NACDA Directors' Cup
The NACDA Learfield Directors' Cup is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities in the United States with the most success in collegiate athletics. Points for the NACDA Directors' Cup are based on order of finish in various National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sponsored championships or, in the case of Division I Football, media-based polls. The award originated in 1993, and was presented to NCAA Division I schools only. In 1995 it was extended to Division II, Division III, and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) schools as well, each division receiving its own award.
The University of North Carolina won the award in its inaugural year, but since then, Stanford University has won the Division I award for twenty-four straight years. Williams College has had similar success in Division III, having won the award twenty times in the twenty-two times it has been awarded for Division III.
In Division II, UC Davis won six of the first eight awards, but its athletic program moved to Division I in 2003 and Grand Valley State won the award the following eight years. The NAIA division was similarly dominated by Simon Fraser University of British Columbia in its early years, but in 2002, SFU transferred several of its sports programs to Canada's college athletics federation, then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport and now as U Sports. SFU has since become a full member of NCAA Division II. From 2004 to 2012, Azusa Pacific University assumed the mantle at the NAIA level, winning eight consecutive championships before moving to Division II in the 2012–2013 season.
The physical award is a Waterford crystal trophy. Prior to 2003, the sponsor of the NACDA Directors' Cup was retail merchandiser Sears, and the award was known as the Sears Cup. Beginning in the 2003–2004 season, the sponsor was the United States Sports Academy. In 2007–2008, Learfield Sports assumed the sponsorship of the Directors' Cup and Learfield Sports rebranded as simply Learfield in 2016.
Past winners
- Results for years and schools shown in italics represent current standings and are not yet final.
NCAA Division I
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993–94 | North Carolina | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | Penn State | Arizona | Texas | USC | Michigan | Arizona State |
1994–95 | Stanford | North Carolina | UCLA | Arizona | Florida | USC | Michigan | Penn State | Nebraska | Texas |
1995–96 | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | Texas | Michigan | North Carolina | Arizona | Nebraska | Penn State | USC |
1996–97 | Stanford | North Carolina | UCLA | Nebraska | Florida | Arizona | Texas | Ohio State | USC | LSU |
1997–98 | Stanford | (tie) Florida, North Carolina | UCLA | Michigan | Arizona | Georgia | Washington | Nebraska | LSU | |
1998–99 | Stanford | Georgia | Penn State | Florida | UCLA | Michigan | Duke | Virginia | (tie) Arizona, USC | |
1999–00 | Stanford | UCLA | Michigan | Penn State | North Carolina | Nebraska | Florida | Arizona | Texas | LSU |
2000–01 | Stanford | UCLA | Georgia | Michigan | Arizona | Ohio State | Florida | USC | Arizona State | Penn State |
2001–02 | Stanford | Texas | Florida | North Carolina | UCLA | Michigan | Minnesota | Georgia | Arizona State | LSU |
2002–03 | Stanford | Texas | Ohio State | Michigan | Penn State | UCLA | Florida | North Carolina | California | Arizona State |
2003–04 | Stanford | Michigan | UCLA | Ohio State | Georgia | Florida | North Carolina | Washington | California | Texas |
2004–05 | Stanford | Texas | UCLA | Michigan | Duke | Florida | Georgia | Tennessee | North Carolina | USC |
2005–06 | Stanford | UCLA | Texas | North Carolina | Florida | Notre Dame | California | Duke | Georgia | USC |
2006–07 | Stanford | UCLA | North Carolina | Michigan | USC | Florida | Tennessee | Texas | California | Arizona State |
2007–08 | Stanford | UCLA | Michigan | Arizona State | Texas | Florida | California | LSU | Penn State | Georgia |
2008–09 | Stanford | North Carolina | Florida | USC | Michigan | Texas | California | Virginia | LSU | Ohio State |
2009–10 | Stanford | Florida | Virginia | UCLA | Florida State | Texas A&M | North Carolina | Ohio State | California | Duke |
2010–11 | Stanford | Ohio State | California | Florida | Duke | North Carolina | Virginia | Texas A&M | Florida State | Oklahoma |
2011–12 | Stanford | Florida | UCLA | Ohio State | Florida State | Texas | USC | North Carolina | Texas A&M | Michigan |
2012–13 | Stanford | Florida | UCLA | Michigan | Texas A&M | Penn State | Oklahoma | North Carolina | Notre Dame | Georgia |
2013–14 | Stanford | Florida | Notre Dame | Virginia | Penn State | Texas | UCLA | USC | Duke | Texas A&M |
