It’s official: Stanford has won its 17th consecutive Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. The final standings were released Thursday.
The award is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors of America (NACDA), Learfield Sports and USA Today to the top intercollegiate athletic program in the nation.
Stanford finished with 1550 1/4 points, outdistancing Ohio State (1,227) and California (1,219 1/2).
Florida (1212.25), Duke (1171.50), North Carolina (1160.75), Virginia (1092.00), Texas A&M (1090.50), Florida State (1079.00) and Oklahoma (1064.75) also comprised the top 10.
The Cardinal earned NCAA championships in men’s gymnastics, women’s water polo and women’s lightweight crew-varsity eight. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team title for 35 consecutive years, an ongoing record. The national title won by men’s gymnastics marked Stanford’s 100th NCAA team championship.
Three other Stanford teams — women’s soccer, women’s tennis and women’s rowing — placed second in NCAA championship competition.
Eighteen of Stanford’s 35 intercollegiate programs finished their respective seasons ranked in the top-10 nationally, while eight teams were ranked first in the nation at some point during the year.
Stanford’s Christen Press (women’s soccer), Annika Dries (women’s water polo), Ashley Hansen (softball) and Alix Klineman (women’s volleyball) earned national players of the year in their respective sports.
Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette were named ITA Doubles Team of the Year, while Owen Marecic was named the inaugural recipient of the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football. Andrew Luck was the Heisman Trophy runnerup.
Stanford coaches Tara VanDerveer (women’s basketball), Thom Gliemi (men’s gymnastics) and Al Acosta (women’s lightweight rowing) were named national coaches of the year, while seven Cardinal coaches earned conference/region coach of the year honors.
The Cardinal clinched the title when John Tanner’s women’s water polo team won the national championship, mathematically eliminating Ohio State.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
NCAA needs to do an chemical analysis on the H2O coming out of the campus water fountains. There’s gotta be some illegal substance that, upon ingestion, not only acts to enhance superior academic performance, at the same time works to assure excellence in athletic performance. Florida had its Gator Ade, Stanford needs to market its Cardinal Juice.