CLEVELAND, Ohio – St. Olaf College recorded its highest finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup since 2015-16 as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the final standings for the 2022-23 academic year on Tuesday.
St. Olaf earned 280.0 points from seven different teams in the year-long all-sports competition to finish 64th out of the 323 NCAA Division III institutions to earn points. The 64th-place finish was St. Olaf's best since placing 36th in 2015-16 – as well as a seven-place improvement from last year – and its 280.0 points were its most since the same year.
The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, which was developed as a joint effort between NACDA and
USA Today, measures the overall success of institutions' athletic departments based on their finishes in NCAA Championships. Institutions can earn points from up to 18 programs, four of which must be men's and women's basketball and men's and women's soccer. The next-highest (14 max.) sports for each institution, regardless of gender, can score points as well.
After picking up 265.0 points over the fall and winter seasons, St. Olaf added 15.0 points to its total this spring from its men's and women's track and field's finishes at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The men's program collected 10 points by tying for 63rd, while the women contributed five points by tying for 71st.
The bulk of St. Olaf's points for the 2022-23 year came in the fall, as men's cross country, women's cross country, and men's soccer all had top-20 national finishes. Women's cross country earned 70.5 points by placing eighth nationally, men's soccer added 64 points by advancing to the "Sweet 16" to tie for ninth, and men's cross country picked up 61.5 points by finishing 14th.
In the winter, women's swimming and diving scored 44 points with a 30th-place performance at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, while women's track and field registered 25 points by tying for 47th at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.
St. Olaf has recorded 12 top-50 finishes over the 26 years of the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, which expanded to include NCAA Division III in 1995-96, and posted its best placement in the standings in 1999-00 by finishing 19th.
St. Olaf LEARFIELD Directors' Cup Finishes
| Academic Year |
Place |
Points |
| 2022-23 |
64th |
280.0 |
| 2021-22 |
71st |
245.0 |
| 2020-21 |
Directors' Cup Canceled |
N/A |
| 2019-20 |
Directors' Cup Canceled |
N/A |
| 2018-19 |
120th |
156.0 |
| 2017-18 |
152nd |
124.5 |
| 2016-17 |
126th |
158.0 |
| 2015-16 |
36th |
447.0 |
| 2014-15 |
35th |
427.5 |
| 2013-14 |
31st |
423.0 |
| 2012-13 |
45th |
351.25 |
| 2011-12 |
41st |
382.5 |
| 2010-11 |
75th |
231.5 |
| 2009-10 |
T-70th |
238.5 |
| 2008-09 |
85th |
212.0 |
| 2007-08 |
132nd |
147.0 |
| 2006-07 |
95th |
190.5 |
| 2005-06 |
91st |
170.0 |
| 2004-05 |
T-91st |
170.0 |
| 2003-04 |
116th |
130.0 |
| 2002-03 |
37th |
294.5 |
| 2001-02 |
37th |
298.0 |
| 2000-01 |
33rd |
323.0 |
| 1999-00 |
19th |
385.5 |
| 1998-99 |
T-45th |
140.0 |
| 1997-98 |
T-66th |
100.0 |
| 1996-97 |
26th |
296.5 |
| 1995-96 |
20th |
336.5 |