2014–15 | Stanford | UCLA | USC | Florida | North Carolina | Virginia | Ohio State | Penn State | Texas | Notre Dame |
2015–16 | Stanford | Ohio State | Michigan | USC | Florida | UCLA | North Carolina | Virginia | Texas | Oregon |
2016–17 | Stanford | Ohio State | Florida | USC | North Carolina | Michigan | Texas | Penn State | Oregon | Kentucky |
2017–18 | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | USC | Texas | Michigan | Ohio State | Georgia | Florida State | Texas A&M |
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division III
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995–96 | Williams | UCSD | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | College of New Jersey | Rowan |
1996–97 | Williams | College of New Jersey | UCSD | Emory | Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
1997–98 | UCSD | (tie) College of New Jersey; Cortland State | (tie) Williams; Middlebury | ||
1998–99 | Williams | Middlebury | College of New Jersey | Amherst | Rowan |
1999–00 | Williams | UCSD | College of New Jersey | St. Thomas (MN) | Middlebury |
2000–01 | Williams | Middlebury | College of New Jersey | Emory | Ithaca |
2001–02 | Williams | Ithaca | College of New Jersey | Middlebury | Emory |
2002–03 | Williams | Emory | College of New Jersey | Trinity (TX) | Washington University (MO) |
2003–04 | Williams | Emory | Middlebury | College of New Jersey | Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
2004–05 | Williams | Middlebury | Washington University (MO) | Trinity (TX) | Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
2005–06 | Williams | College of New Jersey | Middlebury | Emory | Cortland State |
2006–07 | Williams | Middlebury | Cortland State | Amherst | Washington University (MO) |
2007–08 | Williams | Washington University (MO) | College of New Jersey | Amherst | Middlebury |
2008–09 | Williams | Middlebury | Amherst | Washington University (MO) | Cortland State |
2009–10 | Williams | Amherst | Washington University (MO) | Middlebury | Illinois Wesleyan |
2010–11 | Williams | Middlebury | Washington University (MO) | Amherst | Calvin |
2011–12 | Middlebury | Washington University (MO) | Williams | Amherst | Wisconsin-Whitewater |
2012–13 | Williams | Emory | Middlebury | Wisconsin-Whitewater | Washington University (MO) |
2013–14 | Williams | Wisconsin-Whitewater | Johns Hopkins | Washington University (MO) | Amherst |
2014–15 | Williams | Johns Hopkins | MIT | Washington University (MO) | Amherst |
2015–16 | Williams | Washington University (MO) | Emory | Tufts | Middlebury |
2016–17 | Williams | Washington University (MO) | Tufts | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Johns Hopkins |
NAIA
Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995–96 | Pacific Lutheran | Simon Fraser | Mobile | Berry | Azusa Pacific |
1996–97 | Simon Fraser | Pacific Lutheran | Azusa Pacific | Mobile | Willamette |
1997–98 | Simon Fraser | Mobile | Findlay | Oklahoma City | Puget Sound |
1998–99 | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Life | (tie) Oklahoma City; Lindenwood | |
1999–00 | Simon Fraser | Lindenwood | Azusa Pacific | Mary | Oklahoma City |
2000–01 | Simon Fraser | Oklahoma City | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Cumberlands (KY) |
2001–02 | Oklahoma City | Lindenwood | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Malone |
2002–03 | Lindenwood | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Mary | Oklahoma City |
2003–04 | Simon Fraser | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Oklahoma City | (tie) Mary; Dickinson State |
2004–05 | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Simon Fraser | Point Loma Nazarene | Mary |
2005–06 | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Lindsey Wilson | Oklahoma Baptist | Simon Fraser |
2006–07 | Azusa Pacific | Lindenwood | Concordia (CA) | Cedarville | Oklahoma Baptist |
2007–08 | Azusa Pacific | Simon Fraser | Embry-Riddle (FL) | Fresno Pacific | Concordia (CA) |
2008–09 | Azusa Pacific | Concordia (CA) | Lindenwood | Fresno Pacific | California Baptist |
2009–10 | Azusa Pacific | Simon Fraser | Fresno Pacific | Concordia (CA) | Lindenwood |
2010–11 | Azusa Pacific | Embry-Riddle (FL) | Shorter | Fresno Pacific | Lindenwood |
2011–12 | Azusa Pacific | Shorter | Embry-Riddle (FL) | Oklahoma Baptist | Lindsey Wilson |
2012–13 | Oklahoma Baptist | Lindsey Wilson | Concordia (CA) | Embry-Riddle (FL) | Olivet Nazarene |
2013–14 | Grand View University | Oklahoma City | Lindsey Wilson | Embry-Riddle (FL) | Olivet Nazarene |
2014–15 | Oklahoma Baptist | Lindsey Wilson | Oklahoma City | Wayland Baptist | Embry-Riddle (FL) |
2015–16 | Lindsey Wilson | Oklahoma Baptist | Wayland Baptist | Olivet Nazarene | Indiana Wesleyan |
2016-17 | Oklahoma City | Lindsey Wilson | Keiser | Wayland Baptist | William Carey |