CLEVELAND, Ohio – Led by Trinity University’s 19th place finish, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) placed five institutions, including three in the top 100, in the prestigious 2022-23 Division III LEARFIELD Directors' Cup final standings in an announcement made Tuesday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Complete Standings
This year marks the first time since 2011-12 the SCAC has placed three institutions in the top 100 of the standings as the Tigers were joined by both Colorado College (92nd) and University of St. Thomas (99th). The SCAC is one of just 15 conferences in all of NCAA Div. III that had at least three institutions finish ranked inside the top 100. Other conferences included: American Rivers, CCIW, Centennial, Coast-To-Coast, Liberty League, MAC, MIAA, NESCAC, NEWMAC, OAC, ODAC, SCIAC, UAA and WIAC.
Led by three-time NACDA Athletic Director of the Year Bob King in his 30th year at the helm of the athletics department, Trinity posted the department's best finish in the Directors' Cup standings since finishing 18th for the 2013-14 calendar.
Since the inception of the Directors' Cup for the 1995-96 academic year, Trinity has finished top-20 in NCAA III on 12 occasions, all under King's direction, five of which landed in the top 10.
A total of 11 Trinity teams contributed to the department's 653.50 points. The Tiger Volleyball team led the charge with its magical run to the championship match before securing 90 points as runner-up last fall. This spring the Tiger Men’s Tennis team advanced to the Round of 16 and finished in a tie for ninth to score 64 points.
Colorado College amassed 208.00 points and finished 92nd, the best finish for the Tigers since 2016-17 when they finished 77th. CC closed out the spring season with an additional 72.5 half points after posting a tie for 17th in men’s lacrosse and earning 49th in men’s track and field.
Competing in its first year as a full NCAA Division III member, St. Thomas rounded out the trio of SCAC institutions in the top 100, finishing 99th with 185.00 total points. The Celts burst onto the scene, sending four teams to the NCAA Tournament, highlighted this spring by the men’s golf team finishing 16th (58.5 pts) and the softball program earning 37.5 points after a tie for 33rd-place finish.
Additionally, Texas Lutheran University finished tied for 154th in the standings with 112.00 total points. The Bulldogs added 87 points this spring following a tie for 17th-place finish in softball and tie for 37th finish in men’s track & field.
Schreiner University rounds out the SCAC teams represented, sitting in a tie for 289th place with 25 points after securing its second bid into the NCAA Div. III Men’s Basketball Championship last winter.
Johns Hopkins took the top spot in Division III at the completion of the year with 1,282.00 points, highlighted by national championships last fall in women’s soccer and women’s cross country. Tufts finished second with1,126.50, while Williams rounded out the top three in third with 1,112.75.
The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
To date, all 14 spring NCAA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: baseball – University of Lynchburg; beach volleyball – Southern California; women's golf – George Fox; men's golf – Carnegie Mellon; women's lacrosse - Middlebury; men's lacrosse – Salisbury; women's rowing - Wellesley; softball – Trine; women's tennis - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; men's tennis – Case Western; women's track and field – Wisconsin La-Crosse; men's track and field – MIT; men's volleyball - UCLA; women's water polo - Stanford.