The Cortland men's and women's intercollegiate athletic program finished in 26th place in the 2025-26 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup competition among the more than 420 eligible NCAA Division III programs competing nationally for the prestigious honor. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), LEARFIELD and USA Today present the award to recognize overall excellence among collegiate athletic programs.
The Red Dragons finished with a score of 593 points. Washington-St. Louis won the title with 1,266.50 points, followed by Tufts (1,252.50), Johns Hopkins (1,180), Emory (1,066) and Williams (1,063.75) in the top five. Cortland was the top scorer among State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) schools and the second-highest scoring school from New York State, behind only seventh-place New York University.
The Red Dragons have now earned 26 top-30 finishes since the competition began in the 1995-96 school year.
Cortland had 16 teams earn points, led by the men's soccer team, which tied for ninth place nationally, the men's basketball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and softball teams, which each tied for 17th place, and the men's indoor track and field team, which tied for 18th place. Points are awarded based on NCAA postseason finishes and the size of each postseason field. The national champion in each sport earns 100 points. The Red Dragon scorers were:
Men's Soccer - tied for 9th place (64 pts.)
Men's Indoor Track and Field - tied for 18th place (55.5 pts.)
Men's Basketball - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Men's Lacrosse - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Women's Lacrosse - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Softball - tied for 17th place (50 pts.)
Women's Golf - 33rd place (40 pts.)
Wrestling - 36th place (38 pts.)
Baseball - tied for 33rd place (37.5 pts.)
Women's Cross Country - top-5 NCAA regional finish (32.5 pts.)
Women's Basketball - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
Football - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
Women's Soccer - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
Women's Volleyball - tied for 33rd place (25 pts.)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field - tied for 53rd place (20.5 pts.)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field - tied for 68th place (5 pts.)
(NOTE: Women's gymnastics finished sixth nationally at the NCGA Division III Championships, but that finish is not counted in the Directors' Cup standings since it is not an NCAA championship.)
There are four Directors' Cup Awards, one to honor overall champions in each of the NCAA's Divisions (I, II and III) and the NAIA. It is the first-ever cross-sectional all-sports national recognition award for both men and women. NACDA is the professional and educational association for more than 22,000 individuals and more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Members include athletic directors, associate and assistant athletic directors, conference commissioners and affiliate individuals or corporations.
2025-26 LEARFIELD DIRECTORS' CUP
Final Division III Standings
Rank - School, Points
1. Washington-St. Louis, 1,266.4
2. Tufts (Mass.), 1,252.5
3. Johns Hopkins (Md.), 1,180
4. Emory (Ga.), 1,066
5. Williams (Mass.), 1,063.75
6. Chicago (Ill.), 1,045.5
7. New York University, 1,029.25
8. Wisconsin-La Crosse, 987
9. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), 888.25
10. Amherst (Mass.), 863.75
11. Mass. Institute of Technology, 849
12. Washington & Lee (Va.), 803.75
13. Middlebury (Vt.), 803.5
14. Trinity (Texas), 765.5
15. Hope (Mich.), 724.25
16. Carnegie Mellon (Pa.), 699
17. Wartburg (Iowa), 696.75
18. Rowan (N.J.), 679.5
19. Denison (Ohio), 672
20. Wesleyan (Conn.), 668.5
21. Christopher Newport (Va.), 661.5
22. Salisbury (Md.), 641
23. The College of New Jersey, 623.75
24. Bowdoin (Maine), 602
25. Calvin (Mich.), 600.5
26. CORTLAND, 593
27. Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.), 585.5
28. John Carroll (Ohio), 585.25
29. Illinois Wesleyan, 582.25
30. Geneseo, 558.50
New York schools in Top 100:
7. New York University, 1,029.25
26. CORTLAND, 593
30, Geneseo, 558.5
48. Hobart/William Smith, 372
tie 61. Hamilton, 312.5
71. Ithaca, 279.5
72. Rochester, 278.5
78. Rochester Inst. of Technology, 260
85. Vassar, 244.5
tie 91. St. John Fisher, 222
93. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 215.5
Official Directors' Cup Scoring Page
CORTLAND'S DIRECTORS' CUP FINISHES
2025-26: 26th
2024-25: 23rd
2023-24: 28th
2022-23: 38th
2021-22: 30th
2018-19: 57th
2017-18: 54th
2016-17: 21st
2015-16: 22nd
2014-15: 12th
2013-14: 23rd
2012-13: 11th
2011-12: 10th
2010-11: 16th
2009-10: 17th
2008-09: 5th
2007-08: 9th
2006-07: 3rd
2005-06: 5th
2004-05: 13th
2003-04: 8th
2002-03: 15th
2001-02: 12th
2000-01: 13th
1999-00: 17th
1998-99: 8th
1997-98: 2nd (tied)
1996-97: 8th
1995-96: 19th
(not conducted in 2019-20 or 2020-21)
