Dec. 6 Standings (PDF)


CLEVELAND – In the first set of fall DII Learfield Directors' Cup standings, five Great Midwest Athletic Conference member institutions were in the top 100 for their on-field accomplishments to start the 2018-19 academic year.
 
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.  
 
Football was not factored into the Division II standings with the postseason still in progress. Walsh led all Great Midwest schools with 170 points for a position of 14th (out of 124 schools ranked). 
 
Walsh had three teams represented at the NCAA Championship level in the fall, including the Cavaliers’ women’s soccer program, which beat Saginaw Valley State in the opening round before meeting eventual NCAA runner-up Grand Valley State in the Midwest Region semifinals.
 
The Cavaliers also sent both cross country teams to Pittsburgh, Pa., at the DII Festival for the national 10K and 6K races. Senior Brianna Coy secured All-American status with an impressive 13th-place showing among all women’s competitors. 
 
Next was Ohio Valley tied in 25th place with 123 points as the Fighting Scots soccer programs enjoyed impressive NCAA Championship runs in their respective regional brackets. The OVU men were crowned NCAA Midwest Region champs and finished out their memorable campaign with a national ranking of No. 10 in the country. 
 
The Fighting Scots advanced three rounds in the final field of eight before falling to Central Region champ Fort Hays State in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinal round.
 
The Ohio Valley women defeated Ashland in the opening round of the Midwest Regional after going back-to-back for both conference regular-season and tournament titles. The Fighting Scots had a 17-win campaign while qualifying for the national tournament for the second year in a row. 
 
Hillsdale’s point total of 80 placed the Chargers in 58th following postseason qualification in men’s cross country and volleyball. HC’s volleyball program won the West Division title and clinched the league’s AQ with another tournament championship run before earning the No. 8 seed in the Midwest Regional.
 
Junior runner Joseph Humes forged to NCAA All-American status at the muddy cross country meet in the 10K race with a 25th-place effort to cement his status among the nation’s best. Humes qualified for nationals by virtue of his performance at the Hillsdale-hosted regionals. 
 
Not factored into the point totals was Hillsdale’s second-round run through the NCAA football playoffs as the Chargers defeated No. 4 Kutztown as a No. 5 seed in the opening round. 
 
Both Cedarville and Tiffin tied for 95th in the standings 50 points. The Cedarville men qualified for the national cross country championships as an at-large selection while Tiffin’s men’s soccer program hosted the Midwest Regional as the top seed after winning the conference regular-season and tournament titles in its first year of Great Midwest competition. 
 
Colorado School of Mines has scored 315.00 points to lead Division II, while Johns Hopkinshas scored 392.00 points to lead the Division III standings. 
 
In Division II, Colorado School of Mines captured two top-10 finishes (5th-women’s cross country; 2nd-men’s cross country) and a 17th-place finish in both men and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Grand Valley State is in second with 290 points after capturing a pair of national championships, men’s and women’s cross country and a 2nd-place finish in women’s soccer. Western Washington is in third with 256 points after taking 2nd in women’s volleyball, 9th in women’s soccer, 20th in women’s cross country and 26th in men’s cross country. Shippensburg is in fourth with 218 points, taking home the national title in women’s field hockey. The Raiders also placed 27th place in men’s cross country, 28th place in women’s cross country and 33rd in women’s volleyball. Rounding out the top five in DII is West Texas A&M with 206 points, recording a pair of  fifth place finishes in both women’s and men’s soccer, respectively, and a 15th place in men’s cross country.   
 
The CCAA, GLIAC, and PSAC lead all Division II conferences with two institutions in the top 10 – CCAA – Chico State (8th) and Cal State Poly Pomona (10th); GLIAC - Grand Valley State (2nd) and Saginaw Valley (9th); and PSAC - Shippensburg (4th) and West Chester (7th).
 
The next Division II and Division III fall standings will be released Thursday, December 20.

Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the fall season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s website at www.directorscup.org. In addition, please visit www.thedirectorscup.com and follow us on Twitter @ldirectorscup.
 
About Learfield: Learfield unlocks the value of college sports for brands, fans and universities. A fully integrated marketing and solutions platform, Learfield manages multimedia and sponsorship rights for nearly 130 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas. Through its family of solutions, Learfield provides access to professional concessions and ticket sales; branding, licensing and commerce management; digital and social expertise; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems.For over 40 years, the company has had the privilege of being an advocate for intercollegiate athletics, and since 2008, has served as title sponsor of the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup.