St. Olaf Shines: Captures Spot in Top 30 of Inaugural Learfield Directors’ Cup Rankings!

CLEVELAND, Ohio – In the inaugural release of the Learfield Directors’ Cup rankings for the 2024-25 academic term, St. Olaf College secured the 27th position among 425 active NCAA Division III athletic programs, as disclosed recently.

By accumulating points from its men’s cross country, women’s cross country, and men’s soccer teams, St. Olaf positioned itself at No. 27 with a total of 177.50 points in the first release of the Learfield Directors’ Cup, which represents the national all-sport contest. The initial report covered scores up to the fall sports season, excluding the final game of the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs.

St. Olaf’s 177.50 points indicated the fourth successive fall in which St. Olaf has received over 175 points, ranked within the top 30 nationally, and outperformed all institutions in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Carleton College, the second-highest ranking MIAC institution, tied for 54th with 106 points in the fall.

The men’s cross country team earned 70.5 points, achieving eighth place at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in late November, marking the program’s highest national placement since 2015 and its third consecutive top-15 finish. The women’s cross country team added 57 points to St. Olaf’s total with a 17th-place finish nationally, marking its fourth top-20 finish in a row, while men’s soccer contributed 50 points by reaching the second round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship for the fourth consecutive national appearance.

The Learfield Directors’ Cup is a program that recognizes institutions maintaining a diversified program, awarding points based on each institution’s national standing in the NCAA Championships. Initiated in 1993-94 by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today, it was expanded in 1995-96 to include NCAA Division II, III, and the NAIA. A total of eighteen teams can contribute points in the final rankings, which must include four each from men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s soccer.