Alabama Athletics Finishes a Program-Best 14th in 2017-18 Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings
6/30/2018 4:11:00 PM | General
CLEVELAND – Behind 15 NCAA postseason appearances and a College Football Playoff national championship, Alabama Athletics recorded its best finish in the 25-year history of the Learfield Directors' Cup, ending the 2017-18 season at No. 14.
"What an outstanding accomplishment for our athletics department," UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said. "We are so proud of our student-athletes, coaches and support staff and certainly want to commend them all on a job well done. To lead the nation in Academic All-Americans and now to have our highest finish in the Learfield Directors' Cup shows the level of commitment, not only from athletics, but also from our University leadership, to succeeding in all areas of the student-athlete experience."
The Crimson Tide had 15 of its teams score points, eight of which placed within the top 10 of their respective categories. Football led the way, scoring 100 points for the national championship finish, while men's and women's golf collected 90 points apiece for their runner-up finishes in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Men's track & field accounted for 74.25 points after a fifth-place finish at the NCAA outdoor championships, its best showing since 1986, and accounted for another 69 from the indoor championships. Other sports scoring include gymnastics (68.25), men's tennis (64), softball (64), men's swimming & diving (63), men's cross country (61.5), men's basketball (50), women's swimming & diving (44), women's indoor track & field (26.5), soccer (25) and women's outdoor track & field (23.5).
Alabama's placement was 11 spots better than last year's 25th-place finish. The Crimson Tide was also one of seven Southeastern Conference schools to finish this year's list in the top 20, three better than the Pac 12, Big 12 and ACC, which tied for second with four teams each.
For a complete list of scores and standings, click here.
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. Beginning with the 2017-18 season, 19 sports were counted to obtain each school's final score, four of which must be baseball, men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball.
