Stanford wins 23rd-consecutive Directors’ Cup; five Pac-12 members finish among top 15

SAN FRANCISCO - The STANFORD Cardinal captured their 23rd-consecutive Directors’ Cup in leading the Pac-12 Conference to another impressive finish in the final 2016-17 Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced.

Led by four NCAA titles (women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s water polo), Stanford won its 23rd-consecutive Cup. In all, the Cardinal posted 11 top five finishes in tallying an impressive 1,563.00 points. That’s 219.25 points more than runner-up Ohio State.

Behind a pair of NCAA titles (women’s soccer and beach volleyball), USC finished fourth with 1,251.25 points for its fourth consecutive top 10 finish. OREGON placed ninth overall with 1,027.00 points, the best-ever finish by the Ducks in the Directors’ Cup. Oregon collected three NCAA titles for the second straight season as it claimed the triple crown with titles in women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field, and women’s outdoor track and field. UCLA placed 11th overall with 1,007.00 points, while CALIFORNIA, aided by its men’s water polo title, finished 14th with 916.75 points. That gave the Pac-12 five teams among the top 15, more than any other conference.

WASHINGTON added an NCAA title in women’s rowing, the Pac-12’s 500th NCAA title all-time, and placed 22nd with 801.25 points. COLORADO finished 34th (641.00), followed by ARIZONA at 42nd (545.50). ARIZONA STATE was right behind the Wildcats at 43rd (543.50), thanks in part to the women’s golf program capturing their nation-leading eighth NCAA golf title. UTAH, which picked up its 11th NCAA skiing title, was 54th (459.50), followed by OREGON STATE (69th, 333.75) and WASHINGTON STATE (101st, 202.50).

The success of the Pac-12 in the Directors’ Cup was bolstered by the capturing of 13 NCAA titles, the most among all conferences. In addition, 10 Pac-12 league members combined to post 39 top-four finishes in 24 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.

A recap of the numerous individual and team achievements by each Pac-12 member and Pac-12 student-athletes throughout the 2016-17 year will be featured in the final Pac-12 Sports Report of the season this Thursday, June 29. The special episode, “Pac-12 Sports Report: Year-End Spectacular,” will be hosted by Mike Yam and Kate Scott and will premiere tonight at 7 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Network.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on the NACDA website at www.nacda.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-current-scoring.html.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Conference (membership)        Top-15 Schools

1.      Pac-12 (12)............................. 5

2.      Big Ten (14)............................. 4

         SEC (14)................................... 4

4.      ACC (15)................................... 2

         Pac-12 Conference                   Points

1.      Stanford.................................... 1563.00

4.      USC........................................... 1251.25

9.      Oregon...................................... 1027.00

11.   UCLA......................................... 1007.00

14.   California.................................. 916.75

22.   Washington............................... 801.25

34.   Colorado................................... 641.00

42.   Arizona...................................... 545.50

43.   Arizona State............................ 543.50

54.   Utah.......................................... 459.50

69.   Oregon State............................ 333.75

101. Washington State..................... 202.50