Arkansas Debuts at No. 11 in Directors' Cup Standings
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following back-to-back program record finishes, the Arkansas Razorbacks have positioned themselves for another run at the top 10 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. Arkansas is ranked No. 11 in the 2022-23 Learfield Directors’ Cup Final Fall Standings released on Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA).
Arkansas is one of only three league programs in the top 25 of the initial standings. The standings released on Thursday included men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s water polo. The Razorbacks have 272 points after the fall segment of the competition.
The Directors’ Cup tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs for their performances throughout the year. The Razorbacks have earned top-10 finishes in each of the past two years, including an eighth-place finish in 2020-21 and a seventh-place finish in 2021-22.
A return trip to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight highlighted another outstanding season by Razorback Soccer. Coach Colby Hale’s squad earned a No. 3 seed and won three NCAA Tournament matches (Missouri State, Ohio State and Memphis) at Razorback Field before falling 1-0 at No. 1 seed Florida State, one step shy of the College Cup. Arkansas finished the season 13-4-5 and earned 73 Directors’ Cup points.
For the first time since 2005, Arkansas won a match in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Coach Jason Watson led the Razorbacks to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2013 and defeated Utah State 3-0 in the first round of the draw. It was Arkansas’ first NCAA Tournament win since defeating St. Mary’s (California) in 2005. In the Round of 32, the Hogs secured the first set against No. 3 seed Oregon before dropping the match three sets to one. Arkansas’ return to the tournament netted 50 points in the Directors’ Cup standings.
Coach Sam Pittman and the Razorback football team earned a bowl invitation for the third-straight season. Following a 6-6 regular season, Arkansas defeated Kansas 55-53 in 3 OT in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The Hogs also qualified for a bowl game in Coach Pittman’s first two seasons at the helm including the Texas Bowl in 2020 and the Outback Bowl in 2021. Arkansas tallied 45 Directors’ Cup points in football.
Arkansas earned a pair of top-25 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Coach Lance Harter’s Razorback women’s squad finished tied for 21st, led by senior Isabel Van Camp who finished 48th individually. Arkansas’ men’s team earned a 23rd place finish for Coach Chris Bucknam. Patrick Kiprop earned All-America honors finishing 24th overall. Arkansas earned 53 and 51 Directors’ Cup points, respectively, for the women’s and men’s team finishes.
In 2021-22, Arkansas earned a program record with a seventh-place finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. The Razorbacks tallied eight Southeastern Conference championships and recorded nine top-10 national finishes to best the program’s previous Directors’ Cup best finish, eighth, in the 2020-21 athletics season. Arkansas finished in the top 10 of the Directors’ Cup standings for only the second time in school history and ranked No. 1 in the standings among programs with 19 or fewer sports.
In 2020-21, Razorback Athletics turned in one of the most successful years in school history, including a program-best eighth place finish in the 2020-21 Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup. The Hogs won one NCAA title and 10 Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships during the academic year.
Arkansas’ previous best finish, prior to 2020-21, was 14th. The Directors’ Cup program has been tracking the success of the nation’s top intercollegiate athletics programs since 1993-94.
