Arkansas ranks No. 18 in Penultimate Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings
Learfield Directors’ Cup Spring Standings
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas ranks sixth in the Southeastern Conference and No. 18 overall in the penultimate 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings released on Tuesday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA).
Arkansas has earned 728.20 points and is one of nine league programs in the top 25 of the final winter standings. The standings released on Thursday included men’s and women’s basketball, women’s beach volleyball, women’s bowling, men’s and women’s cross country, fencing, women’s field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, rifle, women’s rowing, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, skiing, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo and wrestling. The final standings, which will include results from baseball and men’s and women’s track and field will be released following the completion of the Men’s College Baseball World Series in late June.
Arkansas has secured a top-20 national finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings in four-consecutive years. The streak marks the first time in school history that the Razorbacks have finished among the nation’s top 20 programs in four-straight final standings. Arkansas finished No. 18 in 2023-24, following a 13th-place finish in 2022-23, a seventh-place finish in 2021-22 and an eighth-place finish in 2020-21.
Arkansas has won eight NCAA titles and 39 Southeastern Conference team championships in the past seven years, including 21 conference titles in the past four years alone. Both conference championship totals lead all SEC programs and the Razorbacks’ 39 titles are more than seven other league programs combined in that same timeframe.
The Razorback women’s golf team made some history on its way to a deep run in the postseason. Arkansas advanced through the NCAA Regional and team stroke play at the NCAA Championship, before falling in the quarterfinals of match play competition to the eventual national championship team (Northwestern). Sophomore Maria José Marin led the team and, in the process, became the third Razorback in history to win the individual national championship, joining Arkansas greats Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi in that feat. For its NCAA quarterfinal finish, Arkansas earned 72.75 Directors’ Cup points.
Led by the Softball America and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Bri Ellis, Arkansas finished the 2025 campaign with a 44-14 overall record while making its fourth Super Regional appearance in program history. The Hogs’ 44 wins were the most since 2022 (48) and tied for the third-most in program history. The Razorbacks were named the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and won the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, before falling in game three of the Fayetteville Super Regional to Ole Miss. Arkansas earned 64 points towards its Directors’ Cup total from softball.
Arkansas men’s golf returned to a familiar place again in 2025, the NCAA postseason. The Razorback men’s team played in its 17th straight NCAA Regional and has competed as a team or with individuals in 31 of the 36 Regionals held since 1989. Arkansas finished seventh as a team at the NCAA Amherst Regional and fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. For its regional appearance, the Hogs tallied 33.5 Directors’ Cup points.
Another standout season from Razorback Gymnastics netted Arkansas 60.8 Directors’ Cup points. The Gymbacks advanced to the NCAA University Park Regional as a team before finishing one step shy of the NCAA Final. Senior Maddie Jones and freshman Joscelyn Roberson advanced to the NCAA Championship as individual competitors with Jones competing on the uneven bars and Roberson competing in in the all-around competition.
Arkansas found itself in a familiar place on the podium following both the men’s and women’s competition at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. A victory by Jordan Anthony in the 60m and a silver medal finish for Jack Turner in the heptathlon propelled the Arkansas men to a fourth-place trophy finish. Anthony became the first Razorback to win the 60m at the NCAA Indoor. Turner’s score of 5,962 points placed second to a 6,013 total for Peyton Bair of Mississippi State in the heptathlon. The Hogs earned 80 Directors’ Cup points for the team finish.
A scintillating performance by Razorback Isabella Whittaker produced an American and collegiate record in the 400m as she blasted a 2025 world-leading time of 49.24 seconds to lead the Razorback women. Arkansas finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in team standings with 31 points, earning 76.2 Directors’ Cup points.
After starting SEC play winless in its first five outings, Coach John Calipari’s Razorback men’s basketball team made an improbable run into the NCAA Tournament advancing to the Sweet 16. Arkansas finished the season with a 22-14 record, earned its 37th NCAA appearance and its 15th NCAA Sweet 16, including its fourth in the last five years. The Hogs were a No. 10 seed and topped No. 7 seed Kansas (79-72) in the opening round, before upsetting No. 2 seed St. John’s (75-66) in the second round of the tournament. Arkansas’ season came to an end in a last-second heartbreaker to No. 3 Texas Tech (85-83). The Razorbacks earned 64 Directors’ Cup points for the NCAA Tournament run.
Freshman diver Maria Sanchez competed in three different events and led Arkansas to a 40th place finish at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Sanchez-Moreno competed in the 1-meter (20th), 3-meter (13th) and platform (24th) diving competitions. Her performances at the national meet earned All-America Honorable Mention honors and netted the Razorbacks 26 Directors’ Cup points in women’s swimming and diving.
A win over former Southwest Conference rival Texas Tech capped the season in style as the Razorbacks won their fourth straight AutoZone Liberty Bowl. The win was also the third bowl win under Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman. Pittman is 3-0 as a head coach in bowl games at Arkansas, becoming the first Razorback coach to win his first three bowl outings. The victory earned Arkansas 45 Directors’ Cup points.
The Razorback men’s cross country team earned the program’s first top-five national finish of the year with yet another trip to the podium at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Arkansas, ranked No. 3 all season long, secured a third-place finish at the national meet with 202 points. Three Razorbacks earned All-America honors as the Hogs secured their 24th top-four NCAA Cross Country finish in school history, including their fourth such finish in the past five seasons. Coach Chris Bucknam’s squad earned 85 Directors’ Cup points for its championship performance.
Led by sophomore Paityn Noe, the Arkansas women’s cross country team recorded a top-20 finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Noe crossed the line seventh in the individual race to earn All-America honors and lead the Hogs to a No. 17 team finish. Arkansas earned 57 Directors’ Cup points for the performance.
Razorback Soccer continued its recent run of success on the pitch. Arkansas earned a No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and hosted three rounds of postseason play in front of capacity crowds at Razorback Field. Coach Colby Hale’s squad advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history in 2024, including the third time in the past four seasons. The postseason success netted Arkansas 64 points in the Directors’ Cup standings.
The Directors’ Cup tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs for their performance throughout the year. The Directors’ Cup program has been tracking the success of the nation’s top intercollegiate athletics programs since 1993-94.
