The NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics. Points for the NACDA Directors' Cup are based on order of finish in various NCAA sponsored championships or in the case of Division I Football media base 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 NAIA schools as well, each division receiving its own award.
The University of North Carolina won the award for best Division I collegiate athletics program in its inaugural year. Since then, Stanford University has won it 15 straight years, winning 15 out of the 16 years it has been offered. Williams College has similarly dominated Division III, having won the award 13 times.
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 six 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, Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Since then, Azusa Pacific University of California has assumed the mantle at the NAIA level, winning five consecutive championships, though Simon Fraser remains competitive despite not fielding a full complement of NAIA teams.
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.
Contents |
Past winners and leaders for the current year
- Schools and years in italic are still in competition.
NCAA Division I
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | North Carolina | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | Penn State |
| 1994-95 | Stanford | North Carolina | UCLA | Arizona | Florida |
| 1995-96 | Stanford | UCLA | Florida | Texas | Michigan |
| 1996-97 | Stanford | North Carolina | UCLA | Nebraska | Florida |
| 1997-98 | Stanford | (tie) North Carolina, Florida | UCLA | Michigan | |
| 1998-99 | Stanford | Georgia | Penn State | Florida | UCLA |
| 1999-00 | Stanford | UCLA | Michigan | Penn State | North Carolina |
| 2000-01 | Stanford | UCLA | Georgia | Michigan | Arizona |
| 2001-02 | Stanford | Texas | Florida | North Carolina | UCLA |
| 2002-03 | Stanford | Texas | Ohio State | Michigan | Penn State |
| 2003-04 | Stanford | Michigan | UCLA | Ohio State | Georgia |
| 2004-05 | Stanford | Texas | UCLA | Michigan | Duke |
| 2005-06 | Stanford | UCLA | Texas | North Carolina | Florida |
| 2006-07 | Stanford | UCLA | North Carolina | Michigan | USC |
| 2007-08 | Stanford | UCLA | Michigan | Arizona State | Texas |
| 2008-09 | Stanford | North Carolina | Florida | USC | Michigan |
NCAA Division II
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | UC Davis | Abilene Christian | North Dakota State | South Dakota State | Cal State Bakersfield |
| 1996-97 | UC Davis | Abilene Christian | Cal State Bakersfield | Central Oklahoma | Indianapolis |
| 1997-98 | Cal State Bakersfield | UC Davis | Abilene Christian | Barry | Florida Southern |
| 1998-99 | Adams State | (tie) UC Davis; Abilene Christian | (tie) Florida Southern; North Dakota State | ||
| 1999-00 | UC Davis | North Dakota State | North Dakota | Florida Southern | Western State |
| 2000-01 | UC Davis | North Dakota | Cal State Bakersfield | UCSD | Western State |
| 2001-02 | UC Davis | Grand Valley State (MI) | UCSD | Truman State | Western State |
| 2002-03 | UC Davis | Grand Valley State (MI) | North Florida | Cal State Bakersfield | South Dakota State |
| 2003-04 | Grand Valley State (MI) | UCSD | Truman State | North Dakota | Chico State |
| 2004-05 | Grand Valley State (MI) | Nebraska-Omaha | Chico State | North Dakota | Cal State Bakersfield |
| 2005-06 | Grand Valley State (MI) | Abilene Christian | Nebraska-Omaha | Southern Illinois Edwardsville | Cal State Bakersfield |
| 2006-07 | Grand Valley State (MI) | UCSD | Abilene Christian | Minnesota State Mankato | North Dakota |
| 2007-08 | Grand Valley State (MI) | Abilene Christian | Minnesota State Mankato | UCSD | Tampa (FL) |
| 2008-09 | Grand Valley State (MI) | Minnesota State Mankato | Central Missouri | Abilene Christian | Indianapolis |
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; SUNY Cortland | (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 | SUNY Cortland |
| 2006-07 | Williams | Middlebury | SUNY Cortland | 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 |
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 | Cumberland |
| 2001-02 | Lindenwood | Oklahoma City | 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 | Fresno Pacific | Concordia (CA) |
| 2008-09 | Azusa Pacific | Concordia (CA) | Lindenwood | Fresno Pacific | California Baptist |
External links
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