoing My All Campaign is fueling the pursuit of enhanced championship resources to support student-athletes’ academic and competitive pursuits.
2021-22 Directors’ Cup – Tennessee Scoring
FALL – 166 points
Soccer – 64 points
Volleyball – 50 points
Women’s Cross Country – 27 points
Football – 25 points
WINTER – 381 points
Men’s Indoor Track & Field – 85 points
Women’s Swimming & Diving – 67.5 points
Women’s Basketball – 64 points
Women’s Indoor Track & Field – 58.5 points
Men’s Swimming & Diving – 56 points
Men’s Basketball – 50 points
-UT Athletics
