Stanford wins 21st Director's Cup; Pac-12 schools post unprecedented 1-2-3 finish

SAN FRANCISCO - The STANFORD Cardinal captured their 21st-consecutive Directors’ Cup in leading the Pac-12 Conference to an unprecedented 1-2-3 finish in the final 2014-15 Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced.

Led by a pair of spring NCAA titles in women’s golf and women’s water polo, Stanford won its 21st-consecutive Cup. Six top three finishes, and eight top five finishes propelled the Cardinal in tallying an impressive 1,448.00 points. 

UCLA finished second (1,236.00 points) for the seventh time and for the first time since a three-year run as runner-up from 2006-08. The Bruins captured the men’s water polo title in the fall, and posted runner-up finishes in men’s soccer, women’s tennis and women’s water polo. USC placed third overall, its best finish ever in the Directors’ Cup, with 1,209.00 points. The Trojans collected top-four finishes in six championships during the 2014-15 year. Behind its national title in women’s swimming, as well as runner-up finishes in rowing and men’s swimming, CALIFORNIA placed 12th with 937.25 points. OREGON benefited with three NCAA titles (men’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field) and placed 13th with 933.50 points, while WASHINGTON placed 24th with 756.75 points. 

ARIZONA STATE and ARIZONA finished 30th (683.30) and 36th (566.25), respectively. COLORADO, which added a pair of NCAA titles in men’s cross country and skiing, finished 43rd with 539.50 points, UTAH was 56th overall (445.00), followed by OREGON STATE (65th, 334.25) and WASHINGTON STATE (tied 170th, 91.00).

The success of the Pac-12 in the Directors’ Cup was bolstered by the capturing of nine NCAA titles, most among all conferences. In addition, eight Pac-12 league members finished among the top four in 19 NCAA championships.

The 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 up to 20 sports - 10 women's and 10 men's.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on the NACDA website at www.directorscup.org.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
Conference (membership)    Top-25 Schools
1.    SEC (14)                             7
2.    Pac-12 (12)                         6
3.    Big Ten (14)                        4
4.    ACC (15)                             5
5.    Big 12 (10)                          3