University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels finish seventh in Learfield Sports Directors Cup
July 1, 2010 | General
July 1, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina finished in seventh place nationally in the Learfield Sports Directors Cup, the Tar Heels' 15th top 10 finish in the award's 17-year history.
The Directors Cup, run by the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA), measures a school's postseason success in men's and women's sports. Each school receives points its 10-highest men's and 10-highest women's finishes in NCAA competition.
The seventh-place showing marked the eighth top 10 finish by the Tar Heels in the last nine years. By comparison, the other 11 ACC schools have a total of eight top 10 finishes in Directors Cup history. Stanford won for the 16th straight year, claiming the 2009-10 award with 1508.5 points. Florida was second with 1310.25 points and was followed by Virginia, UCLA, Florida State, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Ohio State, California and Duke.
The 2009-10 season marks the first time that four Atlantic Coast Conference schools finished in the Top 10 and just the third time that the Tar Heels were not the highest finishing ACC school. No other conference had more than three schools finish in the Top 10.
Six different Tar Heel teams finished in the top five nationally in their respective sports, including field hockey and women's soccer, which both won NCAA championships. Men's soccer, women's lacrosse and women's tennis each finished third and men's lacrosse was fifth. Men's swimming and diving (15th), men's indoor track and field (20th) and women's swimming and diving (20th) each placed in the top 20.
The Tar Heels are the only school other than Stanford to win the Directors Cup. Carolina won the inaugural trophy in 1994 and has averaged a sixth-place finish.
Carolina's yearly finish in the Directors' Cup:
2009-10- 7th
2008-09- 2nd*
2007-08- 14th*
2006-07- 3rd*
2005-06- 4th*
2004-05- 9th
2003-04- 7th*
2002-03- 8th*
2001-02- 4th*
2000-01- 15th*
1999-2000- 5th*
1998-99- Tied 17th
1997-98- Tied 2nd*
1996-97- 2nd*
1995-96- 6th*
1994-95- 2nd*
1993-94- 1st*
* denotes highest finish in the ACC that year
2009-10 Learfield Sports Directors Cup Final Standings
1. Stanford 1508.5
2. Florida 1310.25
3. Virginia 1253.25
4. UCLA 1124.00
5. Florida State 1087.50
6. Texas A&M 1070.75
7. North Carolina 1029.30
8. Ohio State 1015.50
9. California 1013.50
10. Duke 982.75
Other ACC finishes:
28. Maryland 710.30
38. Virginia Tech 600.00
45. Georgia Tech 548.25
48. Clemson 458.50
53. Wake Forest 385.00
58. Miami 366.00
63. Boston College 317.00
89. NC State 203.88
