CLEVELAND, Ohio – St. Olaf College recorded its second-highest-ever finish in the fall standings of the Learfield Directors' Cup by placing 15th out of 429 NCAA Division III institutions, as the standings were announced on Tuesday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
St. Olaf accumulated 241.0 points – its second-highest total ever in the fall – to rank 15th out of the 178 NCAA Division III institutions who earned points this fall. The initial release of the standings included all of the fall results except for the championship game of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. Neither of the institutions competing in the football title game can surpass St. Olaf regardless of the outcome of that game.
The Learfield Directors' Cup is a program that honors institutions maintaining a broad-based athletics program, awarding points based on each institution's national finishes in the NCAA Championships. This fall, St. Olaf's men's cross country, women's cross country, men's soccer, and women's volleyball teams contributed to St. Olaf's point total.
Men's soccer earned 83 points by advancing to the national semifinals for the second time in program history. Men's cross country collected 63 points thanks to its 13th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Volleyball added 50 points with its second-round appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, while women's cross country picked up 45 points after placing 29th nationally.
This year marked the sixth consecutive fall that St. Olaf has finished among the top 30 institutions in NCAA Division III, with the 15th-place finish being one spot shy of the t-14th finish in 1996-97 for the highest in school history. It was also St. Olaf's sixth top-20 and eighth top-25 fall finish in the history of the Learfield Directors' Cup, which first included NCAA Division III in 1995-96.