Final Learfield Sports Director's Cup standings (in pdf format)

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University finished No. 59 in the final Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings that were released on Monday afternoon. The Big Red finished as the second-highest Ivy League school in the rankings, behind only Princeton, and ahead of nationally renowned athletic powers and major conference schools like Syracuse, Vanderbilt, North Carolina State, Boston College, Georgetown, Rutgers and Pittsburgh among others. In all, 271 Division I schools earned points toward the award, won by Stanford for the 15th straight year.

The Directors' Cup is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Learfield Sports and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and the NAIA. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA's Web site at www.directorscup.org. 

After not scoring any points in the fall, the Big Red scored 249.5 points in the winter season on the strength of outstanding NCAA efforts from men's ice hockey (NCAA quarterfinalist), wrestling (fifth overall), men's and women's track and field and men's basketball. In all, the Big Red won seven Ivy League team titles (men's basketball, men's lacrosse, softball, men's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's indoor track and field and wrestling) and had another nine sports that placed second or third in the Ancient Eight. The 59th-place finish is the second-high placement since the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup came into existence during the 1993-94 season. Cornell placed a best-ever 55th and finished first among Ivy League schools during the 2006-07 campaign. The 375.30 points accumulated by the Big Red is the most by the program, surpassing the previous high of 369.50 in '06-07. It is the eighth straight year Cornell has finished among the top 100 schools and the fifth straight year in the top 75.

Year      Overall Finish    Points   Ivy Finish
2008-09   59th              375.30   2nd
2007-08   75th              270.00   3rd
2006-07   55th              369.50   1st
2005-06   66th              241.00   2nd
2004-05   73rd              235.25   4th
2003-04   80th              206.00   5th
2002-03   97th              176.50   7th
2001-02   72nd              243.00   6th
2000-01   122nd             121.50   8th
1999-00   140th             95.50    7th
1998-99   163rd             30.00    t-7th
1997-98   202nd             10.00    8th
1996-97   90th              156.50   5th
1995-96   79th              165.50   4th
1994-95   134th             79.00    5th
1993-94   69th              179.50   3rd